"Lord, I Believe": Consciously Choosing Faith, When Experience Suggests Otherwise

What do you do when you don't know what to do? When you don't know what to believe? And when you're feeling the absence of solid, substantial, and quantifiable answers to your legitimate questions regarding faith, religion, the existence of a God, or something else of equal value and importance to you?

Laie Hawaii Temple Cultural Celebration

Alma 37:36-47: Counsel With Christ And He Will Direct You

The Liahona

 36Yea, and cry unto God for all thy support; yea, let all thy doings be unto the Lord, and whithersoever thou goest let it be in the Lord; yea, let all thy thoughts be directed unto the Lord; yea, let the affections of thy heart be placed upon the Lord forever.

 37Counsel with the Lord in all thy doings, and he will direct thee for good; yea, when thou liest down at night lie down unto the Lord, that he may watch over you in your sleep; and when thou risest in the morning let thy heart be full of thanks unto God; and if ye do these things, ye shall be lifted up at the last day.

 38And now, my son, I have somewhat to say concerning the thing which our fathers call a ball, or director—or our fathers called it Liahona, which is, being interpreted, a compass; and the Lord prepared it.

 39And behold, there cannot any man work after the manner of so curious a workmanship. And behold, it was prepared to show unto our fathers the course which they should travel in the wilderness.

 40And it did work for them according to their faith in God; therefore, if they had faith to believe that God could cause that those spindles should point the way they should go, behold, it was done; therefore they had this miracle, and also many other miracles wrought by the power of God, day by day.

 41Nevertheless, because those miracles were worked by small means it did show unto them marvelous works. They were slothful, and forgot to exercise their faith and diligence and then those marvelous works ceased, and they did not progress in their journey;   
 42Therefore, they tarried in the wilderness, or did not travel a direct course, and were afflicted with hunger and thirst, because of their transgressions.

 43And now, my son, I would that ye should understand that these things are not without a shadow; for as our fathers were slothful to give heed to this compass (now these things were temporal) they did not prosper; even so it is with things which are spiritual.     UAdd a Note 

 44For behold, it is as easy to give heed to the word of Christ, which will point to you a straight course to eternal bliss, as it was for our fathers to give heed to this compass, which would point unto them a straight course to the promised land.

 45And now I say, is there not a type in this thing? For just as surely as this director did bring our fathers, by following its course, to the promised land, shall the words of Christ, if we follow their course, carry us beyond this vale of sorrow into a far better land of promise.     UAdd a Note 

 46O my son, do not let us be slothful because of the easiness of the way; for so was it with our fathers; for so was it prepared for them, that if they would look they might live; even so it is with us. The way is prepared, and if we will look we may live forever.     UAdd a Note 

 47And now, my son, see that ye take care of these sacred things, yea, see that ye look to God and live. Go unto this people and declare the word, and be sober. My son, farewell (Alma 37:36-47).

2 Nephi 11 - Lift Up Your Hearts And Rejoice; There Is A God And He Is Christ

Jacob saw his Redeemer—The law of Moses typifies Christ and proves he will come.

    1 And now, Jacob spake many more things to my people at that time; nevertheless only these things have I caused to be written, for the things which I have written sufficeth me.     UAdd a Note 

    2 And now I, Nephi, write more of the words of Isaiah, for my soul delighteth in his words. For I will liken his words unto my people, and I will send them forth unto all my children, for he verily saw my Redeemer, even as I have seen him.     UAdd a Note 

    3 And my brother, Jacob, also has seen him as I have seen him; wherefore, I will send their words forth unto my children to prove unto them that my words are true. Wherefore, by the words of three, God hath said, I will establish my word. Nevertheless, God sendeth more witnesses, and he proveth all his words.     UAdd a Note 

   4 Behold, my soul delighteth in proving unto my people the truth of the coming of Christ; for, for this end hath the law of Moses been given; and all things which have been given of God from the beginning of the world, unto man, are the typifying of him.     UAdd a Note 

   5 And also my soul delighteth in the covenants of the Lord which he hath made to our fathers; yea, my soul delighteth in his grace, and in his justice, and power, and mercy in the great and eternal plan of deliverance from death.     UAdd a Note 

   6 And my soul delighteth in proving unto my people that save Christ should come all men must perish.

   7 For if there be no Christ there be no God; and if there be no God we are not, for there could have been no creation. But there is a God, and he is Christ, and he cometh in the fulness of his own time.

   8 And now I write some of the words of Isaiah, that whoso of my people shall see these words may lift up their hearts and rejoice for all men. Now these are the words, and ye may liken them unto you and unto all men.

1 Timothy 4:12 - An Example of the Believers

Let no man despise thy youth; but be thou an example of the believers, in word, in conversation, in charity, in spirit, in faith, in purity.     (1 Tim. 4:12)


Do you believe in Jesus Christ? Not sure? Try an experiment: read his words in The Holy Bible or The Book of Mormon: Another Testament of Jesus Christ for a month. During this time try to be a believer and do and say those things that a believer would. If you're not sure what a believer would say or do, just look in the scriptures for examples. Any researcher knows that you can't conduct your experiment with one trial run to get solid data. You need to conduct your research over a period of time and repeat attempts. Persistence and a desire to know are require as you experiment with your faith. I have found for myself, through consistency and faith, that I do believe in Jesus Christ. It is this faith that is the foundation of all my life's happiness and hope and the source of fulfillment and purpose that I currently enjoy. Try this experiment and discover for yourself.

Lessons I Learned As A Boy

"Canaries with Gray on Their Wings" By President Thomas S. Monson

The Lord seeth not as man seeth; for man looketh on the outward appearance, but the Lord looketh on the heart (1 Samuel 16:7).

Please enjoy Pres. Thomas S. Monson's June 2010 First Presidency message, Canaries with Gray on Their Wings.

He Lives: Testimonies of Jesus Christ

The Only True God And Jesus Christ Whom He Hath Sent

"Create" by Dieter F. Uchtdorf

Celebrating Christ this Christmas

You may also enjoy viewing this Christmas devotional, featuring Pres. Thomas S. Monson, Pres. Henry B. Eyring and Pres. Dieter F. Uchtdorf of the First Presidency of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. In this hour-long video, which originally aired Sunday, 6 December 2009, they share their feelings for Christ and their hope for this Christmas season.

This video also features the musical talent of the Mormon Tabernacle Choir, singing such favorites as "O Holy Night" and "For Unto Us a Child is Born", from Handel's Messiah.

Celebrating Christ this Christmas