The Atonement of the Lord Jesus Christ is the heart and core and center of revealed religion.

Elder Bruce R. McConkie Christ and the Creation

Saving Faith

September 30, 2011

Faith, General Authorities, McConkie

(No comments)

But working by faith is not the mere speaking of a few well-chosen words; anyone with the power of speech could have commanded the rotting corpse of Lazarus to come forth, but only one whose power was greater than death could bring life again to the brother of Mary and Martha. Nor is working by faith merely a mental desire, however strong, that some eventuality should occur. There may be those whose mental powers and thought processes are greater than any of the saints, but only persons who are in tune with the Infinite can exercise the spiritual forces and powers that come from him.

Those who work by faith must first have faith; no one can use a power that he does not possess, and the faith or power must be gained by obedience to those laws upon which its receipt is predicated. . . . And then–when the day is at hand and the hour has arrived for the miracle to be wrought–then they must be in tune with the Holy Spirit of God. He who is the Author of faith, he whose power faith is, he whose works are the embodiment of justice and judgment and wisdom and all good things, even he must approve the use of his power in the case at hand. Faith cannot be exercised contrary to the order of heaven or contrary to the will and purposes of him whose power it is. Men work by faith when they are in tune with the Spirit and when what they seek to do by mental exertion and by the spoken word is the mind and will of the Lord.

Elder Bruce R. McConkie
A New Witness for the Articles of Faith, pp. 191-192

My Thoughts are not Your Thoughts

September 25, 2011

Faith, Humility, I Need Thee Every Hour, Vandagriff

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Sometimes my world seems to be a billiards table where I am a billiard ball. When I am at rest, I can look around and view my life circumstances clearly. I can see other balls on the table, some close to me and others farther away. Because of my position on the table, there are also billiard balls I cannot see because my vision is blocked by intervening balls.

When the pool cue strikes me, I begin to move in a straight line. I can look ahead and predict where that straight line will take me and my future seems very clear. Then I hit something, a glancing strike against another billiard ball that slightly alters my path. Next, my changed course sends me into a cushion that bounces me off in an entirely different direction than I supposed I was traveling. As I keep striking balls and cushions, my journey becomes more and more confusing, less and less what I thought it would be. When I finally come to rest, I am at a location far removed from where I thought I would end up.

There is, of course, another perspective on the billiards table, one much different from mine—high above the table looking down. The difference in perspective is profound. A bank shot looks and feels much different to the billiard ball than it does to the billiards player.

Speaking to Isaiah, the Lord said, “For my thoughts are not your thoughts, neither are your ways my ways” (Isaiah 55:7)

David P. Vandagriff

I Need Thee Every Hour – Applying the Atonement in Everyday Life

Part of the Sacrifice the Lord May Require

June 20, 2011

Faith, General Authorities, Hafen, Sacrifice, Tests

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[P]art of the sacrifice the Lord may require is that we accept what He may inflict upon us without understanding to our rational satisfaction why we should be lost in some dark night of the soul. Eventually the light of Christ’s atoning power can pierce our darkness and bless us with understanding, but we may receive no such witness until after the trial of our faith.

Elder Bruce C. Hafen
Reason, Faith, and the Things of Eternity, FARMS Review: Volume 20, Issue 2, Pages: 15-35

Regarding the debate about faith and works

May 6, 2011

C.S. Lewis, Faith, Works

(No comments)

Regarding the debate about faith and works: It’s like asking which blade in a pair of scissors is most important.

C.S. Lewis
Joyful Christian, page 135

Faith is Not Only a Feeling. It is a Decision.

April 30, 2011

Andersen, Faith, General Authorities, General Conference

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Faith is not only a feeling; it is a decision. With prayer, study, obedience, and covenants, we build and fortify our faith. Our conviction of the Savior and His latter-day work becomes the powerful lens through which we judge all else. Then, as we find ourselves in the crucible of life, . . . we have the strength to take the right course.

Elder Neil L. Anderson
It’s True, Isn’t It? Then What Else Matters?, General Conference, April, 2007

Waiting on the Road to Damascus

April 9, 2011

Adversity, Faith, General Authorities, General Conference, Uchtdorf

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One dear sister had been a faithful member of the Church all her life. But she carried a personal sorrow. Years before, her daughter had died after a short illness, and the wounds from this tragedy still haunted her. She agonized over the profound questions that accompany an event such as this. She frankly admitted that her testimony wasn’t what it used to be. She felt that unless the heavens parted for her, she would never be able to believe again.

So she found herself waiting.

There are many others who, for different reasons, find themselves waiting on the road to Damascus. They delay becoming fully engaged as disciples. They hope to receive the priesthood but hesitate to live worthy of that privilege. They desire to enter the temple but delay the final act of faith to qualify. They remain waiting for the Christ to be given to them like a magnificent Carl Bloch painting—to remove once and for all their doubts and fears.

The truth is, those who diligently seek to learn of Christ eventually will come to know Him. They will personally receive a divine portrait of the Master, although it most often comes in the form of a puzzle—one piece at a time. Each individual piece may not be easily recognizable by itself; it may not be clear how it relates to the whole. Each piece helps us to see the big picture a little more clearly. Eventually, after enough pieces have been put together, we recognize the grand beauty of it all. Then, looking back on our experience, we see that the Savior had indeed come to be with us—not all at once but quietly, gently, almost unnoticed.

This can be our experience if we move forward with faith and do not wait too long on the road to Damascus.

President Dieter F. Uchtdorf
Waiting on the Road to Damascus, General Conference, April, 2011

Why Do We Need Such Resilient Faith?

April 8, 2011

Faith, General Authorities, General Conference, Nelson

(No comments)

Why do we need such resilient faith? Because difficult days are ahead. Rarely in the future will it be easy or popular to be a faithful Latter-day Saint. Each of us will be tested. The Apostle Paul warned that in the latter-days, those who diligently follow the Lord ‘shall suffer persecution.’ That very persecution can either crush you into silent weakness, or motivate you to be more exemplary and courageous in your daily lives.

Elder Russell M. Nelson
General Conference, April 2011

Reliance upon the merciful nature of God is at the very center of the gospel Christ taught

March 23, 2011

Faith, Fundamental Principles, General Authorities, General Conference, Holland, Trust

(No comments)

This reliance upon the merciful nature of God is at the very center of the gospel Christ taught. I testify that the Savior’s Atonement lifts from us not only the burden of our sins but also the burden of our disappointments and sorrows, our heartaches and our despair. From the beginning, trust in such help was to give us both a reason and a way to improve, an incentive to lay down our burdens and take up our salvation. There can and will be plenty of difficulties in life. Nevertheless, the soul that comes unto Christ, who knows His voice and strives to do as He did, finds a strength, as the hymn says, “beyond [his] own.” The Savior reminds us that He has “graven [us] upon the palms of [His] hands.” Considering the incomprehensible cost of the Crucifixion and Atonement, I promise you He is not going to turn His back on us now. When He says to the poor in spirit, “Come unto me,” He means He knows the way out and He knows the way up. He knows it because He has walked it. He knows the way because He is the way.

Elder Jeffrey R. Holland
“Broken Things to Mend,” April 2006 General Conference)

That introductory phrase, “come unto me,” is crucial

March 22, 2011

Faith, Fundamental Principles, General Authorities, General Conference, Holland, Trust

(No comments)

In this promise, that introductory phrase, “come unto me,” is crucial. It is the key to the peace and rest we seek. Indeed, when the resurrected Savior gave His sermon at the temple to the Nephites in the New World, He began, “Blessed are the poor in spirit who come unto me, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven.” . . . .

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It seems clear that the essence of our duty and the fundamental requirement of our mortal life is captured in these brief phrases from any number of scenes in the Savior’s mortal ministry. He is saying to us, “Trust me, learn of me, do what I do. Then, when you walk where I am going,” He says, “we can talk about where you are going, and the problems you face and the troubles you have. If you will follow me, I will lead you out of darkness,” He promises. “I will give you answers to your prayers. I will give you rest to your souls.”

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Elder Jeffrey R. Holland
“Broken Things to Mend,” April 2006 General Conference

Washed Clean

March 21, 2011

Faith, General Authorities, General Conference, Packer

(No comments)

You need not know everything before the power of the Atonement will work for you. Have faith in Christ; it begins to work the day you ask.

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President Boyd K. Packer
“Washed Clean“, Ensign, May 1997, 9

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