Monday, July 21, 2008


FAITH


The following is a copy of an e-mail message:


Hi Grandpa Bill,

I just wanted to write you and tell you about the time I had at priesthood camp. It was a nice Monday. Me and some of my friends went off to priesthood camp. We had thought that it was going to be a waste of our time. When we got there it looked like it was going to be a long 3 days.

When I finally found out who my companion was; it kind of changed. My companion was a man named Nate. He was about to go on a mission and was ready to learn more about the gospel and how to teach it. When we started to study all the time together, we started to get closer and we seemed to feel the spirit stronger. We got ready for dinner and they had said that there was more food then we needed. I had thought that they had never seen teenagers before, but when we got there, there really was more food then all of us could eat. This just got us more ready for the week. They had told us that we were going to teach some people about the first four principles of the gospel.

Time went on and it got closer to the time when we must teach what we had learned. Just as I thought that I would not be able to teach what I was told to teach, the camp leaders took all of us to the building, They blindfolded all of us and then they lead us around the camp for a time. Then someone took us away from the others and told us to find our way. I felt lost; I did not know the way to go; then out of nowhere I heard hymns. It was the sweetest thing I had ever heard, It was the key for me to follow. I knew that I had to go for it.

Once again I got lost. I was trying as hard as I could to follow it but I seemed to be going nowhere. Then I heard someone say this is the spirit, so follow me, you’re about there. He led me all the way to where I needed to be. Then someone said, “You are at the tree of life. Would you like to go back and help your brothers or stay here? I said that I would like to help. That’s when they took off the blindfold. I say that the greater part of the boys had gone back to help. When I had done all I could to help I went back and saw that the tree had letters from our family.

Mine was from my mom it told me many things I needed to hear at that time in my life. After this, it was the time to teach what we had learned. Me and my companion were given a man to teach about the gospel. It was a great feeling in my life to feel that feeling. Me, a boy that never had done anything great, could teach the greatest thing of all. I would like to share one more thing with you. I found something in Alma 32:21 and it says” And now as I said concerning faith-faith is not to have a perfect knowledge of things; therefore if ye have faith ye hope for things which are not seen, which are true.” I hope you can see what kind of time this camp was for me.

I love you,
Your grandson,
Alex.



Dear Alex,
21 July 08

I’m glad you enjoyed priesthood camp. I’m sure many worked long and hard to make the camp meaningful for you. Faith is indeed the first principle of the gospel. One type of faith helps you believe that things are going to happen. (Alma 32:21 that you mentioned) Like, fall will follow summer, winter will follow fall or that the earth will continue to rotate and bring us to a new day. That’s one kind of faith, but another kind of faith causes things to happen.

By faith the earth was made, by faith Jesus could walk on the water. Remember the Apostle Peter had faith enough to walk on water for a little while, but he doubted and began to sink. There’s a message there for us. We can have faith like the Savior if we really want it and don’t doubt. Trouble is, not many men work at it hard enough to get it, including me. It takes keeping the commandments with all our heart, really keeping them, prayer and fasting for help. Boyd K. Packer from the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles said:

“There are two kinds of faith. One of them functions ordinarily in the life of every soul. It is the kind of faith born by experience; it gives us certainty that a new day will dawn, that spring will come, that growth will take place. It is the kind of faith that relates us with confidence to that which is scheduled to happen…

There is another kind of faith, rare indeed. This is the kind of faith that causes things to happen. It is the kind of faith that is worthy and prepared and unyielding and it calls forth things that otherwise would not be. It is the kind of faith that moves people. It is the kind of faith that sometimes moves things. Few men posess it. It comes by gradual growth. It is a marvelous, even transcendent, power, a power as real and as invisible as electricity. Directed and channeled, it has great effect.

But faith must be faith, One man tried ‘experimenting’ with faith. He had spoken of his certainty that an event would transpire and his desires were not brought to pass; the event he so much yearned for did not happen. Afterward, his bitter comment was, ‘Well, you see, it didn’t happen, I didn’t think it would.’

In a world filled with skepticism and doubt, the expression ‘seeing is believing ‘promotes the attitude. You show me and I will believe.’ We want all of the proof and all of the evidence first. It seems hard to take things on faith.

When will we learn that, in spiritual things, it works the other way about—that believing is seeing? Spiritual belief precedes spiritual knowledge. When we believe in things that are not seen but are nevertheless true, then we have faith.” (Boyd K Packer, “What is Faith?” in Faith, pp. 42-43).

With love and also yours in the Priesthood,
Grampa Bill Ray
For more information see http://www.mormon.org/


0 Comments:

Post a Comment

<< Home