How to: Grow Your Faith

What is Faith?

To have faith is to “hope for things which are not seen, which are true” (Alma 32:21 & Hebrews 11:1). Each day we act upon or we hope for things, such as the sun rising every day, even before you see it outside your window. This is similar to faith.

Faith in God is more than a theoretical belief in Him. Having faith in God means that you are putting your trust & confidence in Him. But "faith without works is dead" (James 2:26) and you must be willing to act on your belief in Him. Faith is a principle of action and power.

The Book of Mormon prophet Alma compared faith to a seed. If you plant a seed and give it water and a place in the sun, tending to it on a regular basis, it will eventually grow into something beautiful (Alma 32:28-43). It is the same with faith. If you are obedient to God’s commandments, study His word, and have a desire to believe in Christ, and you do so as often as possible, your faith will grow into something magnificent and strong. 

Why is it necessary?

Faith is another word for commitment. When assessing one's own faithfulness, it may be easier to ask, "How committed am I?" Faith is necessary because it helps you gauge where you are in fulfilling your commitments (dare I say covenants?) that you've made to and with your Heavenly Father. It makes you look at how you've grown as a spiritual being. Are you progressing?....or are you stuck in limbo?... not moving forward or backward. Faith is important because it connects you to God. How are you supposed to move closer to Him if you lose sight of or fail to nourish the faith that is inside of you? 

Do I have faith?

Do you have faith? I can't answer that. My advice, find out for yourself. Faith is an often misunderstood word in today's world. Faith is a verb, an action word. When you believe in something you don't see, but you hope for it, and you do all that you can to reach it, you can obtain it. It's simple. if there is no action, than there cannot be a reaction (if you don't believe me check out Newton's law of physics...and also the scriptures). If you believe in Christ and act on that belief, doing all in your power to discover this for yourself, you will find an answer. 

Some suggestions on how to grow your faith: 

Pray. Prayer can be very effective when done with sincerity. If you don't know if you have faith, ask God to plant it in your heart. Just by taking this simple step you have exhibited that you in some way, shape, or form, have at least a particle of faith. 

Read your scriptures. Whether you read the Bible or The Book of Mormon, both hold great treasures of knowledge and light. The same thing applies here as it does with prayer; if done with sincerity and a desire to draw closer to God and increase personal faith, I promise you that you won't be disappointed. 

and finally...

Trust in Him. God loves you. He has been waiting for you to move in His direction. Once you take those steps.... He will happily lead you in the right direction. Just trust Him to do so.