"DEVELOPING FAITH IN CHRIST"
By Elder Merrill J. Bateman
A presentation
given
by assignment to the Quorum of the Twelve, which met with such
approval
that Elder Bateman was directed to put it in writing and it was
distributed
to all Stake Presidents in the Utah North Area.
The Faith Process: The development
of faith in Christ is a process whereby a person builds a
relationship of trust in and loyalty
to the Savior. In order for faith to develop, the individual is
required to act on certain principles
and the Savior, in turn, rewards the obedient with a spiritual
confirmation of his or her actions.
In the New Testament, the word "faith" is translated from a
Greek word (pistis) which is defined
as "a mutual trust and loyalty between two parties based on a
covenant or contract backed up by
collateral." The Father is willing to enter into a gospel covenant
with His children and reward them
with immortality and eternal life if they abide the covenant.
Those who are obedient to the
covenant
through their acts of faith are rewarded on occasion by
witnesses of the Spirit. The works
of faith by an individual represent his collateral to the Lord. The
Father's earnest money is the
spiritual
witness He provides which is also guaranteed or sealed by
the sacrifice of His only begotten
Son (Ephesians 1:13-14, Enos 1:5-8, 1 Peter 1:3-5). The
witness of the Holy Ghost comes as
an acceptance of the person's works of faith--after the trial of
one's faith (Ether 12:5). This
reciprocal
process of exchanging collateral (works of faith for a
witness of the Spirit) takes place
at various stages of growth and is the process by which one's
faith and confidence increase until
he or she arrives at a perfect knowledge (James 2:22,
Ephesians 3:14-19). Many Levels of
Faith: Although there are probably as many levels of faith in
the development process as there
are individuals, it is possible from the scriptures to define at
least four stages of faith in Christ
and the gospel plan. The first stage is that of the investigator.
The second occurs when one has a
testimony but is still in the early stages of growth. A third
stage may be described by "full
conversion
and esceeding faith in Christ's sanctifying power": and
the fourth stage occurs when one's
calling and election is made sure.
Steps in the Development Process:
There are three key steps within each level of faith. Each
stage begins with a hope or belief
that something is true. The second step is action by the
individual reflecting a willingness
to believe and live the truth--(obedience to new principles or
higher levels of obedience to
principles
previously known); and the third is a "confirmation" or
witness of the Spirit, i.e. a person
partaking of one or more fruits of the Spirit (Galations 5:22-23).
Spiritual confirmations must then
lead to further faithful acts or the individual will lose what he or
she has received (2 Nephi 28:29-30,
3 Nephi 26:9). An illustration of the process is described
below.
The First Stage--Faith as Hope:
Faith
begins with hope and matures through righteousness. Alma
32:26-30 describes the process that
an investigator of the gospel goes through in finding sacred
truths. It begins with a "desire
to believe." The second step is a willingness to "experiment upon
my words." The experiment is to read
the Book of Mormon; to fast and pray about the truthfulness
of the restoration; to attend church;
to "exercise a particle of faith"; to "give place for a portion of
my words." If the investigator
pursues
this course with an honest heart, he or she begins to feel a
swelling in the bosom, their
understanding
begins to be enlightened. The investigator must then
act on the witness by participating
in the ordinances and covenants of baptism and confirmation.
The Second Stage--Faith as a Combination of Belief and Knowledge:
The second stage is reached when
one
receives a testimony of the gospel and conversion has
taken place. The witness of the
Spirit
in the first stage provides knowledge of the truthfulness of
the Book of Mormon and the
restoration
of the gospel. When acted upon, this knowledge
becomes mixed with belief in
additional
truths. The first experiment enlarges the soul, produces a
more sure hope, and causes the
individual
to desire more truth. The spiritual witness is an anchor
for the soul and leads the person
to "abound in good works" (Ether 12:4). The works of faith are
then followed by spiritual
confirmations.
The seed swelleth and sprouteth and beginneth to grow
as the person's awareness and
possession
of truth increase through dilligence and obedience
(D&C 130:20-21). Additional
commitments
are made through priesthood and temple ordinances.
The Third Stage--Exceeding Faith
in
Christ's Redeeming Power: As the person abounds in good
works, his knowledge and assurance
of things not seen bring him to a "perfect brightness of
hope" in Christ's atonement for his
soul (2 Nephi 31:20, Ether 12: 32, Mosiah 4:1-4). With a
broken heart and a contrite spirit,
he pleads for mercy and the application of Christ's atoning
blood. Through the Spirit of the
Lord, he is filled with joy, as he receives a remission of sins. He
has peace of conscience because of
his exceeding faith in Christ and because his life conforms
to gospel principles. He or she is
willing to do whatever God asks, to sacrifice all things (Joseph
Smith, Lectures on Faith, 6:7). The
trust between the Lord and the person reaches a level where
"miracles are wrought by faith" and
"angels appear" (Ether 12:16, Moroni 7:37). He is filled with
charity towards all men, his thoughts
become unceasingly virtuous, and his confidence waxes
strong in the presence of the Lord
(D&C 121:45). Nephi, the son of Helaman, was so unwearying
in his faithfulness that the Lord
could say, "...I will make thee mighty in word and in deed, in faith
and in works; yea, even that all
things shall be done unto thee according to thy word, for thou shalt
not ask that which is contrary to
my will" (Helaman 10:4-5; see also Moroni 7:26). One's life
exemplifies the higher covenants
of the temple.
The Fourth Stage--Fullness of All
Things: Finally, there comes a time when the person's
confidence and faith are so strong
that he cannot be kept from within the veil, but sees the things
which he had beheld earlier with
an eye of faith (Ether 12:19). In the words of Peter, the person
becomes a partaker of the divine
nature through faith, dilligence, patience, virtue, knowledge,
temperance, godliness and by entering
into covenants and ordinances. The person receives great
and precious promises (2 Peter
1:3-10).
As Joseph Smith said, "When the Lord has thoroughly
proved him, and finds that the man
is determined to serve him at all hazards, then the man will find
his calling and election made sure.
Then it will be his privilege to receive the other Comforter."
(Joseph Smith, Teachings, p. 150).
With Nephi he can say, "I glory in plainness; I glory in truth; I
glory in my Jesus, for he hath
redeemed
my soul from hell" (2 Nephi 33:6).