Faith In Jesus Christ

I was assigned to give a talk today in church. I thought I would share.

Faith in Jesus Christ

I was asked to prepare a talk on “Faith in Jesus Christ”.

Faith is much more than passive belief. We express our faith through action—by the way we live. Let me explain my thinking.

I was raised in a Methodist household with my two older brothers and an older sister. My father was raised Catholic and did not attend church with us. When I was in my early teens, I rebelled and decided not to go to church at all. For many years I had little faith in Christ and as time went on, my faith lessened more and more.

During these years a number of occasions arose where I would be going through a trial, I would speak to my parents about my turmoil. My mother would always say, “I’ll pray for you”. Of course, I had some snarky remark like, “Go for it” or “if you can get Him to listen that would be great” and my all time favorite, “I really don’t think that will help, but if it makes you feel better”.

Fast forward 20+ years. One evening after one of many visits from the missionaries, I lay in bed and I couldn’t sleep. I went downstairs and sat in my favorite chair. I stared into the darkness and found myself digging through the bookshelf. Buried in the back, with a little dust on it I found what I was searching for. I found the Book of Mormon that was given to me by missionary set number five. I opened the little book and starting reading. Most of it didn’t make sense until I read 2^nd Nephi 26:13:

“And that he manifesteth himself unto all those who believe in him, by the power of the Holy Ghost; yea, unto every nation, kindred, tongue, and people, working mighty miracles, signs, and wonders, among the children of men according to their faith.”

I realized that I could not rely on myself only any longer for support. I had to lean on someone that could understand what I was going through and listen. It took me a while to realize that I needed faith in Christ. I was stubborn, but slowly I started not only having faith in Christ but by living with faith.

Faith in Jesus Christ can motivate us to follow His perfect example, in John 14:12 it says “Verily, verily, I say unto you, He that believeth on me, the works that I do shall he do also; and greater works than these shall he do; because I go unto my Father.”

Our faith helps us to do good works, obey all the commandments, and repent of our sins; in James 2:18 it says “Yea, a man may say, Thou hast faith, and I have works: shew me thy faith without thy works, and I will shew thee my faith by my works.”

Also in Alma 34:17, “Therefore may God grant unto you, my brethren, that ye may begin to exercise your faith unto repentance, that ye begin to call upon his holy name, that he would have mercy upon you”

There was a man walking with a large bag of rocks. He struggled as he carried the rocks along the road when the Jesus Christ appeared to him. “I can carry those rocks for you” Jesus said. The man stopped, put the rocks down with a smile. The man opened the bag containing the rocks and handed Jesus one rock out of the bag. He then swung the bag of rocks over his shoulder and continued down the road.

Lately, having faith has been difficult at best for me personally. I have been through many trails over the past 6 months and have lost a little faith, and regained it, lost a little again the regained it. Every time I would realize that my faith is being tested, or I’m going through a trial and I need something to hang onto, I would think about the reasons I need to hang on. The little person in my life is always forefront in my mind. What kind of life would she have if I didn’t keep my faith in Christ? I remember what my life was like before I joined the church, before I realized how much I needed Christ in my life. That was no place for any sane person, let alone a 2 year old.

Some days I too am like the man with the bag of rocks. I won’t let go of what Jesus could help me carry the rocks. I choose to carry the rocks and keep the burden to myself.

A friend recently asked me how I have gotten so much faith. The answer was simple, I believed I earned it. I earned my faith by keeping the commandments and living by faith.

President James E. Faust said, “Faith will be our strong shield to protect us from the fiery arrows of Satan. Values should not change with time, because faith in Jesus Christ is indispensable to happiness and eternal salvation”

Faith in Christ leads you to want to change your life for the better. As your faith increases, you will desire to repent of your sins. In other words, you will want to change those thoughts and actions that are not in harmony with the teachings of Heavenly Father through Jesus Christ.

As you obey Heavenly Father, He blesses you. He gives you strength and determination to meet life's challenges and helps you change the desires you have. Through your faith in Jesus Christ, you can be healed, both physically and spiritually.

Faith in Jesus Christ is such a basic principal of the Church. Everything we do every day of our lives involves our faith. It motivates us, keeps us from harm and keeps on the straight and narrow and can enable us to spend eternity with our loved ones.

I would like to testify to you that I know that keeping faith in Jesus Christ has improved my life. It will make your life better that you could ever want. The blessings are there for all of us to grasp, and the blessing always come when you are keeping your faith.