Faith

LDS Quotes on Faith

Richard G. Scott Portrait

President Harold B. Lee once said, “If you want the blessing, don’t just kneel down and pray about it. Prepare yourselves in every conceivable way you can in order to make yourselves worthy to receive the blessing you seek.”

Sometimes we tend to believe that if we have enough faith, anything can happen without our really putting forth much effort, without doing all that is possible, or without “running as hard as we can and praying on the run.” The Lord expects us to do all in our power as we exercise our faith.

How is this kind of faith developed? In Alma we read: “Now, as I said concerning faith – that it was not a perfect knowledge – even so it is with my words. Ye cannot know of their surety at first, unto perfection, any more than faith is a perfect knowledge.” Faith, then, is not a perfect knowledge. Alma goes on to say, “But behold, if ye will awake and arouse your faculties, even to an experiment upon my words, . . .” (Alma 32:26–27). — Elder Robert B. Harbertson, “The Eye of Faith,” New Era, September 1988, p. 4
To produce fruit, your trust in the Lord must be more powerful and enduring than your confidence in your own personal feelings and experiences.

Richard G. Scott  |  “Trust in the Lord,” Ensign, November 1995

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Richard G. Scott Portrait

“Faith is things which are hoped for and not seen; wherefore, dispute not because ye see not, for ye receive no witness until after the trial of your faith” (Ether 12:6). Thus, every time you try your faith – that is, act in worthiness on an impression – you will receive the confirming evidence of the Spirit. As you walk to the boundary of your understanding into the twilight of uncertainty, exercising faith, you will be led to find solutions you would not obtain otherwise. With even your strongest faith, God will not always reward you immediately according to your desires. Rather, God will respond with what in His eternal plan is best for you, when it will yield the greatest advantage. Be thankful that sometimes God lets you struggle for a long time before that answer comes. That causes your faith to increase and your character to grow.

Richard G. Scott  |  “The Transforming Power of Faith and Character,” Ensign, Nov. 2010, pp. 43-46

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Because of the conflicts and challenges we face in today’s world, I wish to suggest a single choice – a choice of peace and protection and a choice that is appropriate for all. That choice is faith. Be aware that faith is not a free gift given without thought, desire, or effort. It does not come as the dew falls from heaven. The Savior said, “Come unto me” (Matthew 11:28) and “Knock, and it shall be [given] you” (Matthew 7:7). These are action verbs – come, knock. They are choices. So I say, choose faith. Choose faith over doubt, choose faith over fear, choose faith over the unknown and the unseen, and choose faith over pessimism. Alma’s classic discussion on faith, as recorded in the 32nd chapter of Alma in the Book of Mormon, is a series of choices to ensure the development and the preservation of our faith. Alma gave us a directive to choose. His were words of action initiated by choosing. He used the words awake, arouse, experiment, exercise, desire, work, and plant. Then Alma explained that if we make these choices and do not cast the seed out by unbelief, then “it will begin to swell within [our] breasts” (Alma 32:28). Yes, faith is a choice, and it must be sought after and developed. Thus, we are responsible for our own faith. We are also responsible for our lack of faith. The choice is yours.

Richard C. Edgely  |  October 2010 General Conference

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Faith and knowledge require equal effort and commitment. We cannot expect to have faith at the center of our lives if all of our efforts are expended on knowledge, sports, hobbies, making money, or other pursuits.

Elder Quentin L. Cook  |  “Strengthen Faith as You Seek Knowledge,” Ensign, September 2008

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Lucy Mack Smith, mother of the Prophet, was asked to take charge of the exodus of the members from Fayette [May 1831]. When they arrived at Buffalo, New York, they found that the harbor on Lake Erie was clogged with an ice field, and the steamboat carrying the Fayette Saints was unable to leave port. In this difficult situation, she called upon the members to exercise their faith: “Now, brethren and sisters, if you will all of you raise your desires to heaven, that the ice may be broken up, and we be set at liberty, as sure as the Lord lives, it will be done.” At that very moment a noise was heard “like bursting thunder.” The ice parted and a narrow passage formed through which the boat was able to move. They had barely passed through when the avenue again closed, but they were in open water and could continue their journey. Following this miraculous escape, the company was called together in a prayer meeting to offer up their thanks to God for his mercy on their behalf. (Lucy Mack Smith, History of the Church, 240)

Quorum of the Twelve Apostles  |  Our Heritage, a Brief History of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, p. 19

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“It is our faith in Jesus Christ that sustains us at the crossroads of life’s journey. It is the first principle of the gospel. Without it we will spin our wheels at the intersection, spending our precious time but getting nowhere. It is Christ who offers the invitation to follow Him, to give Him our burden, and to carry His yoke, “for [His] yoke is easy, and [His] burden is light” (Matthew 11:30). There is no other name under heaven whereby man can be saved (see Acts 4:12). We must take upon us His name and receive His image in our countenance so that when He comes we will be more like Him (see 1 John 3:2; Alma 5:14). When we choose to follow Christ in faith rather than choosing another path out of fear, we are blessed with a consequence that is consistent with our choice (see D&C 6:34–36).”

Elder Quentin L. Cook  |  Live By Faith and Not By Fear, October 2007 General Conference

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Neal A. Maxwell Headshot

One cannot have adequate faith in a Christ whom he does not adequately know, “who is a stranger . . . far from the thoughts and intents of his heart.” (Mosiah 5:13) Instead, by laying aside “every weight” of the world and the sins which so “easily beset us,” by looking unto Jesus and by feasting upon His words, we will be able to move forward with intellectual and spiritual vigor. Otherwise, as Paul said, we can become wearied and faint in our minds. (See Heb. 12:1–3; see also 2 Ne. 31:20.) When we understand what was revealed to Adam – “[my] plan of salvation unto all men” (Moses 6:62) – then these doctrines are keenly relevant for tomorrow’s trial, Tuesday’s temptation, or next month’s surge of self-pity. After all, chastening, the trial of our faith, and patience are part of the plan. (See Mosiah 23:21.) . . .

If sought by faith (see Rom. 9:30–32), these doctrines of the radiant restoration enclose us in divine purpose during our sojourn in this “far country.” Like the prodigal son who “came to himself,” we thus receive needed perspective and direction as we also begin to “arise and go to [our] Father.” (See Luke 15:11–32.) . .

We will not be strangers in the City of God. We were there before, when the morning stars sang together and the sons of God shouted for joy at the prospects of this stern but necessary mortal existence. (See Job 38:4–7.) . . .The trek will be proving and trying. Faith, patience, and obedience are essential (see Mosiah 23:21; Abr. 3:25), but he who completes the journey successfully will be immeasurably added upon. (See Abr. 3:26.) And he who does not will have subtracted from the sum of his possibilities. . . .

Doers, said Jesus, will know that these doctrines are of God. (See John 7:17.) Therefore, do not be surprised when nondoers scoff. Do not be surprised, either, if these doctrines unsettle some. Such was the case when the ancient Apostles filled Jerusalem with their doctrines. (See Acts 5:28.) And when Jesus focused His hearers on doctrines, “they were astonished at his doctrine.” (Matt. 22:33) The only cure for the doctrinal illiteracy of those who murmur will be to learn doctrine. (See Isa. 29:24)

Elder Neal A. Maxwell  |  “Called and Prepared from the Foundation of the World,” General Conference, April 1986

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“Our faith is centered in God, our Father, and in His Son, Jesus Christ, our Savior and Redeemer. It is bolstered by our knowledge that the fulness of the gospel has been restored to the earth, that the Book of Mormon is the word of God, and that prophets and apostles today hold the keys of the priesthood. We treasure our faith, work to strengthen our faith, pray for increased faith, and do all within our power to protect and defend our faith.”

Elder Neil L. Andersen  |  Trial Of Your Faith, October 2012 General Conference

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Faith is not only a feeling; it is a decision. With prayer, study, obedience, and covenants, we build and fortify our faith. Our conviction of the Savior and His latter-day work becomes the powerful lens through which we judge all else. Then, as we find ourselves in the crucible of life, as Elder Oaks explained, we have the strength to take the right course.

President Hinckley said it this way: “When [an individual] is motivated by great and powerful convictions of truth, then he disciplines himself, not because of demands made by the Church but because of the knowledge within his heart.”

Are we sufficiently motivated by “great and powerful convictions of truth”? Do our choices reflect this motivation? Are we becoming who we want to become? It’s true, isn’t it? Then what else matters?

Elder Neil L. Andersen  |  “It’s True, Isn’t it? Then what else matters?” Ensign, May 2007

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Neal A. Maxwell Headshot

“Many in the world hold back from making the ‘leap of faith’ because they have already jumped to some other conclusions — often the conclusions of Korihor, which are: God never was nor ever will be; there is not a redeeming Christ; man cannot know the future; man cannot know of that which he cannot see; whatsoever a man does is no crime; and death is the end. (See Alma 30:13-18.) The number of modern-day adherents to the Korihor conclusions will grow.”

Elder Neal A. Maxwell  |  “The Inexhaustible Gospel,” Ensign, April 1993, p. 71

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