ENTRY 22 DEFINING FAITH

Faith is not merely hope nor merely belief.  This mistaken redefining of the terminology of Faith is pervasive. 
Look at the executive summary for Chapter 32.  I am using my old beat up 1981 edition of the Book of Mormon.  Before the chapter begins, it provides a summary of the chapter that reads: “Alma teaches the poor whose afflictions had humbled them --- Faith is a hope in that which is not seen which is true --- Alma testifies that angels minister to men, women, and children --- Alma compares the word unto a seed --- It must be planted and nourished --- Then it grows into a tree from which the fruit of eternal life is picked.”

Did you catch that?

The chapter header attempts to redefine the terms, but it is not using the definition as found in the chapter itself.  

Read the actual chapter with a careful eye to determine how the original author was defining the term. 

Alma is undertaking a mission among the people of the Zoramites.  He is shocked to discover a vain and proud people who have built places of worship in which they stand at the podium and offer the same repetitive prayer.  Actually the prayer is not really a prayer.  Prayer is a personal conversation with God, a two way communication.  What is called a prayer among this gathering is really more of a testimony witnessing to their own glory.  The testimony offered by all the members is how grateful they are to be a part of this organization that has the truth, while those other people do not have the truth. They are grateful that they have “The Spirit” which has elected them and made them a “chosen” people (Alma 31:15-18).    

Alma had no success among them because they loved the things of the world and did not care for the poor among them (Alma 31:28).  These were a "believing" people.  These were a "religious" people.  But they had no Faith.  That is to say, they had no desire to do the will of God. 

Soon Alma found the poor among the people of the Zoramites (Alma 32:4).  These had been cast out of the synagogues.  These had been cast out because of the coarseness of their apparel.  Perhaps they did not wear white shirts and ties.  Or perhaps, more likely, their poverty prevented them from donating on a regular basis to the collection funds of the church organization.  They had contributed in labor (Alma 32:5).  They had built up the church, but the church had no more need of these members.  These members were a burden because they were not self-reliant.  Instead, they were poor and threatened to consume the profitability of the church leaderships' business interests. Perhaps they were cast out because they not only threatened the profit margins but also questioned the sensibility of the idea that “we believe thou hast elected us to be thy holy children”.  Perhaps these poor had said, “Wait a minute, maybe we are not elected.  Maybe we are dependent have a need to repent.  Who is this Christ that we may be redeemed?  Perhaps we must change to return into God’s presence.”  Which teaching was contrary to everything the church members “knew” to be true (Alma 31:15-18).  The Zoramites “knew” they did not need a tangible, personal Savior.  They had no need to repent because they were a chosen generation.  They were elected and it was those other people who were in error.  All they needed was to “have the Spirit”.  It was the “feeling of the Spirit of God” that proved to them they were already worthy (Alma 31:15-18).  The “Spirit” witnessed to them that they were a light unto the world.  And so they rejected a message from someone like Alma who came from outside their church.   

These are the teachings alluded to in their "prayer".

 Shall we "liken the scriptures unto ourselves” as suggested by Nephi who said that it is profitable to do so? (1 Nephi 19:23)  Shall we consider how we are as the Zoramites? 
  

The people that came to Alma were lowly in heart.  They had no wealth and certainly no standing in the community.  They were not called “great” by their neighbors.  They had been rejected and cast out.  They turned to Alma and asked, “What can we do?  For we are cast out of our synagogues, that we cannot worship our God.”

Alma’s answer is revealing.  “Behold I say unto you, do ye suppose that ye cannot worship God save it be in your synagogues only? And moreover, I would ask, do ye suppose that ye must not worship God only once in a week?” (Alma 32:10)

Please look at Alma’s words with the eyes of understanding.  He is correcting the people.  And his corrective words apply to us in our day.  The authors of the Book of Mormon tell us it is written as a warning to us in our day.

Behold I say unto you, do ye suppose that ye cannot find favor of God save it be in your temples only?  And moreover, I would ask, do ye suppose that ye must worship God only once in a weekly sacrament meeting?

Dare I say it in other words?  Do you think that your temple rituals will seal you forever?  Do you think that your sacrament meetings will cleanse you? Do you think that your scripture study will lead you to Heaven?  If your “Faith” has been misplaced then these things cannot save you.  The Pharisees created a To-Do List as well.  It was a universal list that all were expected to live by.  Christ rejected their works and told them these are not the things that please God.  It is the folly of all men to think that these institutionalized rules we do will make us pleasing in God’s eyes.  It is the broken heart and contrite spirit that receives the Mercy of God. 

As Alma said “I say unto you, it is well that ye are cast out of your synagogues, that ye may be humble, and that ye may learn wisdom; for it is necessary that ye should learn wisdom; for it is because that ye are cast out, that ye are brought to a lowliness of heart; for ye are necessarily brought to be humble.” (Alma 32:12).

It is the humble heart that is pleasing to God.  More often than not, the religious traditions create a stumbling block between us and God because it creates the illusion that we are worthy.  We accept the illusion to protect the pride within our hearts. 

“How much more cursed is he that knoweth the will of God and doeth it not, than he that only believeth, or only hath cause to believe, and falleth into transgression.”   
  

God asks us for a relationship.  To come unto Him.   To Hearken to His words.  To seek Him out and find Him.  Knowing the Will of God and doing the Will of God is that which pleases God. 
   

As Christ had said “For I came down from heaven, not to do mine own will, but the will of him that sent me.” (John 6:38)

Faith is our desire to do the Will of God.  It requires that we listen to the voice of God and actually hearken.  “Hearken” means to hear AND to do.   We must seek out the will of God by asking Him directly, “What lack I yet?” And whatever answer He gives, we must be willing to sell and follow after His counsel.

This is entirely different than merely believing in God or believing in Christ.  It is more than admitting your belief before the congregation and then calling yourself saved.  It is more than participating in a religious ordinance and then declaring yourself exalted.  Faith is the process of doing the will of God and then patiently waiting for Him to declare with his own voice your salvation. 

If I could render the Alma 32:21 into a form that would clarify Faith more distinctively then I would write it according to the following form:

And now as I said concerning faith – faith is not to have a perfect knowledge of the mysteries of God, but rather it is to have a perfect desire to do the Will of God; therefore if ye have a perfect desire to do the Will of God then ye hope for an increase in the gifts of God which are not yet realized, but which are true.

If you replace the word Faith in many scriptures with the idea of doing the will of God, you will find that the meaning is either the same or in some cases more clear.  Try it with a few verses:

“Yea, and how is that ye have forgotten that the Lord is able to do all things according to his will, for the children of men, if it so be that they exercise a desire to do His will?  Wherefore, let us be willing to do the will of Him.   And if it so be that we are willing to do His will, we shall obtain the land of promise; and ye shall know at some future period that the word of the Lord shall be fulfilled concerning the destruction of Jerusalem; for all things concerning the destruction of Jerusalem must be fulfilled.” (1 Nephi 7:12-13)

“Gather together whatsoever force ye can upon your march hither, and we will go speedily against those dissenters, in the strength of our God according to our desire to do His will which is in us.” (Alma 61:17)

“Therefore, being grieved for the hardness of their hearts and the blindness of their minds – went forth among them in that same year, and began to testify, boldly, repentance and remission of sins through doing the will of the Lord Jesus Christ…And Nephi did minister with power and with great authority.  And it came to pass they were angry with him, even because he had greater power than they, for it were not possible that they could disbelieve his words, for so great was his desire to do the will of the Lord Jesus Christ that angels did minister unto him daily.” (3 Nephi 7:16-18)

The substitution does not always work.  See Ether 3:19 wherein The Brother of Jared “knew that it was the finger of the Lord; and he had a desire to do the will of the Lord no longer, for he knew, nothing doubting.” 

Oops!  The substitution definitely does not work in that one.  A great deal of our Faith is in doing the will of the Lord without yet receiving the blessing that comes in the obedience to God.  It is acting on the promise, without receiving the fulfillment of the promise.  We hope for that fulfillment in some time and place that is best according to His wisdom.  Patience is required.  This is the aspect of Faith that is described as “believing without seeing”.   It means to wait patiently for the fulfillment. 

But give it a try as you study the scriptures on Faith.  Notice how cleanly the concept of Desiring to do God’s Will or Doing God’s Will can substitute into those verses about Faith.  Most of the time.

“And after that [Christ] came men also were saved by doing the will of God in [Christ] name; and by doing the will of God, they become the sons of God.  And as surely as Christ liveth he spake these words unto our fathers, saying:  Whatsoever thing ye shall ask the Father in my name, which is good, desiring to do the will of God, believing that ye shall receive, behold, it shall be done unto you.”(Moroni 7:26)