Faith & Testimony

In Chapter 21, Faith and Testimony, Howard W. Hunter teaches, “The supreme achievement of life is to find God and to know that He lives.” In a world that has turned so far away from God, this can be very difficult, even for those who truly desire to find and know. That was quite evident to me during church this past Sunday. I was out of town and had the pleasure of attending church in Vancouver. Having studied this lesson for the past couple of weeks, several of the testimonies that were borne really impressed me. Two of those shared were men who have testimonies of the truthfulness of the gospel and of the reality of a loving Heavenly Father but who have struggled with Church activity and keeping the commandments. One shared his testimony because he wanted his children to know that he knew that Joseph Smith was a prophet of God and the Church was true even though he struggled every day to live it. The other man had recently been released from prison. Though it was difficult to understand much of what he was saying, through his sobs, he quietly shared his testimony of the reality of a loving Heavenly Father. After the meeting, my son shook this man’s hand and thanked him for his testimony. With a broad smile he said, “Thank you! I’m Brother Jones.” (not his real name) It was clear to see that he desired so much to be part of the gospel and the Church! It was his actions, not his faith or testimony, that precluded him from the things he desired.

President Hunter reminds us that “we do not get things of value unless we are willing to pay a price. In order for an individual to obtain unwavering knowledge of the reality of God, he must live the commandments and the doctrines. … Merely saying, accepting, believing are not enough. They are incomplete until that which they imply is translated into the dynamic action of daily living. This, then, is the finest source of personal testimony.”

Faith and testimony do nothing for us if we fail to act on what we believe. When we put our faith and testimony into action, we become converted to the gospel. Bonnie L. Oscarson taught, “Conversion to gospel principles comes through righteously living the principles of the gospel and being true to our covenants with the Lord. … True conversion is more than merely having a knowledge of gospel principles and implies even more than just having a testimony of those principles. It is possible to have a testimony of the gospel without living it. Being truly converted means we are acting upon what we believe and allowing it to create ‘a mighty change in us, or in our hearts.’ … True conversion occurs as you continue to act upon the doctrines you know are true and keep the commandments, day after day, month after month.”1

President Hunter said, “The most powerful force in human nature is the spiritual power of faith.” Joseph B. Wirthlin said something very similar, “Truly understood and properly practiced, faith is one of the grand and glorious powers of eternity. It is a force powerful beyond our comprehension.”2 I believe that “mighty change in us, or in our hearts” comes as a result of the spiritual power of faith. It is also the spiritual power of faith that enables us to believe what we cannot see.

Using Jesus’ apostle Thomas to teach us an incredible lesson on faith, President Hunter said, “Faith does not take precedence over doubt when one must feel or see to believe. Thomas was not willing to stand on faith. He wanted positive evidence of the facts. He wanted knowledge, not faith. Knowledge is related to the past because our experiences of the past are those things which give us knowledge, but faith is related to the future – to the unknown where we have not yet walked.”

Contrasting Thomas to the blind man who was healed by the Savior, President Hunter continued, “Jesus spat on the ground and made clay of the spittle mixed with the dust of the earth. He anointed the eyes of the blind man with the clay and told him to go wash in the pool of Siloam. If this had been Thomas, would he have gone as he had been commanded or would he have asked the question: ‘What good can come from washing in the stagnant waters of that dirty pool?’ or ‘What medicinal properties are there in saliva mixed with the dust of the earth?’ These would seem to be reasonable questions, but if the blind man had doubted and questioned, he would still be blind. Having faith, he believed and did as he was directed. He went and washed in the pool and came back seeing. To believe is to see.”

President Hunter’s comment that “if the blind man had doubted and questioned, he would still be blind” is something that should strike a chord in us. I don’t believe we are being told not to have honest questions. But I do believe we are being told to have faith. Clearly at one point Thomas had faith! He had left life as he had known it to follow Jesus. He witnessed the Savior’s ministry and miracles. On the eve of His crucifixion, Jesus told His apostles “I will see you again, and your heart shall rejoice, and your joy no man taketh from you.”3 However, when Thomas was not with the other apostles when the resurrected Savior returned, it seems that he, at least momentarily, lost his faith and wanted proof. When we choose to believe, as did the blind man, Dieter F. Uchtdorf reminds us “we open our spiritual eyes to splendors we can scarcely imagine. Thus our belief and faith will grow stronger, and we will see even more.”4

Elder Wirthlin said, “Faith is not so much something we believe; faith is something we live.”2 We live by faith as we "daily practice the principles of the restored gospel of Jesus Christ and live true to God's commandments."4 When our actions are consistent with our faith and testimony, we are able to heed President Ucthdorf’s challenge to “live as believers in a world of disbelief.”4