Читать книгу Gospel Themes - Whitney Orson Ferguson - Страница 9

Faith

The First Requirement.—Faith, however, not repentance, is the first requirement. The probable reason why Peter omitted to mention faith at that time, was because he perceived that the multitude already had faith, already believed what he had told them of the crucified Redeemer. Had it been otherwise, they would not have been "pricked in their heart." and would not have anxiously inquired, "What shall we do?" Belief was the first requirement made by the Savior, through his chosen twelve, when he sent them "into all the world" to "preach the gospel to every creature" (Mark 16:16). He declared salvation dependent on faith and works: "He that believeth and is baptized shall be saved, and he that believeth not shall be damned." For faith is shown by works (James 2:18), and each is dead without the other.

The Foundation of All Righteousness.—Faith, according to the Doctrine and Covenants, is "the first principle in revealed religion, and the foundation of all righteousness." There are few things more lucid in our literature than the Lectures on Faith which form the fore part of that sacred volume—one of the four doctrinal standards of the Church; the other three being the Bible, the Book of Mormon, and the Pearl of Great Price. Beginning with the text, "Now faith is the substance [assurance] of things hoped for, the evidence of things not seen" (Heb. 11:1), the lecturer goes on to say:

The Moving Cause of All Action.—"If men were duly to consider themselves, and turn their thoughts and reflections to the operations of their own minds, they would readily discover that it is faith, and faith only, which is the moving cause of all action in them; that without it both mind and body would be in a state of inactivity, and all their exertions would cease, both physical and mental."

"Were this class to go back and reflect upon the history of their lives, from the period of their first recollection, and ask themselves what principle excited them to action, or what gave them energy and activity in all their lawful avocations, callings, and pursuits, what would be the answer? Would it not be that it was the assurance which they had of the existence of things which they had not seen as yet? Was it not the hope which you had in consequence of your belief in the existence of unseen things, which stimulated you to action and exertion in order to obtain them? Are you not dependent on your faith, or belief, for the acquisition of all knowledge, wisdom, and intelligence? Would you exert yourselves to obtain wisdom and intelligence, unless you did believe that you could obtain them? Would you have ever sown, if you had not believed that you would reap? Would you ever planted, if you had not believed that you would gather? Would you have ever asked, unless you had believed that you would receive? Would you have ever sought, unless you had believed that you would have found? Or, would have been opened unto you? In a word, is there anything that you would have done, either physical or mental, if you had not previously believed? Are not all your exertions of every kind, dependent on your faith? Or, may we not ask, what have you, or what do you possess which you have not obtained by reason of your faith? Your food, your raiment, your lodgings, are they not all by reason of your faith? Reflect, and ask yourselves if these things are not so. Turn your thoughts on your own minds, and see if faith is not the moving cause of all action in yourselves; and, if the moving cause in you, is it not in all other intelligent beings?" * * * *

A Principle of Power.—"As we receive by faith all temporal blessings that we do receive, so we in like manner receive by faith all spiritual blessings that we do receive. But faith is not only the principle of action, but of power also, in all intelligent beings, whether in heaven or on earth. Thus says the author of the epistle to the Heb. 11:3: `Through faith we understand that the worlds were framed by the word of God; so that things which are seen were not made of things which do appear.'

"Had it not been for the principle of faith the worlds would never have been framed, neither would man have been formed of the dust. It is the principle by which Jehovah works, and through which he exercises power over all temporal as well as eternal things. Take this principle or attribute—for it is an attribute—from the Deity, and he would cease to exist.

"Who cannot see, that if God framed the worlds by faith, that it is by faith that he exercises power over them, and that faith is the principle of power? And if the principle of power, must be so in man as well as in the Deity? This is the testimony of all the sacred writers, and the lesson which they have been endeavoring to teach to man. * * * *

"It was by faith that the worlds were framed. God spake, chaos heard, and worlds came into order by reason of the faith there was in him. So with man also; he spake by faith in the name of God and the sun stood still, the moon obeyed, mountains removed, prisons fell, lions' mouths were closed, the human heart lost its enmity, fire its violence, armies their power, the sword its terror, and death its dominion; and all this by reason of the faith which was in him.

"Had it not been for the faith which was in men, they might have spoken to the sun, the moon, the mountains, prisons, the human heart, fire, armies, the sword, or to death, in vain!

"Faith, then, is the first great governing principle which has power, dominion, and authority over all things; by it they exist, by it they remain, agreeable to the will of God. Without it there is no power, and without power there could be no creation nor existence!"

A Negative Opinion.—A Christian minister (a Unitarian) once tried to convince me that faith was anything but an admirable quality. He called it contemptible, declaring that it consisted simply of a willingness to believe anything, however improbable or absurd: it was mere credulity, nothing more. When I spoke of faith as a spiritual force, he said I was attaching to the term a significance that it had never borne, and for which there was no warrant. I reminded him of the Savior's words in Matt. 17:19,20: "If ye have faith as a grain of mustard seed, ye shall say unto this mountain, remove hence to yonder place, and it shall remove; and nothing shall be impossible unto you." Whereupon he answered flippantly: "Oh, it takes picks and shovels to move mountains."

The Positive View.—I presume he would have conceded, had I pursued the subject further, that there are other ways of removing mountains. I fancy he would have admitted the power of the earthquake in the premises; though he might not have agreed with me that all intelligent action, human or divine, is the result of faith, and that whether mountains are moved with pick-axes or with earthquakes, by man or by his Maker, it is faith that precedes the action and renders it possible. This professed minister of Christ, who denied what Christ had taught, overlooked the fact that the smallest as well as the greatest acts of our lives spring from the exercise of faith.

Faith Fundamental.—God made faith the first principle of the gospel, because that is its proper place. It is the bottom round in the ladder of salvation, the first step in the stairway to perfection. "All things are possible to them that believe."

"As a Grain of Mustard Seed."—When the Savior spoke of the faith that "removes mountains," he was not measuring, either satirically or hyperbolically, the quantity of the faith by the size of the mustard seed. He probably meant that if man would obey the divine law given for his government, as faithfully as the mustard seed obeys the divine law given for its government, he would have infinitely more power than he now possesses. How difficult it seems for man, "the noblest work of God," to live in obedience to the highest principles revealed from heaven for his guidance. Yet the earth, we are told, "abideth the law of a celestial kingdom, for it filleth the measure of its creation, and transgresseth not the law" (D&C 88:25).

Faith and Credulity.—Faith, in its incipient stages, may resemble at times mere credulity. The untutored savage who was told by one of the early settlers of New England that if he planted grass seed it would produce gunpowder, believed it, not yet having learned that the white man would lie. He therefore parted with his valuable furs, in exchange for some of the seed, showing that he had faith in the settler's word. But it did not bring the desired result. Faith, to be effectual, must be based upon truth, and though higher than reason, must have a reasonable foundation. The spirit of truth must inspire it. This was not the case with the poor, misguided Indian; he trusted in a falsehood and was deceived. But some good came of it. He ascertained the falsity of the settler's statement. His faith induced him to plant the seed, and though it did not produce gunpowder—that being contrary to its nature—it produced a growth of grass-and a wiser Indian.