confidence vs. faith
it is, of course, evident to you now that the two essentials of acceptable prayer are implicit reliance on the wisdom and the goodness of god, and the spirit of forgiveness. the first is the only attitude that can be rightly assumed toward god; and the second is the attitude that we should all assume toward our fellowmen. there is certainly no use in praying to god if we do not trust him; and as certainly, god will not forgive us and answer our prayers, if we are unwilling to forgive our fellowmen and help them. but this attitude of unwavering trust in god is really more than merely an essential of prayer. it is a principle of power in both the spiritual and the temporal life of man. in this lesson we shall consider the power of faith—the invincible power of childlike confidence.
the incident of the fig tree.
it is recorded that jesus cursed one morning a certain fig tree that it should no more bear fruit. the next morning, as jesus and the disciples passed by from bethany to jerusalem, they saw that the fig tree was dried up from the roots. "and peter, calling to remembrance, saith unto (jesus), master, behold, the fig tree which thou cursedst is withered away!
"and jesus answering saith unto them, have faith in god. for verily i say unto you. that whosoever shall say unto this mountain, be thou removed, and be thou cast into the sea; and shall not doubt in his heart, but shall believe that those things which he saith shall come to pass; he shall have whatsoever he saith.
{106} forgiveness accompanies prayer.
"therefore i say unto you, what things soever ye desire, when ye pray, believe that ye receive them, and ye shall have them. and when ye stand praying, forgive, if ye have aught against any: that your father also which is in heaven may forgive you your trespasses. but if ye do not forgive, neither will your father which is in heaven forgive your trespasses."
like the other sayings of jesus, this one, too, is full of meaning and interest. but as with the other sayings, too, the meaning of this one is easy to find. if we try to remember what we have learned in the preceding lessons, we shall be able easily to understand this one.
reason for concrete examples.
many people have stumbled because of this forceful saying of jesus. how can a man by the exercise alone of faith remove mountains? but such people have failed to understand jesus's method of teaching. whenever he could, jesus emphasized his doctrine with concrete example. because jesus did not teach abstractly, even little children may understand him. and the people whom he taught during his earthly life, were almost like little children. he had to make everything very clear to them. so, now, he wanted to impress them with the unlimited power of faith. he used, therefore, the vigorous and startling figure of moving a mountain into the sea: or as st. luke has worded it, "if ye had faith as a grain of mustard seed, ye might say unto this sycamine tree (mulberry tree), be thou plucked up by the root, and be thou planted in the sea; and it should obey you."
{107} the interpretation.
you will remember, however, that nowhere did jesus ever teach his disciples to pray for material things, except to supply their daily needs. neither did he ever teach them to ask for things impossible or impracticable for god to give. it is to be understood, then, that jesus did not intend to encourage men to try to move mountains by the mere exercise of faith. he intended a larger, a spiritual meaning. faith is so powerful a principle, that, through the exercise of it, one may remove obstacles to sublime spiritual blessings, as difficult to be moved as a mountain. by such a striking figure did jesus impress upon his disciples that nothing is impossible to faith.
jesus's own interpretation.
that this was what jesus wanted to impart, is apparent from his own application of the concrete illustration. "what things soever ye desire, when ye pray, believe that ye receive them, and ye shall have them." or, as the statement is worded in a modern translation, "believe that you shall receive all things for which you pray and ask and you shall have them." and this invincible power of faith in prayer is supported by the words of jesus to the prophet, joseph smith. "all victory and glory is brought to pass unto you through your diligence, faithfulness, and prayers of faith."
examples of the power of faith.
in the story of the ministry of jesus, there are many examples of the necessity of cultivating unlimited faith. do you remember what happened when jesus walked to the boat one evening on the sea of galilee? most of the disciples became afraid when they saw him, and cried {108} out, "it is a spirit." but when they became assured that it was really jesus, peter said, "lord, if it be thou, bid me come unto thee on the water."
"and (jesus) said, come. and when peter was come down out of the ship, he walked on the water, to go to jesus. but when he saw the wind boisterous, he was afraid; and beginning to sink, he cried, saying, lord save me. and immediately jesus stretched forth his hand, and caught him, and said unto him, o thou of little faith, wherefore didst thou doubt?"
at another time, we are told, "there came to (jesus) a certain man, kneeling down to him, and saying, lord, have mercy on my son: for he is lunatick and sore vexed: for ofttimes he falleth into the fire, and oft into the water. and i brought him to thy disciples and they could not cure him.
"then jesus answered and said, o faithless and perverse generation, how long shall i be with you? how long shall i suffer you? bring him hither to me. and jesus rebuked the devil; and he departed out of him: and the child was cured from that very hour.
"then came the disciples to jesus apart and said. why could not we cast him out? and jesus said unto them. because of your unbelief: for verily i say unto you, if ye have faith as a grain of mustard seed, ye shall say unto this mountain. remove hence to yonder place; and it shall remove; and nothing shall be impossible unto you."
such examples as these might be cited indefinitely. these are enough, however, to show how profoundly jesus impressed upon the minds of his disciples the necessity of cultivating the gift of unfaltering {109} faith—faith, the one great principle of power, without which, as the learned paul later said, it is impossible to please god.
[sidenote: the dispensation of the fulness of times, the wonderful example.]
but perhaps the greatest wonder that has ever been accomplished, in all the history of the world, through the invincible power of unhesitating faith, is that which we ourselves experience every day of our lives. continuing the doctrine he had learned from jesus, "james, a servant of god and of the lord jesus christ," wrote thus to the scattered twelve tribes: "if any of you lack wisdom, let him ask of god, that giveth to all men liberally, and upbraideth not; and it shall be given him. but let him ask in faith, nothing wavering." when he was perturbed in spirit, not knowing whither to go to find god, joseph smith heard these words, and pondered them. he had implicit faith in god. he did not waver. he prayed earnestly. in response to his simple, faith-provoked prayer, god revealed himself to joseph smith, and through him, established the church of christ anew.
are not the things that have been accomplished through faith, wonderful? must it not be a joy, a comfort, to possess the gift of unlimited faith? like the apostles of old, we feel to pray, "lord, increase our faith."
the references
luke 17:5, 6. doc. and cov. 103:36.
mark 11:21-26. matt. 14:24-31.
matt. 21:21, 22. matt. 17:14-21.
james 1:5, 6.
{110} the questions
1. what principle did jesus teach in the incident of the fig tree?
2. what is faith?
3. why must forgiveness accompany prayer?
4. why did jesus use concrete examples in his teaching?
5. what did jesus mean by saying that mountains might be removed by faith?
6. what did the prophet joseph smith teach concerning the power of faith?
7. recite some examples of the power of faith.
8. show how the establishing of the dispensation of the fulness of times is one of the most wonderful examples of the power of faith.
