Dear President and Sister Wheelwright, faculty members, students, brothers and sisters, aloha.
I would like to thank President Wheelwright for the opportunity that he has provided me to speak with you today. I am indeed humbled from this opportunity and pray that the Spirit of our Father in Heaven may be with me as I convey my thoughts and feelings to you today.
I extend my appreciation and love to my wife who introduced me and accompanied me today. She is a mother of four, works full-time and serves as the ward relief society president. I am thankful for all that she does.
I have prayed much about what to speak to you about. I have three children that are your ages. I believe I know some of the challenges that you might face.
A couple of weeks ago, my oldest son was called as a counselor in the bishopric. He is 27 years old. He recently graduated from BYU–Provo and is now attending graduate school at Chaminade University pursing a MBA degree. He works at a full-time job. He was previously an elder’s quorum president.
There was a need for a counselor in the bishopric in our ward. A trusting bishop recommended his name to the stake presidency for the position. After careful thought and prayer, my second counselor was given the assignment to interview him for priesthood advancement to be a high priest. Being worthy to be advanced in the priesthood, his name was presented to the stake high council for priesthood advancement and sustainment as the first counselor in the bishopric. With high council sustainment, my first counselor was given the assignment to interview him for the calling. He accepted the call to serve and then I waited to resolve concerns.
The assignment to resolve concerns came a day later after he accepted the call. He came to see me and he had concerns: Why me? I’m busy. I have school. I work. I’m not married. There are others. Why me?
Did you know that Enoch expressed himself similarly when he was called by the Lord to declare repentance to the people. Enoch said “Why is it that I have found favor in thy sight, and am but a lad, and all the people hate me; for I am slow of speech; wherefore am I thy servant” (Moses 6:31)?
The Lord then said to Enoch,
“Go forth and do as I have commanded thee, and no man shall pierce thee. Open thy mouth, and it shall be filled, and I will give thee utterance, for all flesh is in my hands, and I will do as seemeth me good.” (Moses 6:32)
With these instructions, Enoch went forth. He taught the gospel, led the people, and established the city of Zion:
“And Enoch and all his people walked with God, and he dwelt in the midst of Zion; and it came to pass that Zion was not, for God received it up into his own bosom; and from thence went forth the saying, Zion is Fled.” (Moses 7:69)
I told my son that his Bishop had faith in him. His leaders had faith that he would be able to meet the challenges of the call. I explained to him what the call consisted of; meetings that needed to be attended and so forth. I told him to pray about the call. He left my room and after awhile came back. He said he would do it. I reflect on the words of the Lord to the Prophet Joseph Smith and Oliver Cowdery in the 6th Section of the Doctrine and Covenants:
“Verily, verily, I say unto you, if you desire a further witness, cast your mind upon the night that you cried unto me in your heart, that you might know concerning the truth of these things. Did I not speak peace to your mind concerning the matter? What greater witness can you have than from God?” (6:22-23)
You have so many things before you. You have so many things to do and must be done. You have school—you need to graduate, most of you work, some of you are married and have children, some of you want to get married and have children, you have church and priesthood responsibilities and obligations and so forth. I believe what will help you is faith. Faith in the Lord Jesus Christ and our Father in Heaven. Through your faith and works and their help you will be able to succeed and accomplish all things that you must accomplish.
Today I would like to speak about faith, that faith which is the motive cause of all action. Faith that can be developed and increased and become a power to you.
The Apostle Paul, in his epistle to the Hebrews, defined faith as the “substance of things hoped for, the evidence of things not seen” (Hebrews 11:1).
The Prophet Alma, in the Book of Mormon, gave this definition of faith. He said, “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” (Alma 32:21).
In other words, faith, then, is a confidence, a belief, an assurance in things that are not seen but that are true.
Faith in the Lord Jesus Christ and our Father in Heaven is the first principle of the gospel. It is necessary for our salvation to have faith in Christ. King Benjamin, in the Book of Mormon, stated, “For salvation cometh to none such except it be through repentance and faith on the Lord Jesus Christ” (Mosiah 3:12).
The Prophet Joseph Smith taught that faith motivates our day-to-day activities. He said that faith is a principle of power and the moving cause of all action within us. Faith then is acting upon things we hope for when we cannot see the end result.
There were men and women in the past that had great faith.
The Lord gave Adam and Eve commandments that they should “offer the firstlings of their flocks for an offering unto the Lord. And Adam was obedient unto the commandments of the Lord” (Moses 5:5). After many days, an angel of the Lord appeared unto Adam and asked Adam why he offered sacrifices unto the Lord. Adam’s reply was, “I know not, save the Lord commanded me.” Adam was obedient and as a result of his obedience and faith, the scriptures state,
“And in that day the Holy Ghost fell upon Adam, which beareth record of the Father and the Son, saying: I am the Only Begotten of the Father from the beginning, henceforth and forever, that as thou hast fallen thou mayest be redeemed, and all mankind, even as many as will.” (Moses 5:9)
In the Apostle Paul’s epistle to the Hebrews, Paul mentions men and women who had faith.
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 (See Hebrews 11:7). There was no rain when Noah started building the ark.
“Through faith, also, Sara herself received strength to conceive seed, and was delivered of a child when she was past age, because she judged him faithful who had promised” (Hebrews 11:11); Sara at 90 years of age gave birth to Isaac.
“By faith Abraham, when he was tried, offered up Isaac” (Hebrews 11:17). Abraham’s response to Isaac’s question exemplifies Abraham’s great faith. Isaac inquired “Behold the fire and the wood; but where is the lamb for a burnt offering?” (Genesis 22:7)
Abraham’s response was, “My Son, God will provide himself a lamb for a burnt offering…. And they came to the place which God had told him of; and Abraham built an altar there, and laid the wood in order, and bound Isaac his son, and laid him on the altar upon the wood. And Abraham stretched forth his hand, and took the knife to slay his son. And the angel of the Lord called unto him out of heaven, and said, Abraham, Abraham: and he said, Here am I. And he said, Lay not thine hand upon the lad, neither do thou any thing unto him: for now I know that thou fearest God, seeing thou hast not withheld thy son, thine only son from me. And Abraham lifted up his eyes, and looked, and behold behind him a ram caught in a thicket by his horns: and Abraham went and took the ram, and offered him up for a burnt offering in the stead of his son.” (Genesis 22:8-13)
When the decision was made to rise up early in the morning and follow the Lord’s commandment to offer Isaac as a sacrifice, there was no ram caught in the thicket. What there was was a man’s faith to be obedient, and in the process of being obedient, the Lord provided. Faith was the motive cause of all action.
In the Book of Mormon the Prophet Nephi had great faith. We learn of his faith in the early part of the record when he says,
“And it came to pass that I, Nephi,… having great desires to know of the mysteries of God, wherefore, I did cry unto the Lord; and behold he did visit me, and did soften my heart that I did believe all the words which had been spoken by my father; wherefore, I did not rebel against him like unto my brothers.” (1 Nephi 2:16)
“And it came to pass that the Lord spake unto me, saying: Blessed art thou, Nephi, because of thy faith, for thou hast sought me diligently, with lowliness of heart” (1 Nephi 2:19). Nephi was characterized as being faithful, obedient and humble.
When the time came to go back to Jerusalem and get the brass plates of Laban, Nephi’s brothers murmured and said it was a hard thing which their father had required of them.
Nephi’s response was simple; he said,
“I will go and do the things which the Lord hath commanded, for I know that the Lord giveth no commandments unto the children of men, save he shall prepare a way for them that they may accomplish the thing which he commandeth them.” (1 Nephi 3:7)
Nephi’s key words were “I will go and do,… for I know.”
Nephi’s faith was so strong that when they were unsuccessful the first time and the brothers wanted to return back to their father in the wilderness. Nephi replied, “As the Lord liveth, and as we live, we will not go down unto our father in the wilderness until we have accomplished the thing which the Lord hath commanded us” (1 Nephi 3:15). What Nephi was saying was we said we were going to do it, let’s do it; the Lord will prepare a way. He concludes by saying, “Wherefore, let us be faithful in keeping the commandments of the Lord” (1 Nephi 3:16).
As we know the story, Nephi and his brothers returned to Jerusalem to get the brass plates. With his faith, his determination to go and do, the scriptures states that he “was led by the Spirit, not knowing beforehand the things which I should do” (1 Nephi 4:6). The Lord prepared a way because Nephi placed his trust or faith in the Lord and Nephi was successful in getting the plates of Laban.
By faith, Heber C. Kimball accepted a call to serve on a mission to England. On June 4, 1837, the Prophet Joseph Smith came to Heber C. Kimball who was seated in the temple in Kirkland, and whispering to him said, “Brother Heber, the Spirit of the Lord has whispered to me: Let my servant Heber go to England and proclaim my gospel, and open the door of salvation to that nation” (Orson F. Whitney, Life of Heber C. Kimball, 1945, p. 116). This would be the first time that the restored gospel would be preached overseas. It was a great undertaking. Heber C. Kimball’s response to the call was,
“O, Lord, I am a man of stammering tongue, and altogether unfit for such a work; how can I preach in that land, which is so famed throughout Christendom for learning, knowledge and piety; the nursery of religion; and to a people whose intelligence is proverbial…. The idea of such a mission was almost more than I could bear up under. I was almost ready to sink under the burden which was placed upon me.” (Orson F. Whitney, Life of Heber C. Kimball, 1945, p. 116)
And then Heber C. Kimball said this:
“However, all these considerations did not deter me from the path of duty; the moment I understood the will of my Heavenly Father, I felt a determination to go at all hazards, believing that He would support me by His almighty power, and endow me with every qualification that I needed; and although my family was dear to me, and I should have to leave them almost destitute, I felt that the cause of truth, the Gospel of Christ, outweighed every other consideration.” (Orson F. Whitney, Life of Heber C. Kimball, 1945, pp. 116-17)
Nine days later, Heber C. Kimball and those who were to accompany him departed to England. As a result of that mission, thousands of British converts joined the church and most of them crossed the ocean and settled in Nauvoo. Many of these converts became great church leaders and brought strength to the church. Faith in Christ caused Heber C. Kimball to act.
By faith, Joseph Smith offered a prayer to Father in Heaven and as a result of that prayer, Father in Heaven and His son Jesus Christ visited him. When Joseph Smith read James 1:5, he said that
“Never did any passage of scripture come with more power to the heart of man than this did at this time to mine … I reflected on it again and again, knowing that if any person needed wisdom from God, I did.… At length I came to the conclusion that I must either remain in darkness and confusion, or else I must do as James directs…. I at length came to the determination to ‘ask of God,’ concluding that if he gave wisdom to them that lacked wisdom, and would give liberally, and not upbraid, I might venture…. So, in accordance with this,… I retired to the woods to make the attempt.” (JSH 1:12-14)
The Prophet Joseph Smith had faith. The faith to act. The faith to pray and faith to receive an answer. I am thankful for his faith.
I learned faith and the application of faith on my mission.
My mission president had a plan to baptize each month. I believe every mission president has that plan. Implementing the plan took great faith. The only thing that changed in regards to the plan was the month and the faith of the missionaries to implement the plan.
I had not baptized for almost three months (one month in my previous area and two months in my present area). Neither did I implement the monthly plan. Finally out of desperation, I decided, as the senior companion, to implement the plan.
The plan required the missionaries to go before their ward priesthood executive committee and prophesize of success. As some of you might know, the ward priesthood executive committee was composed of the bishopric, the HPG leader, the elder’s quorum president, the young men’s president and the seventy’s president (presently known today as the ward mission leader).
The missionaries were to inform the members of the PEC that they had a family that would be presented to the ward on a particular Sunday because we were going to baptize them on the Saturday prior to that Sunday. We were to share their names, where they lived and anything about them. The last thing we were supposed to do was to tell the PEC members that sometimes our families do not get baptized for one reason or another and if the PEC could give us a back-up family. That took faith. To tell someone you’re going to baptize someone and in the same breath tell them they might not get baptize—so do you have a back-up family?
Well, it was the last Sunday in January. We attended PEC meeting. In my journal entry it reads, “This was the day that I showed my faith and went before Priesthood Executive Committee and said I have a family to present before the ward on February 19th and that family will be baptized February 18th.” We presented the name of a mother and her three-year-old daughter. I told them she was married however her husband was not interested. We told the PEC where she lived. I then asked for a back-up family from the ward. The Bishop looked at me and then turned to each member of the PEC and asked, “Do you have a back up family?” High Priest Group Leader, NO. Elder’s Quorum President, NO. Young Men’s President, NO. Seventy’s President, NO.
The Bishop then turned to me and said, “Elder Serrao, we don’t have a back up family but since this a part-member family, I will assign the Seventy’s President to assign her a home teacher.
In all my years as a leader, that has been the quickest that I have ever seen a home teacher assigned to an investigator.
Well, my companion and I left the meeting. My junior companion looked at me, his senior, and said, “What are we going to do now?” He had a legitimate question. We did not know this sister that well. We had visited her once or twice. The sister missionaries taught her at one time but we just didn’t know her that well. My junior companion had legitimate concerns.
I turned to him and told him we are going to work like we have never worked before and we did. We tracted nights and on Sundays and every chance we had. We filled our days with being busy and engaged in the Lord’s work. We saw her and her daughter every chance we could. We introduced her to the members. We made her feel comfortable in church.
We taught her on February 6th and challenged her to be baptized on February 18th. She accepted the invitation to be baptized. On February 7th, she brought her daughter to primary and met the primary presidency. On February 12th, she came to church. On February 14th, she was interviewed for baptism. On February 16th, her husband consented to her baptism. On February 18th, prophesy was fulfilled.
I was transferred out of the area. For the next 6 months, I implemented the plan for the month. I baptized each month and the wards I was in came up with a back-up family and the back-up family was baptized also. Faith became the motive cause of all action and blessings followed faith and works.
On my mission I learned this story that I would like to share with you.
There is a man walking on a cliff. A great gust of wind blows the man off the cliff. As he is falling down the face of the cliff, he catches hold of a branch sticking out of the side of the cliff. He holds on for dear life. After hanging there for a while, he says, “Lord, will you save me?” The voice of the Lord says, “Do you believe that I created the cliff upon which you were walking?” The man replies, “Yes. Thou art the creator of the earth.” The Lord says, “Do you believe that I created the wind that blew you off the cliff?” The man replies, “Yes.” The Lord says, “Do you believe that I created the branch that you are holding on right now and that is saving your life?” The man replies, “Yes, I believe.” The Lord says, “Do you believe that I can cause the same wind that blew you off the cliff to blow you back on the cliff if you let go of the branch?” The man replies, “Yes I do. Thou art the creator of all things and have control over the elements.” The Lord says, “Let go.”
Some will let go like this [demonstrative—let go both hands quickly and then grab back on].
Some like this [demonstrative—let go with one hand with one hand holding].
Some like this [demonstrative—never letting go].
And some like this [demonstrative—just letting go]. Those that let go like this, allow faith to be a principle of power in their lives. They just look for the next opportunity of letting go. Faith increases.
We hang on branches throughout our lives and we need to let go. How we let go will in a major way determine how we will succeed and progress in this life. Perhaps there is a decision to go on a mission or to return to the mission field. Perhaps a decision that a particular person is the one for you. Perhaps there is a decision to marry or to marry in the temple. Perhaps a decision to complete school or to go into a certain field of study. Perhaps a decision to accept an assignment or calling. Perhaps a need to repent of a sin or transgression.
Whatever it is, may we exercise our faith with action. May we go and do because we know that Father in Heaven and His son Jesus Christ will bless us. In Hebrews chapter 11 verse 6 it reads, “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.”
I close with the words of the hymn When Faith Endures (#128):
I will not doubt, I will not fear; God’s love and strength are always near. His promised gift helps me to find An inner strength and peace of mind. I give the Father willingly My trust, my prayers, humility. His Spirit guides; his love assures. That fear departs when faith endures.
May you have faith in Jesus Christ, I pray in His sacred name, amen.