I have thought a lot lately about Faith. There is little meaning in the word itself until it is placed in something else. People may hope for many things, and even put their trust in many things; but, unless they practice faith in something that is true and everlasting, they may very well be disappointed.
The First Principle of the Gospel of Jesus Christ is Faith in the Lord Jesus Christ. Faith in Jesus means everything to me. He is my Creator, my Friend, my Exemplar, and my Redeemer. Through practiced faith in Him, I feel rewarded by the presence of His Spirit. His kindness is truly the Bread of Life to all of us.
Faith in the Lord Jesus Christ is always rewarding. As we make covenants with Him, we have this promise: that if we always remember Him, we will always have His Spirit to be with us. I know this is true. He is true and faithful. We can count on His word every time.
As a child, I was taught to pray to Heavenly Father in the name of Jesus Christ. We prayed as a family, and each night I prayed at my bedside. I passed this tradition of Faith in God and His Son on to my children. Our childhoods were also filled with Primary songs which taught Faith in the Lord Jesus Christ. We have also made it a habit of reading the Word of God as found in the scriptures and the testimonies of the prophets and apostles. These things are important. We have the promise, from Jesus, that the Holy Ghost will give us those things that we need in the very hour that we need them. I’ve seen that happen time and time again. Practicing Faith in the Lord on a daily basis gives us a store of spiritual fortitude that will bless us in our times of need.
Letting go of our Faith in Jesus Christ leaves us in great peril. When we only trust in our own strength and wisdom, we soon find that we are left to ourselves to reap the devastation of the trials we choose to face alone. Often in this state, we are humbled and again choose to feel the Savior’s love, whose arm in stretched out still, forever reaching for us; and if we reach for Him, we experience immediately His grace and kindness.
As we experience the Savior’s love, our trust in Him will grow, and our faith in Him will increase. When this happens, a growing and abiding love will develop as we begin to realize all that He has done for us, all that we mean to Him, and all that He is coming to mean to us.
I know He lives. I know He loves me, and He loves you. He is not partial in His love. He is not condemning in His reaching. His reproof is a blessing to us all, as He knows us and loves us, and His desire is to give us all that He and His Father have and enjoy. Through Him we all have life, and through Him we may all live eternally with Him and with our Father.
At this Easter season, as our hearts are drawn to Him in gratitude for the gift that He has given us, may we give to Him the gift of greater faith in Him. Happy Easter.
“The fundamental principles of our religion are the testimony of the Apostles and Prophets, concerning Jesus Christ, that He died, was buried, and rose again the third day, and ascended into heaven; and all other things which pertain to our religion are only appendages to it” (Joseph Smith, History of the Church, 3:30)
God Loved Us, So He Sent His Son
1. God loved us, so he sent his Son,
Christ Jesus, the atoning One,
To show us by the path he trod
The one and only way to God.
2. He came as man, though Son of God,
And bowed himself beneath the rod.
He died in holy innocence,
A broken law to recompense.
3. Oh, love effulgent, love divine!
What debt of gratitude is mine,
That in his off'ring I have part
And hold a place within his heart.
4. In word and deed he doth require
My will to his, like son to sire,
Be made to bend, and I, as son,
Learn conduct from the Holy One.
5. This sacrament doth represent
His blood and body for me spent.
Partaking now is deed for word
That I remember him, my Lord.
Text: Edward P. Kimball
Music: Alexander Schreiner
