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)

ENTRY 21 FAITH

What is Faith?

What is the first response that comes to your mind?  How would you answer that question if your four year old asked it?  How would you ask that question if your co-worker asked?

The most common answer I hear is a paraphrase of the following:  “A Belief in things which are not seen, which are true.”

However, this description alone is inadequate and standing alone this definition will cause a couple errors. 

From the Book of Mormon  Alma 32:21:  “And now as I said concerning faith – faith is not to have a perfect knowledge of things; therefore if ye have faith ye hope for things which are not seen, which are true.” 

Look a little more closely at Alma 32.  The challenge with reading Verse 21 alone is that it tells us something about which Faith is not, namely “it is not to have a perfect knowledge of things”.  However, it does not actually tell us what Faith is.  

Look a little closer at the verse:  “therefore if ye have faith ye hope for things which are not seen, which are true.”  This says if you have faith then you hope.  In this instance, faith is an object which you possess.  And if you have Faith then….you do something.  Your “doing something” is conditional upon having that object.  So this sentence isn’t defining Faith at all.  It is describing a person’s reaction while under the condition of possessing something called Faith.  Hope is a symptom of Faith, not the cause.  Here in this sentence Faith causes the Hope.  Hope isn’t the catalyst.  Faith is the catalyst and Hope is the byproduct.  But the ingredients of the catalyst are still not described here in this quote.

    

Hebrews 11:1  seems to be more definitive and yet it really is the same as Alma 32.  “Now faith is the substance of things hoped for, the evidence of things not seen.”

“Ah-Hah!” You say, “See here?  Faith is things hoped for, the evidence of things not seen.  You just gotta Believe!”

“But there is something ambiguous here.  There seems to be something more we need to wrap our minds around and get a hold of.  It does not directly say that faith is hope.  It actually throws in another word, “substance”.   It reads ‘Faith is the substance of things hoped for’.  Substance?  What is that supposed to mean?  Why is Faith the “substance” and not the hope itself?

The dictionary defines substance as ‘that of which a thing consists; physical matter or material’.  So here again, Hope is built with a material called Faith.  Faith is the cause of the Hope. 

   

Let’s say we are building a bridge.  This bridge happens to be made out of steel.  As we are building, someone asks the question, “What are you making?”

 

Do we respond by saying “I’m making steel”? 

Or is the response “I am making a bridge’”?

We may be handling steel to construct the bridge, but we would say that “We are making a bridge.”

We just happen to be making a bridge out of steel, but the bridge could be made from wood or iron.  Steel is the substance of our Bridge.  Steel is the assurance we have that the Bridge will stand strong over the years.  But as we build that bridge, we do not say we are making steel.  As we build Hope, we do not say that we are making Faith.

So again, Hebrews 11 Verse 1 does not define exactly what Faith is.  Instead, it tells us what we can construct with the substance called Faith.  It gives us example after example of what other souls have made out of their Faith.  In Hebrews 11, you get an architect’s portfolio of what kind of structures you can construct with a substance called Faith.  But the author really didn’t tell you how to make Faith itself.”

If we can recognize the distinction, we will discover two things.  First, we will discover a critical aspect of one of the “first principles” of the Gospel.  This aspect is easily and often overlooked.  Second, we will gain an appreciation for the clarity of truths that Joseph Smith had actually left behind for us in something that could be called The Lost Scriptures.  

  

The Lost Scriptures I am referring to is the 1835 Edition of the Doctrine and Covenants.  This edition includes a section called “The Lectures on Faith”.  The Lectures on Faith used to be the first chapters of the Doctrine and Covenants when it was printed in 1835.  In fact, these were the “Doctrine” portion of the Doctrine and Covenants.  They were removed in 1921.  The reasons I consider them Lost Scriptures will require a separate discussion of its own.  For now, we will accept the explanation of the church that they are “profitable for doctrine and instruction” as explained in the introduction to the current edition of the Doctrine and Covenants.  

 We will review what The Lectures on Faith have to say about the definition of Faith.

“Now faith is the substance [assurance] of things hoped for, the evidence of things not seen.  From this we learn that faith is the assurance which men have of the existence of things which they have not seen, and the principle of action in all intelligent beings” (Lectures on Faith, Lecture First, Verse 8-9). 

Once again, here in the Lectures on Faith, we have the description of Hebrews 11.  And we learn that Faith is the assurance that the action we take will produce a good result.  However, it does not leave it alone at that.  There is more to Faith.

“Having treated in the preceding lectures of the ideas, of the character, perfections, and attributes of God, we next proceed to treat of the knowledge which persons must have, that the course of life which they pursue is according to the will of God, in order that they may be enabled to exercise faith in him unto life and salvation.  This knowledge supplies an important place in revealed religion; for it was by reason of it that the ancients were enabled to endure as seeing him who is invisible.  An actual knowledge to any person, that the course of life which he pursues is according to the will of God, is essentially necessary to enable him to have that confidence in God without which no person can obtain eternal life. It was this that enabled the ancient saints to endure all their afflictions and persecutions, and to take joyfully the spoiling of their goods, knowing (not believing merely) that they had a more enduring substance.” (Lectures on Faith, Lecture Sixth, Verse 1-2)

Faith is the knowledge that that the life we are living is according to the Will of God.  Not merely believing, but actually knowing that we are thinking, speaking and acting in a manner that is according to God’s Will. 

How to recognize God’s Will is also a discussion for another time.  For now, please understand the definition of Faith.  Faith is knowing and doing the Will of God.  

The world has created a definition of Faith that is counterfeit.  The false definition of faith is taught as believing in something no matter how impossible that thing may appear to be.

This definition of Faith (as created by the world) has undermined real Faith that would otherwise exist in the hearts of many good souls.  Many people are duped into thinking that Faith means Belief.  And Belief is the magic ingredient required to accomplish anything we set our minds to.  Often this “power of positive thinking” is employed in the pursuit of educational accomplishment, career success, relationship empowerment and achieving fitness goals.  How many movies employ this concept into the tool the hero and heroine use to overcome the day?  Religious people, armed with the idea that if they simply believe, bring this concept into their quest to return to Heaven.  They expect that God will accept them simply because God is Lovingness and requires only that they believe.  The rationalization is that “I will never be perfect, but the grace of Jesus will save me because I believe.”  The failure in this is that the relationship with God must be developed.  Belief alone is not enough.  Even Lucifer and his angels know there is a God.  It isn’t even enough to participate in the ordinances or rituals of a religion. It isn’t enough to do really, really good things. 

There needs to be communication between you and the Lord.  You will need to hear His voice and you will need to find Him, in His own way and in His own time.   His words given directly to you become the guidance that you will need to overcome the day.  You demonstrate your faith, as you hearken to His counsel.  You increase your faith by recognizing your failings before God and humbly accepting His will in all aspects of your life.  With a knowledge that you are acting according to God's will, you then have more than a belief.  You have knowledge that your actions will bear good fruit.  This is faith. 

As it is written in Lectures on Faith: “for it was by reason of knowing (not merely believing) that the course of life which they pursue is according to the will of God that the ancients were enabled to endure as seeing him who is invisible.  An actual knowledge to any person, that the course of life which he pursues is according to the will of God, is essentially necessary to enable him to have that confidence in God without which no person can obtain eternal life.”

How do you make Faith with the strength of steel?  Faith is made of the knowledge that your life is lived according to the will of God.  Your motivation and desire to know the Will of God is the essential ingredient to create Faith.  Your actions conducted in accordance with the Will of God are Faith.  

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

Notice from the John 6:38, Christ teaches that those who see him and believe him are raised up into eternal life.  The Lectures on Faith also state: “that the ancients were enabled to endure as seeing him who is invisible”.  

“And Jesus said unto them, I am the bread of life: he that cometh to me shall never hunger; and he that believeth on me shall never thirst. But I said unto you, That ye also have seen me, and believe not. All that the Father giveth me shall come to me; and him that cometh to me I will in no wise cast out. For I came down from heaven, not to do mine own will, but the will of him that sent me. And this is the Father’s will which hath sent me, that of all which he hath given me I should lose nothing, but should raise it up again at the last day. And this is the will of him that sent me, that every one which seeth the Son, and believeth on him, may have everlasting life: and I will raise him up at the last day. The Jews then murmured at him, because he said, I am the bread which came down from heaven. And they said, Is not this Jesus, the son of Joseph, whose father and mother we know? how is it then that he saith, I came down from heaven? Jesus therefore answered and said unto them, Murmur not among yourselves.” (John 6:35-43)

Christ said that if we come unto him, he will fulfill those needs which we hunger and thirst for.  He said that he would in “no wise cast out”, meaning that all are invited to seek for him.  The promise given is that “every one which seeth the Son and believeth on him, may have everlasting life”. The key to finding the Savior is to follow in His example, not to do our own will, but to do the will of him that sent us.

The audience listening to Christ murmured at the saying.  Many murmur at the saying that Christ is the Bread of Life.  They murmur at the saying that your Faith must lead you to Christ into an actual relationship with Christ or that you must actually know Christ.  You must actually see Him.  This is the purpose of your Faith…to come unto Christ.  But they murmur and say these things are not necessary.  They say it is enough to believe.  They say it is enough to complete the ordinance or the ritual.  

Still there is another way to create an error if the word Faith is defined as “believing without seeing”.  For some, they find themselves cornered into choosing between their belief in God or their belief in Truth.    When a religious Belief conflicts with Truth, the burden of reconciling the difference between the two is confronted by the sincere individual.  Having defined Faith as a mere Belief in things Religious places a person in the position of rejecting legitimate sources of Truth that otherwise could be considered and embraced.  This would also include those who define Faith as a Belief in things Biblical; a Belief in things Mormon; a Belief in things Buddhist; a Belief in things Fill in the Blank.    Faith becomes misplaced when it is redefined to mean something entirely different than what God intended.  God intended that you rely on him.  All other sources will fail you.  Other sources, including the scripture and church and leader of your particular preference, have a portion of Truth, but God alone is the source of all truth.  God will test your willingness to listen to Him by delivering truth through many sources, but allowing those same sources to also be corrupted.  Thus forcing you to turn to Him directly to clarify exactly which portions are correct and which are not. 

The illusion is presented to us that it has to be All or Nothing when it comes to religious beliefs.  That we must embrace all of one belief system or all of another, as if we must choose between what is being taught in the form of a single religion.  Faced with the conflicts created by competing sources claiming to be God’s Truth, we establish our own personal process of selecting a library of reliable sources.  The sorting of beliefs is a necessary chore but quickly we find ourselves relying on a narrowing body of what we consider valid sources of truth.  Once entrenched in our personal selection of so-called authoritative sources, we will exclude any new source that may present itself from outside the box.  Wrapped comfortably in our bias, we fail to recognize truth as it is offered to us from some humble looking source.    For this reason, they rejected John the Baptist.  For this reason, they rejected Christ.  For this reason, we risk rejecting a “John the Baptist”.  For this reason, we risk rejecting the Christ. 

This is a dichotomy that ought not to exist because if there is any God at all, that God must be a God of Truth.  All Truth can be circumscribed into one great whole.  The God of Truth would want you to accept that which is True, wouldn’t He?  No matter what the source, as long as it is true?  If God is not a God of Truth then God is no God at all.  Or in other words, if there is a God, that God must be a God of Truth.  Exactly as God is Just and Merciful as well.   Therefore, if something is found to be fact or a truth it can be accepted from any source.  Accepting Truth from a source you previously considered unconventional does not have to damage your Faith.  This is because Faith does not equal Belief.  Faith is your Willingness to Do the Will of God.  Beliefs are fluid and change.  But your desire to seek out the will of God does not have to change.  Finding the assurance that your life is acceptable to God does not have to change, even as your understanding expands to accept new found truths.  

 God who is Merciful will deliver Truth to anyone willing to accept it.  And God who is Just will offer that Truth to everyone willing to receive it.    

You can keep your Desire to Do the Will of God even though the earth is demonstrated to be Round instead of Flat.  You can keep your Desire to Do the Will of God (FAITH) even though the Earth is shown to be 6 Billion Years Old instead of 6000 Thousand Years Old.  You can keep your Desire to Do the Will of God (FAITH) even though the history of your people is shown to be fabricated by the traditions of men.  You can keep your Desire to Do the Will of God (FAITH) even though the leadership of your family, church, or nation is weak or flawed.  This is because Faith does not require you to have a belief in a particular book or a particular man or a particular ritual or a particular tradition.  As Alma said, You do not have to have a “perfect knowledge of things” (Alma 32:21).  The Book of Scripture does not have to be perfect.  The History of the Church does not have to be perfect.  The Leadership of the People does not have to be perfect.  These things do not have to be perfect because Faith is not about “believing these things”.  Faith is about learning the will of God as it is delivered through these things and through any other method God may choose to speak through to you.   

Faith is not a willingness to believe no matter how desperately false the belief appears to be.  That is the adversary’s definition of faith redefined to destroy your own ability to find God.  You do not have to be pigeonholed into being forced to choose between the ridiculous and the absurd.    Your belief is in the God of Truth who created this world and seeks to redeem you from your fallen condition.  Your perfect desire to find that God and do those things that God would ask of you in order to be united with that God…that is what your religious beliefs must be established upon.   Though your beliefs may change as you gain new experience, your Faith does not need to be threatened.  When a belief is found to be false, your commitment to doing the will of God still remains.  

“Oh God, Aaron hath told me that there is a God, and if thou art God, wilt thou make thyself known unto me, and I will give away all my sins to know thee, and that I may be raised from the dead, and be saved at the last day.  And now when the king had said these words…” (Alma 22:18)

 Notice the prayer of Lamoni’s Father.  “If thou art God”, he said but still his prayer was answered in a miraculous manner.  It was not his belief in God that allowed God to act in the king’s life.  It was the king’s desire to “give away all my sins to know thee” or in other words, “God, if there is a God, what is thy will?”  This humility of heart and sincere desire to know the will of God was the attitude God needed to act on this man’s behalf. 

And this is what Faith is:  Your Desire to Do the Will of God that you may be reunited with that God. 

“Let us here observe, that three things are necessary in order that any rational and intelligent being may exercise faith in God unto life and salvation.  First, the idea that he actually exists.  Secondly, a correct idea of his character, perfections, and attributes.  Thirdly, an actual knowledge that the course of life which he is pursuing is according to his will.  For without an acquaintance with these three important facts, the faith of every rational being must be imperfect and unproductive; but with this understanding it can become perfect and fruitful, abounding in righteousness, unto the praise and glory of God the Father and the Lord Jesus Christ.” (Lectures on Faith, Lecture Third, Verse 2-5)

What is Faith?  

It is the knowledge that you are acting in accordance to the will of God.  

Faith is created by your willingness to do the will of God.

Faith is made perfect when God approaches you personally and declares to you that you are His son or daughter, having done as Christ did in seeking not your own will but the will of Him who sent you.