Faith in the Lord Jesus Christ

This week's lesson was taught by our fearless leader, Kerinda. She took many of her thoughts from a conference talk by Elder Kevin W. Pearson entitled, Faith in the Lord Jesus Christ. You can find the talk here. Kerinda began by reminding us that we all need faith in Christ. She spoke of the trials we all face and talked about the fact that sometimes it is hard to stay as faithful as we would like to be. Even Elder Pearson said, "I acknowledge my own need and desire for greater faith as a disciple and witness of Christ. There has never been a greater need for faith in my own life than now."

Kerinda then had us open to our Bible Dictionaries and read the definition of faith found here. That was amazing. It is something that we all should read over and over and over. Click the link and read it now. Kerinda reminded me that sometimes I forget to use the Bible Dictionary as I should.

We then focused on the fact that, "strong faith is developed by obedience to the gospel of Jesus Christ; in other words, faith comes by righteousness...." Elder Pearson said, "As patterns of obedience develop, the specific blessings associated with obedience are realized and belief emerges. Desire, hope, and belief are forms of faith, but faith as a principle of power comes from a consistent pattern of obedient behavior and attitudes. Personal righteousness is a choice. Faith is a gift from God, and one possessed of it can receive enormous spiritual power."

We spoke of how fear and faith cannot coexist.

Elder Pearson said, "We do have a choice. We get what we focus on consistently. Because there is an opposition in all things, there are forces that erode our faith. Some are the result of Satan’s direct influence. But for others, we have no one but ourselves to blame. These stem from personal tendencies, attitudes, and habits we can learn to change. I will refer to these influences as the “Six Destructive Ds.”"

The Six Destructive Ds are:

Doubt which leads to
Discouragement which leads to
Distraction or lack of focus and reduced commitment which can lead to a lack of
Diligence which leads to
Disobedience which ultimately can lead to
Disbelief

The good news is that it does NOT have to happen that way. We have the power to choose differently.

We ended with the words to Hymn #128, When Faith Endures

I will not doubt, I will not fear.
God's love and strength are always near.
His promised gift helps me to find
An inner strength and peace of mind.
I give the Father willingly
My trust, my prayers, humility.
That fear departs when faith endures.