The topic assigned to me is “exercising faith in Jesus Christ,”. Your attendance at this leadership session, on Saturday afternoon, shows you are exercising faith. My husband suggested the topic may have been assigned for my benefit. IN any case, my prayer is that the Holy Ghost will teach all of us how we can exercise greater faith in Jesus Christ in our personal lives and in our callings. 

I am excited for this year’s Come Follow Me study in the Book of Mormon. The Book of Mormon gives us many amazing examples of people exercising faith in Jesus Christ, such as Lehi. Lehi’s dream is fascinating not only for its symbolism and imagery but because, as Elder Boyd K. Packer taught, “all of us are in it.”

A returning friend we taught on our mission was deeply affected by the imagery of the Tree of Life vision He recognized himself in the dream. Whenever we asked him how he was doing, he would report he was firmly holding on to the iron rod.

In Alma, chapter 32, we learn about experimenting upon the word, exercising just a particle of faith and nurturing that faith, until eventually good fruit grows, and becomes delicious to us. What a powerful yet simple analogy of growing in faith, so clearly given, even children can understand. 

You are familiar with this statement given by Pres. Nelson:  “My dear brothers and sisters, I promise as you prayerfully study the Book of Mormon every day, you will make better decisions—every day. I promise as you ponder what you study, the windows of heaven will open, and you will receive answers to your own questions and direction for your own life. I promise as you daily immerse yourself in the Book of Mormon, you can be immunized against the evils of the day, even the gripping plague of pornography and other mind-numbing addictions”

I have witnessed Pres. Nelson’s promise be fulfilled. As Brother Facer and I were serving our mission in Eastern Oregon, we were blessed to meet and teach a returning member who had been away from the Church for over 40 years. We invited him to start reading the Book of Mormon. He told us he wasn’t much of a reader, and politely declined. Bro. Facer ordered a set of Book of Mormon audio CD’s from Ebay, and gave them to our friend. He told us he would listen while doing his daily morning routine. He started to really enjoy listening to them. We asked him what he was getting from listening to the Book of Mormon. He said the book is telling him, to “repent, repent, repent.” You can imagine our joy in hearing his heart was softening, and he was feeling the need to repent and change. This good man’s desire for a closer relationship with God increased, and he began to exercise faith in the Atonement of Jesus Christ. He wanted to become worthy to partake of the Sacrament, so he set a goal to quit smoking, and to quit drinking coffee and alcohol, relying on the his faith to be successful this time. He quit cold turkey, recognizing the Lord’s hand in taking away his dependance on these substances that had been such a big part of his life. Brother Facer and I attribute his success to the power found in studying the Book of Mormon. We witnessed his faith in Jesus Christ grow from a small seed to a beautiful fruitful tree.

“Faith is the power that enables the unlikely to accomplish the impossible”

Fast forward 18 months, our dear friend has discovered he does like reading after all, and has taken up a serious study of the Scriptures. He has read the Book of Mormon 4 times, the Bible, Old and New Testament, two times, and the Doctrine and Covenants and the Pearl of Great Price two times. He attends Church weekly, teaches Primary, has a ministering assignment, and has returned to the temple. He is a great example of the promises given to us from our Prophet, regarding daily reading of the Book of Mormon.

President Nelson asks: 

“ What would you do if you had more faith? Think about it. Write about it. Then receive more faith by doing something that requires more faith. “ end quote.

Elder Carl B. Cook, gave a general conference talk in April 2022, where he shared an experience he had as a new area authority, and was given his first assignment to preside over a Stake Conference. Pres. Boyd K Packer asked to accompany Elder Cook to the Stake conference. You remember the spiritual training Elder Cook received from Elder Packer as he was asked to spontaneously speak by the Spirit three times in the leadership session, and three times in the Adult Session, thankfully only once on Sunday. The complete reliance on the Spirit to fulfill this assignment was exhausting and required exercising more faith.  I love the take away Elder Cook shares from this experience:

“Do you know what I am grateful for? That I didn’t give up—or resist. If I had given in to my desperate desire to escape from those meetings, I would have missed an opportunity to increase my faith and receive a rich outpouring of love and support from my Heavenly Father. I learned of His mercy, the miraculous enabling power of Jesus Christ and His Atonement, and the powerful influence of the Holy Ghost. In spite of my weakness,16 I learned that I can serve; I can contribute when the Lord is by my side if I just keep going—with faith.”

I was talking to a seminary teacher, who was feeling discouraged with the way things were going in his seminary class. In fact, he was wondering if he needed to be released from his calling, worried the students deserved a teacher who could connect with them better, and provide a more rewarding Seminary experience. He shared with me the Spirit had been nudging him to exercise more faith in his calling, as well as in his personal life. As he exercised more faith, the Spirit told him some specific practices he could try in his class to help the students take charge of their own learning experience at Seminary. This Brother felt prompted to ponder through out the day, the verses he had studied, and write more consistently in his study journal, and to keep going, keep exercising more faith.

My guess is, we all have been given callings in the church that seem intimidating and  overwhelming. You may be serving in a calling right now, that requires you to exercise more faith. 1 Nephi 7 says: “how is it ye have forgotten that the Lord is able to do all things according to his will for the children of men, if it so be that they exercise faith in him?”. Elder Uchtdorf says: “there will be days and nights … when your hearts are heavy and your heads hang down.. Please remember, Jesus Christ, … is the Head of this Church. It is His gospel. He wants you to succeed. He gave His life for just this purpose.”

All of us have one church calling in common, and that is to be ministers. The invitation to minister to others is an opportunity to build caring relationships with them -the kind of relationship that would make them comfortable asking for or accepting our help. Part of our responsibility as ministers is to help them continue to grow in their gospel learning and practice.

One thing Bro. Facer and I did on our mission, is we invited single members, recent converts and returning members to our home, for food and Come Follow Me study. Many times these folks don’t have others to study Come Follow Me with, and appreciate sharing insights with someone else. They  need our help implementing regular scripture study, as well as figuring out how to make personal applications from the scriptures. We had many wonderful study sessions with our brothers and sisters, as we learned together from the Scriptures. Our relationships were strengthened. “Wherefore, he that preacheth and he that receiveth, understand one another, and both are edified and rejoice together” (D&C 50)

Alma 31:5 says  the apreaching of the bword had a great tendency to clead the people to do that which was just—yea, it had a more powerful effect upon the minds of the people than… anything else, …—therefore Alma thought it was expedient that they should try the virtue of the word of God.”

Try sharing the word of God, with your ministering brothers and sisters. Send a text, or even better, visit in person and talk about your recent insights from the Book of Mormon. Bear testimony to them. Give the Holy Ghost an opportunity to bear witness of truth. I know the Lord will help you. It will require effort, even boldness, but as you exercise faith, you will be blessed to know what to do and say that can strengthen the faith of your dear ministering brothers and sisters. Elder Gene R. Cook stated, “ significant spiritual guidance most often comes when we are trying to bless others in fulfilling our responsibilities.”

Please seek spiritual guidance to know how you can help those you minister to, exercise more faith in their lives. Share your ministering ideas and experiences in your presidency meetings and counsels. You are a great resource for each other.

I want to thank you for all the good you do for so many in our stake. And leave you with my testimony that God lives, and wants to bless us, as we continue to exercise faith in Him, and His Son.