Three talks on Faith

This post is part of the General Conference Odyssey. This week covers the Young Women's Session of the April 1994 Conference.

I would certainly have watched the original broadcast of this Young Women's session as a 14-year-old, though I don't remember anything specific from it. It is such a good session, all focused on the topic of faith. I think focus on the basics sometimes annoyed me back when I was a young woman ("Ugh, faith again?")—but now I love it! Ha!

I'll just highlight a few of the insights I liked from the various talks. First, I loved the simple definition Sister Virginia H. Pearce gave of faith:

When we bring that definition into everyday language, faith means that I really believe that:

Heavenly Father and Jesus Christ live, and they are in charge of this world.

They know me.

They love me.

They have a plan for my future.

I will obey the commandments, work hard, and trust in their plan. Sooner or later, everything will be okay.

She tells three stories in her talk and shows how this definition relates to each one, and I just love it. It sounds so comforting and fundamental, like something anyone could believe! Then I really liked this conclusion, too:

Now, I have told you these stories tonight for a very important reason. Each of them belongs to you—the Israelites of ancient times are your people. The miracles God provided them are part of your spiritual heritage. The pioneers are your people. It makes no difference whether their names appear on your pedigree chart. The miracles God provided them are a part of your personal spiritual heritage.…

Remember, remember, remember how God has worked in these lives. Remember how he has worked in your life. Write in your journal about the times when you have felt his love for you. Write about the times when he has intervened in subtle or obvious ways, to make everything work out okay for you. And when you feel abandoned and desperate, those memories will renew your faith and keep you trusting until you understand better.

I've been noticing how much faith depends on remembering God's goodness. I've always liked that idea, of making an effort to notice God's hand in our lives and remember the good things He's done for us, but I don't know if I directly connected that effort to faith! 

I also loved this description from Sister Janette C. Hales of the work children do in the teenage years. I feel like if I could see and remember this purpose for my own children, it would help me teach them, but also help me be patient, knowing that it really does take a tremendous amount of effort for them during those years, trying to become the people they want to be:

My hope for you during these important years between the ages of twelve and eighteen is that you are going from being a dependent child to becoming a righteous, problem-solving woman of faith. It is a mighty work you do during these years, and when you do your work well, you will build a foundation for a responsible and righteous life.…

Growing up spiritually requires us to see beyond our own desires and to enlarge our way of seeing things. We not only have to let go of our selfishness but sometimes let go of things we want very badly to come to understand our Heavenly Father’s point of view.

The work of "growing up spiritually" is something I'm still trying to accomplish, and I like the thought that my children and I are working at that together, even when we're at different stages along that path.

Then, I liked what Elder Oaks said about remembering whom our faith should be directed toward. I obviously have heard this before, but as I've been studying faith I think I've been guilty sometimes of falling back into thinking of it as "an abstract principle of power":

If we think we have faith, we should ask, faith in whom or faith in what? For some, faith is nothing more than faith in themselves. That is only self-confidence or self-centeredness. Others have faith in faith, which is something like relying on the power of positive thinking or betting on the proposition that we can get what we want by manipulating the powers within us.

The first principle of the gospel is faith in the Lord Jesus Christ.…Founded on our knowledge of [Jesus and Heavenly Father], faith in the Lord Jesus Christ is a conviction and trust that God knows us and loves us and will hear our prayers and answer them with what is best for us.…

When we try to develop faith in the Lord Jesus Christ rather than merely cultivating faith as an abstract principle of power, we understand the meaning of the Savior’s words: “If ye will have faith in me ye shall have power to do whatsoever thing is expedient in me.”