“Feeling the Love of the Lord through Exercising Faith,” Ensign, Feb. 2004, 65
Visiting Teaching Message:
Feeling the Love of the Lord through Exercising Faith
Prayerfully select and read from this message the scriptures and teachings that meet the needs of the sisters you visit. Share your experiences and testimony. Invite those you teach to do the same.
How Can We Access the Power of Faith?
Alma 32:28: “If ye give place, that a seed may be planted in your heart, behold, … ye will begin to say within yourselves—It must needs be that this is a good seed … for it beginneth to enlarge my soul; yea, it beginneth to enlighten my understanding, yea, it beginneth to be delicious to me.”
Elder Joseph B. Wirthlin of the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles: “Faith exists when absolute confidence in that which we cannot see combines with action that is in absolute conformity to the will of our Heavenly Father. … Only when our faith is aligned with the will of our Heavenly Father will we be empowered to receive the blessings we seek” (“Shall He Find Faith on the Earth?” Liahona and Ensign, Nov. 2002, 83–84).
Elder Dallin H. Oaks of the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles: “The exercise of faith in the Lord Jesus Christ is always subject to the order of heaven, to the goodness and will and wisdom and timing of the Lord. That is why we cannot have true faith in the Lord without also having complete trust in the Lord’s will and in the Lord’s timing” (“Faith in the Lord Jesus Christ,” Ensign, May 1994, 100).
Eliza R. Snow (1804–87), former Relief Society general president: “Faith [is] energy. … We must be energetic” (as reported in Morgan Utah Stake Relief Society Minutes and Record, 29 July 1882).
In What Ways Can We Experience the Lord’s Love through Faith?
Helaman 5:47: “Peace, peace be unto you, because of your faith.”
Bonnie D. Parkin, Relief Society general president: “As we exercise faith in the Lord, we learn to trust that His promises to us will be fulfilled. We have confidence that we will not be left alone, for the Lord will be our source of strength. His peace that passeth understanding will fill our souls. Sisters, seek faith in the Savior first.”
Elder Richard G. Scott of the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles: “Don’t look for a life virtually free from discomfort, pain, pressure, challenge, or grief, for those are the tools a loving Father uses to stimulate our personal growth and understanding. As the scriptures repeatedly affirm, you will be helped as you exercise faith in Jesus Christ. … Faith in Christ means we trust Him; we trust His teachings. That leads to hope, and hope brings charity, the pure love of Christ—that peaceful feeling that comes when we sense His concern, His love, and His capacity to cure us or to ease our burdens with His healing power” (“To Be Healed,” Ensign, May 1994, 8).
Elder Neal A. Maxwell of the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles: “We can say: ‘I know that [God] loveth his children; nevertheless, I do not know the meaning of all things’ (1 Ne. 11:17). There have been and will be times in each of our lives when such faith must be the bottom line: We don’t know what is happening to us or around us, but we know that God loves us, and knowing that, for the moment, is enough” (“Not My Will, But Thine” [1988], 119).