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Viewpoint: Every needful thing

In a revelation given in Kirtland, Ohio, the Saints were instructed: "And as all have not faith, seek ye diligently and teach one another words of wisdom; seek learning, even by study and also by faith" (Doctrine and Covenants 88:118). We note that the counsel to seek learning out of the best books is prefaced by the negative clause, "And as all have not faith ..." In other words, since all do not have sufficient faith to learn by any other means — that is, since they have not "matured in their religious convictions" (Harold B. Lee, in Conference Report, April 1968, 129; citing B. H. Roberts) — they are counseled to seek learning by study.

Photo by Rod Boam

Ryan and Andria Pain of the Locust Grove Ward, Meridian Idaho South Stake, study with their children. Parents can teach children to learn by teaching them about faith.

What would happen if all or some did have the requisite faith? Perhaps learning by study from the best books would then be greatly enhanced by revelation. Honest truth seekers would learn things in this way that they could not know otherwise. The Prophet Joseph Smith taught that "the best way to obtain truth and wisdom is not to ask it from books, but to go to God in prayer, and obtain divine teaching" (Teachings of the Prophet Joseph Smith, 1976, p. 191).

"Could you gaze into heaven five minutes," the Prophet declared on another occasion, "you would know more than you would by reading all that ever was written on the subject" of life after death (Teachings of the Prophet Joseph Smith, p. 324). "I believe in study," President Marion G. Romney stated. "I believe that men learn much through study. As a matter of fact, it has been my observation that they learn little concerning things as they are, as they were, or as they are to come without study. I also believe, however, and know, that learning by study is greatly accelerated by faith" (Learning for the Eternities, p. 72).

Only weeks before his death, President Harold B. Lee expressed the following to students at Brigham Young University: "The acquiring of knowledge by faith is no easy road to learning. It will demand strenuous effort and continual striving by faith. In short, learning by faith is no task for a lazy man. Someone has said, in effect, that 'such a process requires the bending of the whole soul,' the calling up from the depths of the human mind and linking the person with God." Continuing, President Lee said: "The right connection must be formed; then only comes knowledge by faith, a kind of knowledge that goes beyond secular learning, that reaches into the realms of the unknown and makes those who follow that course great in the sight of the Lord" ("Be Loyal to the Royal Within You," 1973 BYU Speeches of the Year, p. 91; citing B. H. Roberts).

Practically speaking, men and women of faith learn by faith. The Book of Mormon teaches that those who will not believe will not understand the things of God (Mosiah 25:1-4); there are many things that a cynical person, one who parades his or her skepticism and feeds their doubts regularly, will never comprehend. Some things obvious to the faithful sound like the gibberish of alien tongues to the faithless. On the other hand, one who seeks for and acquires a believing heart, a capacity and an inclination to receive the truth without hesitation or rebellion, will, like Nephi, be instructed and fortified by the Spirit and eventually gain eternal life (1 Nephi 2:16-17; Doctrine and Covenants 46:13-14). It is to such persons, those who receive the word with gladness, that the Lord grants the "greater portion of the word" (2 Nephi 28:28; Alma 12:9-11).

Persons of faith trust the Lord. When we have faith in the Lord Jesus Christ, for example, we trust Him, have confidence in Him, rely upon Him. We believe that He is "mighty to save" (2 Nephi 31:19) and that eternal life comes only to those who rely upon His merits, mercy, and grace (2 Nephi 2:8). A testimony or conviction of such matters is an evidence that we have been born again, born of God (1 John 5:1), that we have been transformed from darkness to light, from doubt and fear to certitude and peace. Because the spiritually reborn person is poignantly aware of the greatness of God and consequently his or her own nothingness without the intervention of divine grace, because such a one is humble, the Lord can write His word and His will on the human heart and can teach marvelous things. "For my Spirit is sent forth into the world to enlighten the humble and contrite" (Doctrine and Covenants 136:33; compare 104:78-80).

Men and women of faith trust the scriptures. That is, they are more than distant acquaintances with the holy word and teach often from the standard works. In 1831 the Saints were instructed to "teach the principles of my gospel, which are in the Bible and the Book of Mormon, in the which is the fulness of my gospel" (Doctrine and Covenants 42:12).

To be sure, faith comes by hearing the word of God as it is declared by the servants of God (Romans 10:17). When we read the scriptures aloud, ponder and reflect upon them, and discuss specific passages regularly in the meetings of the home or Church, the Lord pours out His Spirit upon families and classes and congregations. New insights and applications come into our minds and hearts. Further, in speaking of the blessing that comes to the teacher, Elder Bruce R. McConkie wrote: "Those who preach by the power of the Holy Ghost use the scriptures as their basic source of knowledge and doctrine. They begin with what the Lord has before revealed to other inspired men. But it is the practice of the Lord to give added knowledge to those upon whose hearts the true meanings and intents of the scriptures have been impressed. Many great doctrinal revelations come to those who preach from the scriptures. When they are in tune with the Infinite, the Lord lets them know, first, the full and complete meaning of the scriptures they are expounding, and then he ofttimes expands their views so that new truths flood in upon them, and they learn added things that those who do not follow such a course can never know" (The Promised Messiah: The First Coming of Christ, 1978, pp. 515-16).

Men and women of faith are faithful. They are dependable, consistent and steady. When they say "yes," they mean "yes." Their word is their bond. As Elder Neil L. Andersen pointed out in the April 2005 general conference, faith is much more than a feeling; it is a decision. When people come to faith — when they gain a witness of the living reality of Jesus Christ and the truthfulness of the restored gospel — it is incumbent upon them to make a decision, a deeply significant decision. God on His part has granted by revelation a witness of the truth. Our Father in heaven then expects us to act on that witness, to live the principles of the gospel, to yield our hearts to Him (since we are not our own; we have been bought with a price) (see 1 Corinthians 6:19-20; 7:23), to obey the commandments to the best of our ability, to keep ourselves unspotted from the sins of the world and to serve faithfully in whatever callings or Church assignments we may receive. Those who are thereby steadfast and immovable in the faith open themselves to divine instruction and guidance, for some, knowledge comes only through diligence and obedience (see Doctrine and Covenants 130:18-19).

Quoting President Lee again: "Learning by faith requires the bending of the whole soul through worthy living to become attuned to the Holy Spirit of the Lord, the calling up from the depths of one's own mental searching, and the linking of our own efforts to receive the true witness of the Spirit" (Conference Report, April 1971, p. 94).

Faith is thus foundational to the acquisition of divine truth, fundamental to the righteous life. Believing is seeing. Faith, a sacred gift of the Spirit that all should seek in earnest prayer (1 Corinthians 12:9; Moroni 10:11), is the key that unlocks the mysteries of godliness to members of the household of faith. Indeed, as the prophets have declared, the just shall live by faith (Habakkuk 2:4; Romans 1:17; Galatians 3:11).

Robert L. Millet is Abraham O. Smoot University Professor and Professor of Ancient Scripture at Brigham Young University.