Sept Week 4 Linds

Goal: develop a "bedrock understanding of the doctrine of Christ"

Topic: Faith

Sun 9/25/16
James 2:18 We work works by faith
BD "Faith is confidence or trust in Jesus Christ that leads us to obey Him." My confidence and trust in the future should be in Jesus Christ, not myself or my own talents. That source will always fail because I am a fallen individual. But when I put my trust and confidence in Christ and choose to act without doubting Him, that is when He can do His power and I can live peacefully.
"Miracles do not produce faith, but strong faith is developed by obedience to the gospel of Jesus Christ."- obedience and faith are linked. Obedience is the works of faith.
Heb 11:1 "Faith is the substance of things hoped for, the evidence of things not seen." So interesting, these words: substance and evidence do not suggest a fleeting hope of things. They suggest that it is tangible, real, and something that helps you understand that which you can not see.
Alma 32:21 Faith is not to have a perfect knowledge of things, it is to hope for that which we can not see. We can expect that we will never have doubts or confusions in life, they are part of not having a "perfect knowledge of things," but we do need to persist in our hope to action
Ether 12:6 "no witness until after the trial of [my] faith" expect there to be a trial of my faith (possibly many times); choose to persist in my faith and then a witness is promised. This reminds me of the devotional "https://devotional.byuh.edu/node/332 Bread or Stones" and talks about how God is a "fourth watch God" and sometimes our faith must go through many trials before we understand His will. Also reminds me of the talk last night by Pres. Uchtdorf- you must keep knocking until the fourth floor, last door, sometimes before you get an answer.
How is my confidence linked to my faith in Jesus Christ? How can I place my confidence in Him instead of in myself? How am I manifesting/strengthenging my faith by my obedience? How is my faith being tested right now and how can I choose to follow and obey Christ in spite of that testing? When and how have I received witnesses in the past after trials of my faith? 

Mon 9/26/16
Alma 32:40-43 Miracles can not produce faith- there is no "easy way out" to develop faith besides hard work and "nourishing the word" until it brings forth fruit. The way to develop faith is always diligence and patience. *There is no short-cut to faith, so put in the effort and my faith will be strengthened.
Ether 12:12 very interesting scriptures- even God works according to our faith. How does that work? He is all the power in the world, and yet faith is the avenue by which we use our agency to follow Christ. We must choose faith and act in faith in order for God to be able to work miracles (His respect for our agency)
Moroni 10:22 "despair cometh because of iniquity" How am I despair a byproduct of iniquity? It is almost as if God is saying that it is a commandment to choose faith. If we don't choose this faith, despair will come as a byproduct.

Tues 9/27/16
Dieter F. Uchtdorf Women's Conf "So many of us give up on the first or second knock." - It takes persistent, diligence to build and gain faith. Don't give up as we are in the process of building it.
Matt 9:22 Faith is the power that "makes us whole" - how is faith related to the Atonement and healing? It takes faith to persist in seeking Christ. By faith, I can overcome weakness as I seek after Christ and act in faith.
Matt 17:20 faith even as a grain of mustard seed (small effort on our part) can do great things. What great things has faith made happen in my life?-- life as a missionary, opportunities provided me through my job, friendships, finding and marrying Samuel, having a life that I love, being financially stable and getting financial blessings with scholarships, etc.
Eph 2:8 By faith we qualify for grace. Grace is what saves us. Maybe that is why our faith is so minuscule (mustard seed) compared to the blessing we receive through grace and God's power (moving mountains). Grace is what makes that gap. 2 Nephi 25:23 "by grace we are saved after all we can do" (that is what God asks us to do to access the Atonement)
What is "all [I] can do?" --> striving every day to be perfected in Him, following the commandments, trying each day to follow the Savior and be His disciple.

Wed 9/28/16
Gospel Principle Manual- "Faith in Jesus Christ"
"Faith is a principle of action and power that motivates our day-to-day activities."
"To have faith in Jesus Christ means to have such trust in Him that we obey whatever He commands."
-we increase our faith in Christ het same way we do any other skill, work and practice at it. Spend time in the scriptures and exercising our spiritual muscles of obedience to His commandments.
Alma 34:17-26 Faith is the power by which we can pray to God about our heart's desires and all the things we deal with every day.
"Faith involves doing all we can to bring about the things we hope and pray for." - we can't expect help when we don't do our part, and all we can do. Our prayers should instead be to help us be consistent and to do our part, not for His help when we haven't done all we can.

Fri 9/29/16
Faith is Not by Chance but by Choice- Neil L. Anderson GC Oct 2015
"How does the Savior see my faith?"
"Although your beginning fire of faith may be small, righteous choices bring greater confidence in God, and your faith grows. The difficulties of mortality blow against you, and evil forces lurk in the darkness, hoping to extinguish your faith. But as you continue to make good choices, trust in God, and follow His Son, the Lord sends increased light and knowledge, and your faith becomes settled and unwavering.Although your beginning fire of faith may be small, righteous choices bring greater confidence in God, and your faith grows. The difficulties of mortality blow against you, and evil forces lurk in the darkness, hoping to extinguish your faith. But as you continue to make good choices, trust in God, and follow His Son, the Lord sends increased light and knowledge, and your faith becomes settled and unwavering." - obedience helps us to build our faith in Him; righteousness increases our ability to act in faith.
"My dear friends, your faith did not begin at birth, and it will not end at death. Faith is a choice. Strengthen your faith, and live to be deserving of the Savior’s approving words: “Great is thy faith."
-faith is the power that helps us get through the most difficult of challenges; we are never alone.