Digital Only: Young Adults
Fasting: A Sure Way to Empower Your Faith in the Lord
Don’t forget about this powerful principle of the gospel.
Have you ever wondered if you really could trust Heavenly Father and Jesus Christ?
I have felt this way before, especially when I became a member of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints.
I joined the Church when I was 17, and I was both the youngest in my family and the only member of the Church. I believed the gospel of Jesus Christ was true—I had prayed about it and felt so much joy. I wanted to live the gospel, but at the same time, I felt overwhelmingly lonely. I received harsh treatment from my friends and some members of my family for joining the Church. I felt like I was having to choose between my relationship with my loved ones and my relationship with the Lord. It felt impossible for me to convince them that I was following the right path.
Remembering the Power of Fasting
One day, I remembered something the missionaries had taught me when I was learning about the gospel: the law of fasting.
They had invited me to pray and fast to ask Heavenly Father to soften the hearts of my parents so they would give their consent for me to be baptized. I followed their counsel and felt so much peace and assurance despite my circumstances. My father signed the permission document, which allowed me to be baptized, although my mother still didn’t approve.
As I pondered my family’s current lack of support, I remembered that miracle of peace I’d felt before I was baptized. I recalled that all things are possible to Heavenly Father (see Matthew 19:26) and that as I turn to Him in faith through fasting and prayer, He can make seemingly impossible things possible through faith in Christ.
As we learn in Helaman 3:35, “Nevertheless they did fast and pray oft, and did wax stronger and stronger in their humility, and firmer and firmer in the faith of Christ, unto the filling their souls with joy and consolation.”
I wanted to deepen my trust in Heavenly Father, fill my heart with joy, and do what I could to soften the hearts of those who didn’t support me. So I consistently fasted and prayed for relief from the loneliness I was facing.
Inviting Miracles
Nothing changed immediately. I was told that I was causing challenges in our family because of my Church membership. I felt so alone. But I trusted that Heavenly Father was listening to my prayers and that my fasting would bring blessings. Eventually, I saw a miracle—my parents’ hearts gradually softened toward the gospel.
I also felt my faith in Heavenly Father and my Savior become empowered. My stronger faith helped me know how to respond to others when they were unkind and how to deepen my relationship with loved ones and with Heavenly Father and Jesus Christ.
After a lot of fasting and prayer, I received the answer to serve a mission. Miraculously, my parents ended up getting baptized before I left to serve, and I was also able to be sealed to them in the Manila Philippines Temple a few months before I finished my service.
Fasting continues to bring miracles into my life each fast Sunday. But I also fast when life is uncertain and I’m particularly in need of Christ’s peace.
As President Russell M. Nelson taught: “During times of deep distress … the most natural thing for us to do is to call upon our Heavenly Father and His Son—the Master Healer—to show forth Their marvelous power to bless the people of the earth.”
I can honestly testify that fasting is one amazing way to call upon Heavenly Father and Jesus Christ. Fasting continues to change my life and faith. I hope you can see the miracles this sacrifice can bring to your life too.