Faith Brings Miracles

Ether 12 and Moroni 7 discuss blessings that can come to our lives when we exercise faith in Jesus Christ. Ether 12 shares examples of those who acted with the power of faith. For instance:

“Behold, it was the faith of Alma and Amulek that caused the prison to tumble to the earth.

“Behold, it was the faith of Nephi and Lehi that wrought the change upon the Lamanites …

“Behold, it was the faith of Ammon and his brethren which wrought so great a miracle among the Lamanites.

“Yea, and even all they who wrought miracles wrought them by faith” (Ether 12:13–16).

The blessings of faith are not limited to the men and women in the scriptures—taking action in faith blesses us today. The following are more recent examples of faith:

By Faith, a Member in South Korea Shared the Gospel with Thousands

Latter-day Saint Hwang Keun Ok worked in a South Korean orphanage in the 1960s. When the sponsors of the orphanage learned that Sister Hwang was a member of the Church, they gave her a choice: leave the Church or resign from her job. She resigned. Five years later, she opened a new home for girls in Seoul. Teaming up with Latter-day Saint missionaries, they gave concerts throughout the country that helped spread the gospel to thousands.

Freiberg Germany Temple

By Faith, Members in East Germany Received a Temple

While visiting communist East Germany in 1968, President Thomas S. Monson, then a member of the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles, promised the Saints, “If you will remain true and faithful to the commandments of God, every blessing any member of the Church enjoys in any other country will be yours.” At the time, the closest temple was in Switzerland, but East Germany was under strict government rule. Members of the Church were routinely denied visas to travel there.

President Spencer W. Kimball counseled Henry Burkhardt, president of the Church’s mission in Dresden, to befriend communist officials in the country. Though this was difficult, he acted on faith. Members fasted and prayed, and Henry developed friendships with many government officials and often asked for Church members to be allowed to travel to the temple. In 1978, when he asked again, one official said, “Why don’t you build a temple here?”

The long wait was over, and the Church built a temple in Freiberg, Germany, which was dedicated in 1985 by President Gordon B. Hinckley.

Church members at a devotional in Tonga, May 2019

By Faith, Members in Tonga Listened to the Prophet in the Rain

President Russell M. Nelson and his wife, Sister Wendy Nelson, visited the Pacific Islands in 2019 during a period of heavy rain. President Nelson later recalled:

“Members had fasted and prayed that their outdoor meetings would be protected from the rain.

“In Samoa, Fiji, and Tahiti, just as the meetings began, the rain stopped. But in Tonga, the rain did not stop. Yet 13,000 faithful Saints came hours early to get a seat, waited patiently through a steady downpour, and then sat through a very wet two-hour meeting.

“We saw vibrant faith at work among each of those islanders—faith sufficient to stop the rain and faith to persevere when the rain did not stop.”