GBH Lesson 4

Faith and TestimonyLesson 4: 

Faith and Testimony Lesson 4

Slide3: 

I would like for a few minutes longer to speak with you about that simple but most marvelous principle spelled with two vowels and three consonants: F-A-I-T-H. I hope you won't turn me off, because if there is any one thing you and I need in this world it is faith, that dynamic, powerful, marvelous element by which, as Paul declared, the very worlds were framed (Hebrews 11:3). Faith--the kind of faith that moves one to get on his knees and plead with the Lord and then get on his feet and go to work--is an asset beyond compare, even in the acquisition of secular knowledge. I do not minimize the need for study and labor. I would add to these faith and prayer, with the sacred promise that "God shall give unto you knowledge by his Holy Spirit, yea, by the unspeakable gift of the Holy Ghost.“ “God Shall Give unto You Knowledge by His Holy Spirit”, BYU Devotional 25 September 1973

Slide5: 

I say again, as did the Apostles to Jesus, “Lord, increase our faith.” Grant us faith to look beyond the problems of the moment to the miracles of the future. Give us faith to pay our tithes and offerings and put our trust in Thee, the Almighty, to open the windows of heaven as Thou hast promised. Give us faith to do what is right and let the consequence follow. Grant us faith when storms of adversity beat us down and drive us to the ground. In seasons of sickness may our confidence wax strong in the powers of the priesthood. Lord, when we walk in the valley of the shadow of death, give us faith to smile through our tears, knowing that it is all part of the eternal plan of a loving Father, that as we cross the threshold from this life we enter another more glorious, and that through the atonement of the Son of God all shall rise from the grave and the faithful shall go on to exaltation. Father, grant us faith to follow counsel in the little things that can mean so very much. Lord, increase our faith in one another, and in ourselves, and in our capacity to do good and great things. “Lord, Increase Our Faith”, Ensign, November 1987, pp. 53-54

Slide7: 

“God Shall Give unto You Knowledge by His Holy Spirit” BYU Devotional 25 September 1973

Slide9: 

When I discuss faith, I do not mean it in an abstract sense. I mean it as a living, vital force with recognition of God as our Father and Jesus Christ as our Savior. When we accept this basic premise, there will come an acceptance of their teachings and an obedience which will bring peace and joy in this life and exaltation in the life to come. "'With All Thy Getting Get Understanding,'" Ensign, August 1988, p. 5

Slide11: 

Faith is not a theological platitude. It is a fact of life. Faith can become the very wellspring of purposeful living. There is no more compelling motivation to worthwhile endeavor than the knowledge that we are children of God, the Creator of the universe, our all-wise Heavenly Father! God expects us to do something with our lives, and he will give us help when help is sought.... We were aboard a plane some years ago flying between Honolulu and Los Angeles. It was in the days when only propeller-driven aircraft were available. About midway in the journey one of the motors stopped. There was a decrease in speed, a lowering in altitude, and a certain amount of nervousness among those aboard. The fact of the matter was that much of the power was missing, and the hazards were increased accordingly. Without that power, we could not fly high, fast, and safely. It is so with our lives when we discount the need for faith and disregard knowledge of the Lord. Passive acceptance of the Lord is not enough. Vibrant testimony comes of anxious seeking. "'With All Thy Getting Get Understanding,'" Ensign, August 1988, p. 5

Slide13: 

A witness of the Lord is not obtained by observation of the accomplishments of men. Such observation makes reasonable a belief in his birth, life, death, and resurrection. But there is needed something more than a reasonable belief. There is needed an understanding of his unique and incomparable position as the divine Redeemer and an enthusiasm for him and his message as the Son of God. That understanding and that enthusiasm are available to all who will pay the price. They are not incompatible with higher education, but they will not come only of reading philosophy. No, they come of a simpler process. The things of God are understood by the Spirit of God. So declares the word of revelation. Conference Report, April 1966, p. 86

Slide15: 

The marvelous and wonderful thing is that any individual who desires to know the truth may receive that conviction. . . . It will take study of the word of God. It will take prayer and anxious seeking of the source of all truth. It will take living the gospel, an experiment, if you please, in following the teachings. I do not hesitate to promise, because I know from personal experience, that out of all of this will come, by the power of the Holy Ghost, a conviction, a testimony, a certain knowledge. People of the world seem unable to believe it, so many of them. What they do not realize is that the things of God are understood only by the Spirit of God. There must be effort. There must be humility. There must be prayer. But the results are certain and the testimony is sure. "Faith: The Essence of True Religion," Ensign, November 1981, p. 8

Slide17: 

The gaining of a strong and secure testimony is the privilege and opportunity of every individual member of the Church.... Service in behalf of others, study, and prayer lead to faith in this work and then to knowledge of its truth. This has always been a personal pursuit, as it must always be in the future. "This Work Is Concerned with People," Ensign, May 1995, p. 53

Slide19: 

The real strength of the Church lies not in the physical facilities which we own. . . . The strength of the Church lies in the conviction carried in the hearts of its members, by the individual members of the Church. It is the privilege, it is the opportunity, it is the obligation of every Latter-day Saint to gain for himself or herself a certain knowledge that this is the work of the Almighty, that God our Eternal Father lives and watches over His children when they look to Him in faith; that Jesus is the Christ, the Son of God, the Redeemer of all mankind, who rose from the dead to become the firstfruits of them that slept. That testimony . . . is the most precious possession that any of us can hold. . . . If there are any lacking that testimony, you can get it; and you must get it. How? The Lord has said that he that doeth the will of the Father shall know of the doctrine, "whether it be of God, or whether I speak of myself." (John 7:17.) That's the way you gain a testimony. You do the will of the Father, and as certainly as you do the will of the Father you will know of the truth of the gospel, including the knowledge that Jesus is the Christ, the Son of God. St. Louis Missouri Regional Conference, 16 April 1995

Slide21: 

With all of our doing, with all of our leading, with all of our teaching, the most important thing we can do for those whom we lead is to cultivate in their hearts a living, vital, vibrant testimony and knowledge of the Son of God, Jesus Christ, the Redeemer of the world, the Author of our salvation, He who atoned for the sins of the world and opened the way of salvation and eternal life. I would hope that in all we do we would somehow constantly nourish the testimony of our people concerning the Savior. I am satisfied, I know it's so, that whenever a man has a true witness in his heart of the living reality of the Lord Jesus Christ all else will come together as it should. . . . That is the root from which all virtue springs among those who call themselves Latter-day Saints. BYU Married Student Stakes Regional Conference, priesthood leadership session, 10 February 1996

Slide23: 

I want to bear you my testimony. I know that God our Eternal Father lives. I know that. I know that He watches over us, His children. He is the great God of the universe. He is the Governor of the universe. And yet He listens to each of us, His children, and how thankful we ought to be. I know that Jesus is the Christ, the Redeemer of the world, He who wrought a great Atonement in behalf of each of us. I do not care what you remember from this meeting, but I hope that you will remember this, that you heard Gordon B. Hinckley say that he knows that God lives and that Jesus is the Christ, the Redeemer of the world, and that they appeared to the boy Joseph Smith, that the Book of Mormon is true, that the priesthood is upon the earth, and that we exercise it in behalf of the sons and daughters of God. That is my testimony and it is as real and as true as the sunrise in the morning. Panama City Panama Fireside, 20 January 1997