For this week's Family Home Evening lesson, we studied Chapter 18 from the Gospel Principles Manual, Faith in Jesus Christ.
when my life ends on earth.
Many scriptural stories tell how great things were accomplished through faith. Noah, Moses, Elijah, and Nephi have accomplished great things through faith (Hebrews 11:7, 29; 1 Kings 18:17–40 Helaman11:3–5, 9–17). As we carefully study the scriptures, we learn that faith is a strong belief of truth within our souls that motivates us to do good.
To have faith in Jesus Christ means to have such trust in Him that we obey whatever He commands. As we place our faith in Jesus Christ, becoming His obedient disciples, Heavenly Father will forgive our sins and prepare us to return to Him. Through faith in the Savior and through repentance, we make His Atonement fully effective in our lives. Through faith we can also receive strength to overcome temptations (Alma 37:33).
We can increase our faith the same way we increase our skill in any area, through study and practice and work. We can increase our faith by acting on a desire to do so. We can also increase our faith by praying to Heavenly Father about our hopes, desires, and needs (Alma 34:17–26). But we must not suppose that all we have to do is ask. We are told in the scriptures that “faith, if it hath not works, is dead, being alone” (James 2:17). An important way to increase our faith is to hear and study the word of the Lord. We hear the word of the Lord at our Church meetings. We can study His word in the scriptures. “And as all have not faith, seek ye diligently and teach one another words of wisdom; yea, seek ye out of the best books words of wisdom; seek learning, even by study and also by faith” (D&C 88:118). Through the gift of faith, miracles are wrought, angels appear, other gifts of the Spirit are given, prayers are answered, and we become the children of God (Moroni 7:25–26, 36–37).
Activity: We "planted" a seed of faith that June had to take care of it so it would blossom into a faith flower. As June planted her seed in the pot, I told her she had to constantly take care of it by giving her plant water, light, and food. I told her if she neglected any of these things, her plant would die. We need to continually nurture our own seed of faith if we want it to grow. We do this by heartfelt prayer, personal scripture study, attending church, keeping the commandments, and choosing the right. I wrote each of these items on cards and had June place them into her pot with the seed and the "soil" (I just used wash cloths). Then, I placed her faith flower in the pot. She loved having her purple flower there. In fact, she still has it displayed prominently in her room.
June looks like a happy little girl holding her big purple flower. I like how you covered faith at June's level. Comparing it to her own seed that needs to be continually nurtured to grow was wonderful. I look forward to your next one.
Thanks for your comment! She still has that flower prominently displayed in her room with the lesson cards and all.