Elder Neil L. Andersen
This talk inspired me to really work on increasing my own faith. It's my choice. I can choose to not doubt or question God's plan for me, but to obey promptings and remember that God is in control.
"Strength in our trials is always found in . . .our Lord, Jesus Christ. . ."
My Favorite quotes from this talk:
"How does the Savior see my faith"?
"Faith is a choice. Strengthen your faith and live to be deserving of the Savior's approving words: 'Great is thy faith'."
"Faith does not fall upon us by chance or stay with us by birthright. . . Faith in Jesus Christ is a gift from heaven that comes as we choose to believe and as we seek it and hold on to it.
YOUR FAITH IS EITHER GROWING STRONGER OR BECOMING WEAKER.
The future of your faith is not by chance but by choice".
Faith doesn't just come to us. We have to seek it and work hard to keep it.
It also is never at a standstill. It's either growing stronger or weaker. It's our choice.
"Because there is an adversary who delights in destroying your faith, BE RELENTLESS in protecting your faith".
Relentless = constant, continual, nonstop, incessant. We have to protect our faith. Satan wants us to stop believing. He wants us to give up hope. When we feel ourselves beginning to doubt, we must turn to our Savior for help.
"Immersing oneself in persistent doubt, fueled by answers from the faithless and the unfaithful, weaken one's faith".
I have a friend who's missionary son was wanting -begging- to come home. This made her feel like a failure and she began doubting her ability as a mother. Her first thoughts were to Google "What to do if your missionary wants to come home." She grabbed her phone to do so, when the Spirit whispered to her, "You don't need Google, you need God. Heavenly Father knows what's best for you and for your son, Google doesn't."
She put down her phone, and got on her knees instead. After praying several times about this situation, the Spirit prompted her to have him checked for depression (something that ran in the family)- which he was suffering from. She also had the impression that he was suffering from sleep apnea and she should send him a cpap machine. Between the medication and the cpap, he's feeling like himself and loves his mission. In fact, this past week he wrecked while going super fast on his bicycle. He injured one of his fingers pretty bad. He wrote home saying that he was not coming home. If he had to amputate his finger in order to stay on his mission, he would come home with one less finger.
Don't weaken your faith by looking for answers from the wrong source. On that note, Elder Andersen said:
"Faith never demands an answer to every question but seeks the assurance and courage to move forward, sometimes acknowledging, 'I don't know everything, but I do know enough to continue on the path of discipleship'".
He also listed a few ways we can GROW OUR FAITH.
My Favorite quotes from this talk:
"How does the Savior see my faith"?
"Faith is a choice. Strengthen your faith and live to be deserving of the Savior's approving words: 'Great is thy faith'."
"Faith does not fall upon us by chance or stay with us by birthright. . . Faith in Jesus Christ is a gift from heaven that comes as we choose to believe and as we seek it and hold on to it.
YOUR FAITH IS EITHER GROWING STRONGER OR BECOMING WEAKER.
The future of your faith is not by chance but by choice".
Faith doesn't just come to us. We have to seek it and work hard to keep it.
It also is never at a standstill. It's either growing stronger or weaker. It's our choice.
"Because there is an adversary who delights in destroying your faith, BE RELENTLESS in protecting your faith".
Relentless = constant, continual, nonstop, incessant. We have to protect our faith. Satan wants us to stop believing. He wants us to give up hope. When we feel ourselves beginning to doubt, we must turn to our Savior for help.
"Immersing oneself in persistent doubt, fueled by answers from the faithless and the unfaithful, weaken one's faith".
I have a friend who's missionary son was wanting -begging- to come home. This made her feel like a failure and she began doubting her ability as a mother. Her first thoughts were to Google "What to do if your missionary wants to come home." She grabbed her phone to do so, when the Spirit whispered to her, "You don't need Google, you need God. Heavenly Father knows what's best for you and for your son, Google doesn't."
She put down her phone, and got on her knees instead. After praying several times about this situation, the Spirit prompted her to have him checked for depression (something that ran in the family)- which he was suffering from. She also had the impression that he was suffering from sleep apnea and she should send him a cpap machine. Between the medication and the cpap, he's feeling like himself and loves his mission. In fact, this past week he wrecked while going super fast on his bicycle. He injured one of his fingers pretty bad. He wrote home saying that he was not coming home. If he had to amputate his finger in order to stay on his mission, he would come home with one less finger.
Don't weaken your faith by looking for answers from the wrong source. On that note, Elder Andersen said:
"Faith never demands an answer to every question but seeks the assurance and courage to move forward, sometimes acknowledging, 'I don't know everything, but I do know enough to continue on the path of discipleship'".
He also listed a few ways we can GROW OUR FAITH.
- Read the Book of Mormon -"When was the last time you read the Book of Mormon from cover to cover? Read it again. It will increase your faith".
- Follow the Prophet
- Choose Righteously - ". . .righteous choices bring greater confidence in God, and your faith grows".
"How we live our lives increases or diminishes our faith. Prayer, obedience, honesty, purity of thought and deed, and unselfishness increase our faith. Without these, faith diminishes".