What does having a faith mean to you?

[awantz]

I agree that Faith is a gift from God, and we must live the Faith but when did you receive it?

It is always available to us. We just need to be willing to accept it.

 

[Singinbeauty]

My Faith is my very being. It’s who I am and who I am perceived that I am by others. Everyone has faith whether it’s in God or something else. It is intertwined in us so deeply that it affects our very souls. What does my faith mean to me… My very life and everything I experience…

 

[dessert]

I think we receive it in vitro. When, why, and how each person realizes the gift and begins to cultivate it is unique to that individual.

Before I formed you in the womb I knew you,
And before you were born I consecrated you;
I have appointed you a prophet to the nations – Jer. 1:5

For You formed my inward parts;
You wove me in my mother’s womb. – Ps 139:13

Just as you do not know the path of the wind and how bones are formed in the womb of the pregnant woman, so you do not know the activity of God who makes all things. – Ecclesiastes 11:5

I sense this too, as i think it is a gift given to us at birth or before and deepending how it is nutured it is increased or even decreased. When we are baptized in the name of the Trinity our soul is removed from the original sin and this is enabeling to increase our faith so why not start this as a baby.
Do you think that the disciples and others following had such a hard time with grasping their faith because they were learning at such a late time in their life?
Jesus calls them apostles after his ressurection and I think after the ressurection is when every ones faith got a very strong spiritual boost.
The gift was imparted to us all at the cross and ressurection and then like you said realizing and growing can start tight away.

So do you think the fertile ground or otherwise, of which our seed of faith is planted, is our enviornment that we live in after we are born?

Or is it the removal of the original sin from our baptism that enables it to grow and mature. Dessert

 

[DLC]

Faith is gien the moment a person understands what the gospel is, 1 Cor. 15:1-4 in the Gospel. We cannot be saved without faith and according to Eph 2:8-9 faith and salvation are a gift from God. We should not think when we get faith but do you have faith in Jesus Christ alone for your personal salvatio? The reason why I state it this way is because withour faith it is impossible to please God.

 

[dessert]

Faith is gien the moment a person understands what the gospel is, 1 Cor. 15:1-4 in the Gospel. We cannot be saved without faith and according to Eph 2:8-9 faith and salvation are a gift from God. We should not think when we get faith but do you have faith in Jesus Christ alone for your personal salvatio? The reason why I state it this way is because withour faith it is impossible to please God.

What are the characteristics of this faith, how do we show it, express it?
Dessert

 

[Maratom]

What about Hebrews 11:1-2 "Faith is the substance of things HOPED for, the evedience of things NOT SEEN.

 

[dessert]

So should we seek for evidence?
Maybe through prayer.
And " trust " God keeps his promises.

What lights up our faith? Dessert

 

[zerinus]

So should we seek for evidence?
Maybe through prayer.
And " trust " God keeps his promises.

What lights up our faith? Dessert

Joseph Smith composed a series of seven lessons on the subject of faith which have since been published under the title of the Lectures on Faith, and is also available several places online. This is the best one I could find:

geocities.com/Athens/Ithaca/4992/LecOFaith/

These are probably the most intelligent and comprehensive theological studies on the subject of faith that has ever been written. If you are seriously interested in studying faith, this study is an invaluable guide. In this study Joseph Smith defines faith by quoting Paul, but with a difference, as follows:

Now faith is the substance (assurance) of things hoped for, the evidence of things not seen.

The word “assurance” was added by him. In other words, faith is the assurance, an inner conviction, we have of things hoped for, but which we have not yet realized in our lives. The word “evidence” isn’t quite the right word here to convey the right meaning either. It shows up the inadequacy of human language when trying to define spiritual tings. By “evidence” here is not meant “empirical evidence,” such as one might gain in a scientific laboratory. Rather, it is a spiritual conviction gained through a spiritual witness born to the soul. For example, in the days of the Savior, there were many who failed to believe, notwithstanding great evidence of the empirical kind (i.e. the many miracles He performed); but others became believers through very little evidence of that kind—and were commended for their belief (e.g. John 1:51). Thomas, for example, would not believe until he had seen Jesus with his own eyes; but Jesus told him that more blessed are those who believed without having seen (John 20:29).

zerinus

 

[zerinus]

Does it mean having a (ONE) faith or a belief?

That depends on what faith is aimed at. If you have faith in yourself that you will succeed in your life, that is going to motivate you to study and work hard to achieve it, and therefore you are likely to succeed. If, on the other hand, you lack self-confidence—i.e. you do not have faith in your own ability to succeed—then chances are that you won’t make the effort, and therefore you won’t succeed. That does not require faith in God. You may be an atheist and still possess those qualities, and therefore succeed in your worldly endeavours. In the theological context, however, when we speak of faith, we always mean faith to obtain eternal salvation; and that faith is always centered in one individual, that is in God. We cannot save ourselves by our own efforts alone. We need the saving power of God to do that. Therefore we need to have faith in Him, and His ability to save us—if we obey His commandments.

Is it in a person only or is it a virtue to attain?

In a theological sense it is in a person only, that is, in God.

Is it a faith in one person or a set of scripture.

It is in one Person, but also in everything that proceeds from that Person—i.e. in His word.

Just some thoughts, anyone, ah Mormans may answer too.

Oh, Mormons always have the best answers to those questions!

zerinus

 

[zerinus]

I agree that Faith is a gift from God, and we must live the Faith but when did you receive it?

Paul has an answer to that question. He teaches that “faith cometh by hearing, and hearing by the word of God” (Romans 10:17). So we develop faith when we hear the word of God being preached—but that means coming from God’s authorized representatives, not from just anybody. As the LDS article of faith states: “We believe that a man must be called of God, by prophecy, and by the laying on of hands by those who are in authority, to preach the Gospel and administer in the ordinances thereof”. The Book of Mormon teaches that when an authorized representative of God preaches His word, it is accompanied by the testimony of the Holy Ghost, which is what can generates faith in the hearer:

2 Nephi 33:

1 And now I, Nephi, cannot write all the things which were taught among my people; neither am I mighty in writing, like unto speaking; for when a man speaketh by the power of the Holy Ghost the power of the Holy Ghost carrieth it unto the hearts of the children of men.

2 But behold, there are many that harden their hearts against the Holy Spirit, that it hath no place in them; wherefore, they cast many things away which are written and esteem them as things of naught.

Verse one explains how faith is generated in the hearts of those that hear the word of God being preached by one possessing divine authority speaking under the influence of the Holy Ghost. Verse 2 explains why this effect is not universal. The witness of the Spirit is always there when the gospel is being preached by the power of the Holy Ghost; but some “harden their hearts against the Spirit,” and reject that witness, therefore it does not produce faith in them. That rejection of course is a very serious thing, and heavy penalties are involved when somebody does that.

zerinus

 

[zerinus]

I sense this too, as i think it is a gift given to us at birth or before and deepending how it is nutured it is increased or even decreased. When we are baptized in the name of the Trinity our soul is removed from the original sin and this is enabeling to increase our faith so why not start this as a baby.

How then do you explain the great faith of the Roman Centurion (Matthew 8:5-10; Luke 7:1-10), and of the Canaanite/Syrophenician woman (Matthew 15:21-28; Mark 7:24-30)?

Do you think that the disciples and others following had such a hard time with grasping their faith because they were learning at such a late time in their life?

I don’t see them having a hard time. If they hadn’t believed in Him, they wouldn’t have followed Him, with all the persecution and unpopularity it involved.

Jesus calls them apostles after his ressurection and I think after the ressurection is when every ones faith got a very strong spiritual boost.

That is not true. They were called Apostles while He was still alive and ministered among them, not after His resurrection. See Luke 6:13.

The gift was imparted to us all at the cross and ressurection and then like you said realizing and growing can start tight away.

I don’t follow that.

So do you think the fertile ground or otherwise, of which our seed of faith is planted, is our enviornment that we live in after we are born?

Or is it the removal of the original sin from our baptism that enables it to grow and mature. Dessert

It is neither.

zerinus

 

[dessert]

How then do you explain the great faith of the Roman Centurion (Matthew 8:5-10; Luke 7:1-10), and of the Canaanite/Syrophenician woman (Matthew 15:21-28; Mark 7:24-30)?

I think the Centurion faith was based on the power and authority that he acknoledged Jesus had and he had heard or seen demonstrated. Ah, this would have somewhat convinced me too. But faith in things hope for and have not seen is the greatest.

Was he baptized into the faith? Not sure i am sure you know more than me about that, was this Herod that my narrative says he probably was in his " army " ? I’m sorry I don’t know much about Centurians.

Do you think Eve and Adam had faith? As they heard the word of God but did not heed also.

Yes the Holy Spirit is what gives light to our faith, this I agree with you if this is what you meant.
This is what I was sort of looking for, the Holy Spirit is the lamp oil, which is what we are suppose to keep lit til the second coming. Do you think there is a seperate meaning for the lamp itself? My Dh and I are discussing this lately. Do you bellieve in the second coming/?
Sorry I mean does your book of Mormon teach this?

Never talked directly to a morman and I did invite you didn’t I but this is an openforum.

The bible is full of symbolism isn’t it and very much truth!
have to go to work soon,
Dessert

 

[dessert]

OOOps Luke 6;13 You are right and I guess I loose the tv remote it will be his turn to pic.
Jesus called them the mission of the twelve. dessert

 

[zerinus]

I think the Centurion faith was based on the power and authority that he acknoledged Jesus had and he had heard or seen demonstrated. Ah, this would have somewhat convinced me too. But faith in things hope for and have not seen is the greatest.

If it was that easy, why didn’t the Jews believe, who had the Old Testament prophets and scripture, and the promise of the Messiah to come? The Roman Centurion was very much disadvantaged compared to them.

Was he baptized into the faith? Not sure i am sure you know more than me about that, was this Herod that my narrative says he probably was in his " army " ? I’m sorry I don’t know much about Centurians.

A Centurion was a captain in the Roman army who was in charge of a hundred soldures. And for sure he had more faith than the Jews did. The Lord said so Himself.

Do you think Eve and Adam had faith? As they heard the word of God but did not heed also.

I am sure they had faith. They sinned, but that did not mean they had no faith. People can have faith and still sin.

Yes the Holy Spirit is what gives light to our faith, this I agree with you if this is what you meant.
This is what I was sort of looking for, the Holy Spirit is the lamp oil, which is what we are suppose to keep lit til the second coming. Do you think there is a seperate meaning for the lamp itself? My Dh and I are discussing this lately. Do you bellieve in the second coming/?
Sorry I mean does your book of Mormon teach this?

Yes, LDS believe in the Second Coming. It is taught in the Book of Mormon.

Never talked directly to a morman and I did invite you didn’t I but this is an openforum.

The bible is full of symbolism isn’t it and very much truth!
have to go to work soon,
Dessert

Nice chatting with you.

zerinus

 

[Valke2]

I think you’ve hit the nail with your question. Jesus said that in order to please God we must have the faith of a little child. Anyone familiar with children knows the look on a child’s face when he believes in Jesus (or for that matter Santa Claus, or some other mythology). A child just accepts Jesus at face value without a lot of hifalutin questioning… this is my favorite concept of faith. I’ve seen in it my loved-one, who has great and simple faith that God is, and that God keeps his promises to the letter, and that “all things work together for good for those who love the Lord…”

But people grow up. And as adults, we are faced with a world that is very different from the one a child sees. The evil are not always punished in this world and the good are not always rewarded. I think that to have faith in such a world is a more complicated matter. A God who says “question nothing” has something to hide. I always thought that faith needs to contain an element of doubt. Otherwise it is just belief.

But the original post I thought was asking what it means to have a religious belief system. “a faith” as opposed to “faith”.

 

[Allweather]

But the original post I thought was asking what it means to have a religious belief system. “a faith” as opposed to “faith”.

To have the one, without the other, is a disaster. For instance, Catholicism. To have the structures of the “faith” and be following through them without also making the deepheart, emotional connection to Jesus, is to completely miss the point of the religion. Maybe that isn’t what you’re getting at, so I may be “missing the point” myself.

 

[dessert]

If it was that easy, why didn’t the Jews believe, who had the Old Testament prophets and scripture, and the promise of the Messiah to come? The Roman Centurion was very much disadvantaged compared to them.

A Centurion was a captain in the Roman army who was in charge of a hundred soldures. And for sure he had more faith than the Jews did. The Lord said so Himself.

I am sure they had faith. They sinned, but that did not mean they had no faith. People can have faith and still sin.

Yes, LDS believe in the Second Coming. It is taught in the Book of Mormon.

Nice chatting with you.

zerinus

The Roman Centuriun actually saw and believed but the Jews actually saw but did not because a faith will require and action and they chose not to act. I could be wrong but a faith doesn’t really become a belief until it gets acted upon. So his faith was in his aknowledgement and or the touch of the Lord.
Doesn’t God ask us if you believe do this? And the this can be difficult like asking Noah to build a boat, you want me to do what God? The Centuriun stepped out from the crowd actually aknowledging someone’s power greater than his own or perhaps more than his ruler.

Yes I think Eve and Adam had faith and taught it to Cain and Abel as they must have learned them to bring offerings to God. The bible doesn’t say much about their chilhood as one minute they are born and the next they are gardeners and a hunter.

Cain heart must have been hardened as he desired to kill Abel so his faith must have been overpowered with the sin of jealousy, insecurity etc.
Abel was sort of sacrified, again like death to the body.
So in the garden Eve and Adam lost their rights to life of body and soul and then their son loses his life, or is it they lost their soul but not their body but lost their son.
Aany ways I’m getting lost.
My question is couldn’t Abel’s death be like a prelude to Jesus’s death. many say that Jesus was the second Adam but why couldn’t Jesus be the second Abel as a sacrifice?
Satans desire destroyed ABel and SAtan desired to destroy Jesus before it was the time?
Was it unbelief of Cain that destroyed Abel, (his body but not his soul)?

I know it was just plain murder as that is one of the ten comm. do not kill. I am contemplating where the actual sacrificing issues evolved.

And if God was so pleased with Abels sacrifice the bible says God was pleased, why ask for a sacrifice of a human, there are others that have asked this question? Dessert

 

[b_justb]

dessert:

Do you think that the disciples and others following had such a hard time with grasping their faith because they were learning at such a late time in their life?
Jesus calls them apostles after his ressurection and I think after the ressurection is when every ones faith got a very strong spiritual boost.
The gift was imparted to us all at the cross and ressurection and then like you said realizing and growing can start tight away.

So do you think the fertile ground or otherwise, of which our seed of faith is planted, is our enviornment that we live in after we are born?

Or is it the removal of the original sin from our baptism that enables it to grow and mature. Dessert

I think the answer to all of these questions deal with the Holy Spirit.

I think the reason the Apostles after Pentecost were so on fire was because of the impartation of the Spirit in their lives in such a rich and physically manifest manor.

I think the reason we ads Christians go through hills and valleys is based upon our own perception of the Spirit in our lives and how we keep in step with Him.

 

[zerinus]

The Roman Centuriun actually saw and believed but the Jews actually saw but did not because a faith will require and action and they chose not to act. I could be wrong but a faith doesn’t really become a belief until it gets acted upon. So his faith was in his aknowledgement and or the touch of the Lord.

I am inclined to disagree. I think it is faith that motivates someone to action, not the opposite. The Roman centurion acted out of faith, or because he had faith. The Jews (or most of them) failed to act because they would not believe. It is true, though, that when someone acts upon his faith, his faith becomes strengthened.

Doesn’t God ask us if you believe do this? And the this can be difficult like asking Noah to build a boat, you want me to do what God? The Centuriun stepped out from the crowd actually aknowledging someone’s power greater than his own or perhaps more than his ruler.

Let me tell you what Paul says about that:

Hebrews 11:

6 But without faith it is impossible to please him: for he that cometh to God must believe that he is, and that he is a rewarder of them that diligently seek him.

7 By faith Noah, being warned of God of things not seen as yet, moved with fear, prepared an ark to the saving of his house; by the which he condemned the world, and became heir of the righteousness which is by faith.

Noah built the ark because he believed. His faith came first, which is what motivated him to action to build the ark. If he hadn’t faith in the first place, he wouldn’t have acted to build the ark—as many of his contemporaries failed to act, and perished in the Flood.

Yes I think Eve and Adam had faith and taught it to Cain and Abel as they must have learned them to bring offerings to God. The bible doesn’t say much about their chilhood as one minute they are born and the next they are gardeners and a hunter.

Modern LDS scripture tells us a lot more about them, if you are interested!

Cain heart must have been hardened as he desired to kill Abel so his faith must have been overpowered with the sin of jealousy, insecurity etc.

Assuming he had any faith in the first place—which I doubt.

Abel was sort of sacrified, again like death to the body.
So in the garden Eve and Adam lost their rights to life of body and soul and then their son loses his life, or is it they lost their soul but not their body but lost their son.
Aany ways I’m getting lost.

You sound like it!

My question is couldn’t Abel’s death be like a prelude to Jesus’s death. many say that Jesus was the second Adam but why couldn’t Jesus be the second Abel as a sacrifice?
Satans desire destroyed ABel and SAtan desired to destroy Jesus before it was the time?
Was it unbelief of Cain that destroyed Abel, (his body but not his soul)?

We believe that many of the events described in the OT are types and shadows, symbolic representations, and metaphors of the Son of God and His great atoning sacrifice.

I know it was just plain murder as that is one of the ten comm. do not kill. I am contemplating where the actual sacrificing issues evolved.

See above.

And if God was so pleased with Abels sacrifice the bible says God was pleased, why ask for a sacrifice of a human, there are others that have asked this question? Dessert

As above.

zerinus

 

[Sixtus]

‘Faith’ the catechism tells us is ‘a gift from God’.

Therefore, it must be very personal and relate in a very special way to an individual.

I think it is fine to talk about a ‘shared’ faith or a shared understanding of a given faith but faith itself I think is something which can only be understood by each individual to whom it is given in the way it is given which is relative to the understanding and uniqueness of each individuality.