Jonny's Sacrament Meeting Talk

Faith in the Atoning Power of Jesus Christ
April 26, 2009

FAITH
In Alma 32:21, it reads, "And now as I said concerning faith—afaith is not to have a perfect knowledge of things; therefore if ye have faith ye bhope for things which are cnot seen, which are true." This teaches that faith is having hope or believing in something that can’t be seen.

In seminary this past week, Bro. Hassell was talking with us about faith. He asked us how many of us had been to Australia before, and no one had. Even though we had never seen Australia, did we really know it was there? He asked us how we knew this and we responded that we knew it was there because it is on the map. He related this to our faith in Jesus Christ reminding us that the scriptures are our map to Jesus Christ

In the fourth article of faith we learn that faith in the Lord Jesus Christ is the first principle of the gospel. Having hope in and belief in our Savior Jesus Christ is the foundation of the principles and ordinances and of our testimony of the gospel. Alma teaches us how to increase our faith. In Alma 32:27, he teaches, “But behold, if ye will awake and arouse your faculties, even to an experiment upon my words, and exercise a particle of faith, yea, even if ye can no more than adesire to believe, let this desire work in you, even until ye believe in a manner that ye can give place for a portion of my words.” He then compares this to a seed. As we plant a seed of faith in our hearts, if it is a good seed, and we nourish it with the word of God, it will start to swell and grow within our hearts to eventually become a perfect knowledge.

ATONING POWER OF JESUS CHRIST
The atoning sacrifice can have great power in our lives. Jesus Christ was chosen in the pre-existence to be our Savior, because he was the only begotten son and followed God’s plan. He was a son of our Heavenly Father and a son of Mary so he was partly immortal and partly mortal, therefore he could suffer enormous pain and choose to die, and to be resurrected. Through Christ’s atoning sacrifice, we can be forgiven of our sins, conquer death, and return to live with our Father in Heaven.

This mortal life requires that we live by faith. The scriptures contain many examples of people who showed us how to do this. Like those great men and women in the scriptures, we seek by faith to understand and follow Heavenly Father’s plan in faith. When we center our faith in Jesus Christ, we gain strength to endure trials and temptations and are able to make spiritual progress toward our heavenly home. Through the power of the atonement we can find happiness in this life and the life to come.

Nephi applied this knowledge to his life. I like the way Elder Cecil O. Samuelson taught this: "Among the many things I admire about Nephi was his attitude. His life was not easy, particularly when compared with the comfort most of us take for granted today. Nephi and his family lived for years in the wilderness before arriving in the promised land. They suffered periods of hunger, thirst, and danger. Nephi had to deal with serious family problems exacerbated by Laman and Lemuel, finally separating himself, with his followers, from those who sided with Laman and Lemuel.

"In the face of all these privations and difficulties, Nephi was able to say, “It came to pass that we lived after the manner of happiness” (2 Nephi 5:27).

"He understood that there is a pattern for living that results in happiness, independent of the difficulties, challenges, and disappointments that come into all of our lives. He was able to focus on the big picture of God’s plan for him and his people and was thus able to avoid being brought down by his frustrations or by the accurate observation that life is not fair. It isn’t fair, but he and his people were happy nevertheless. They understood that an Atonement would take place, and they had confidence that it would include them."

CONCLUSION
Alma concludes teaching about his experiment by saying, "Then, my brethren, ye shall areap the brewards of your faith, and your diligence, and patience, and long-suffering, waiting for the tree to bring forth cfruit unto you." Each of us will face trials and tribulations throughout this life. Through our faith in the power of the atonement, we can focus on the big picture of God’s plan to help us avoid being brought down by frustrations.

I know that as I have been faced with trials in my life, through my faith in Jesus Christ and his atonement, I have made it through. I hope that each of us can do as Nephi did and persevere to the end and be able to say, “I have lived after the manner of happiness.”