Live by Faith and Not by Fear

Calling was extended late Thursday afternoon.
Feeling buoyed by the knowledge that the members of the church would be praying for him.
Elder Maxwell told him that the qualifications for those who serve in the kingdom is to be comfortable bearing witness of the divinity of Christ.
We must live by faith and not by fear.

We can raise our children in the gospel if we:

1. Follow the prophet
2. Create the true spirit of the gospel in our hearts and homes.
3. Be a light to those around us
4. Focus on the ordinances and principles taught in the temple.

I rejoice in the opportunity to bear witness of Jesus Christ in all the world (see D&C 107:23), notwithstanding my inadequacies.

The influence of a valiant mission president is one of the great miracles of the restored gospel. (I say amen to that.)

When drought conditions left the village without water, there was only one way they could obtain fresh water and stay alive. Over the centuries they had found that fresh water traveled down through rock formations inside the mountains and came up in a few spots in the sea. The Tongan men would set off in their small boats with a wise elder standing at one end of the boat looking for just the right spot. The strong young men in the boat stood ready with containers to dive deep into the seawater. When they reached the appropriate spot, the wise man would raise both arms to heaven. That was the signal. The strong young men would dive off the boat as deep as they could and fill the containers with fresh springwater. This old patriarch likened this lifesaving tradition to the living waters of the gospel of Jesus Christ and the wise man to God’s prophet here on earth. He noted that the water was pure, fresh, and, in their drought condition, lifesaving. But it was not easy to find. It was not visible to the untrained eye.

My own informal records indicate that President Hinckley has continually emphasized faith in the Lord Jesus Christ. That has been followed by his emphasis on strengthening families and having family religious observance in the home.

See D&C 115:5; Harold B. Lee, “Your Light to Be a Standard unto the Nations,” Ensign, Aug. 1973, 3-4.

It is our faith in Jesus Christ that sustains us at the crossroads of life’s journey. It is the first principle of the gospel. Without it we will spin our wheels at the intersection, spending our precious time but getting nowhere.