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Hey there everybody welcome out to another episode of Redeem Through His Blood.

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Scott Durfey here joined as always by David Durfey

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Good to see you Scott.

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Good to see you too.

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I owe you a bottle of peanut M&Ms.

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Yeah, well that's not why we do have a bottle of peanut M&Ms here for David but I owe you

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one to take home because of what happened last week Dave.

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So we're doing a re-record today because we had a little technical issue last week.

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Actually I think that I owe you being a blessing because we played Deb's episode I think for

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the second time and every time we do.

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In fact I got a text yesterday from one of my old missionary companions, Len Yardley

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texted me yesterday and he said thanks for playing Deb's episode yesterday.

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Oh cool.

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Yeah it was really great.

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So I don't know you know maybe sometimes things like that happen for a reason but you know

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as we've been going through everything that we've been going through this season we just

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wrapped up prior to the last episode where we brought Deb's back but prior to that we

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just wrapped up the events of the Atonement of Jesus Christ which is great.

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That's one of my favorite parts of talking about this as we get into the effects and

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so on.

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Now we will expand our discussion as we move into a very important topic, the topic of

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faith Dave.

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Yeah Scott and by the way I just I wonder if how often individuals you and me all of

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us how often we really even think about the effects of the Atonement of Jesus Christ in

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our life.

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I think probably most of us not not all of us but probably most of us think about it when

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we pray we try to express gratitude for that and I've heard lots of prayers that where

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it's never mentioned but I imagine most people who pray think about the gift of God's son

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and not just the gift of his son but the gifts that flow into our life because of the son's

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sacrifice atonement.

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I just since we're talking about faith today I mean to build faith one has to really be

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focused on our Heavenly Father gifts that flow into our lives from him his creations

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the Atonement of Jesus Christ and how it affects us not only every day but every moment of

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every day.

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And I just wonder I'm just sitting here wondering how often do we even you know really think

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about it.

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That's a great question you know and something it's interesting you'd bring that up because

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this is something that I've actually thought about over the last several weeks myself fact

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we talked about it in Institute a couple of times over the last couple of weeks you know

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how often do we really notice and feel or acknowledge that we're noticing and feeling

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the effects of the Atonement of Jesus Christ and I think that I think Dave you know if

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we if we just put that in our mind then we through intention you know if we're more intentional

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and we just decide okay I'm going to start noticing those things that we do.

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I woke up yesterday morning actually the other morning Monday morning I woke up Monday morning

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and I was being fully reminded of the fall of Scott Durfee you know just my physical

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body.

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I had some health issues yeah and I had to call our friend your nephew my rheumatologist

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and say hey this is what's going on and they took care of it for me and I felt better almost

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instantly and I immediately gave thanks for the effects of the Atonement of Jesus Christ

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because you know that's where one of the effects of the Atonement of Jesus Christ takes care

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of our physical fall.

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You know and I don't know I mean you know you think you brought it up how often do we

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think about it well we have reason to think about it every day as our bodies rejuvenate

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and as our you know life's changing in different ways so.

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I listen to another I don't I can't remember I listen to a lot of things whether it was

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a podcast or a TED talk or whatever but you know it was a man that's highly respected

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and has a great reputation as far as I know he's a good person.

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Anyway he said he said if you want to change your life you can do that with two words and

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you must use them at least twice a day.

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Thank you.

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Gratitude huh yeah and when he was talking about this and he said so how many of you

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how many of you would like to change your life and every hand went up and he said how

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many of you want to change your life enough to to say thank you tonight before you go

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to bed and most of the hands went up and then he said how many of you think that you could

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wake up in the morning and remember to say thank you in the morning again most of the

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hands went up and he said within three days within three days only half of you will be

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doing it and within a week only a few of you will be doing it right but he said if you

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want to change your life you can do it with two words.

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Thank you.

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Just say thank you every night before you go to bed and say thank you every morning when

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you wake up.

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Wow yeah.

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Now and you know it's kind of profound really.

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Yeah.

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And and I I have I have done that recently but I don't know if I'll be doing that a week

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from now.

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Well you know you know how that goes.

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I do.

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Human nature.

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And maybe I can help hold you accountable.

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There you go.

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Okay.

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But but when I say it I think of the atonement.

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Right.

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I don't know this this man that was speaking was Jewish.

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Okay.

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And and even then it will change your life no matter what religion you are.

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Right.

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No matter if you have faith or no faith agnostics or or atheists can say thank you and feel

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gratitude.

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Yeah.

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And the power that can flow into your life through the gratitude that you have for Jesus

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Christ and the effects and blessings and gifts of the atonement that flow into our life every

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moment of our life Scott can can totally be life changing.

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It can transform us.

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It can if we let it you know and there's a there's a lot of reason for that.

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And you know we talk about in this podcast how gratitude is the beginning of desire.

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You know just that just that being grateful will give us a deeper desire and that deeper

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desire desire will lend impetus to us following him more closely more effectively etc.

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So you know in in Alcoholics Anonymous and in fact I think it's probably true in all

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recovery groups.

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Gratitude is one of those things is super important.

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You know we we we have gratitude lists.

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We say the same thing you know in the morning get up and ask for help and thanks for the

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night before and then at night thanks for getting me through the day sober you know

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and so much much more.

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But yeah a lot of power.

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Well I think it is the beginning of of desire and I think most of our listeners would agree

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that desire is maybe the beginning of faith.

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I mean if you don't have any desire to have faith you're not going to to seek to have

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faith or to even grow your faith.

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So again we're kind of starting with that but let's let's jump into the to the subject

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of faith and to begin with it really introduce it.

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Scott I think that the the greatest misconception maybe among students who I taught for many

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many years is that repentance is what changes people's lives.

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Then I know that repentance is change and I know what President Nelson has taught about

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repentance but I just want to say this up front to introduce it there is no power in

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repentance.

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Repentance does not change us faith in the Lord Jesus Christ is the power behind repentance

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and it is the power faith in Jesus Christ that changes us.

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Faith is the power when Elder Anderson asked me to summarize the course that I had kind

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of designed and taught at UVU and give him kind of the three or four most important points

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of the entire course I wrote him a long email and this is one of those three or four major

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points that one must get across in this course and so we can't emphasize this subject strong

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enough is that faith is the transformative faith in Jesus Christ and his atonement is

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the transformative power behind repentance and behind change and behind becoming a saint.

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It's faith it is President Nelson said it is the greatest power of God available to us

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is the gift of faith and it is a gift and it is not something that you can just acquire

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on your own or obtain by your own good works or efforts it's a gift of the spirit faith

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is I think it's maybe the first gift of the spirit listed in the scriptures faith is

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a gift that comes to us through the gift and power of the Holy Ghost you cannot have real

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the power of faith and when we speak of faith Scott there are many levels there's there's

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the level of belief or hope in in faith and then there's knowledge and then there's power

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so there's this this kind of this continuing going upward it's kind of really like a helix

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as Elder Bednar taught it years ago and it progresses based upon we get we get a belief

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of something and then we obtain the knowledge by our experience and confirmation of the

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spirit and it goes up and it just becomes it becomes greater and greater until we have

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the power of faith in our lives and we'll talk more about that and use some scriptural

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examples but it it's it is the power behind all of the good things that we receive in

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fact Scott in defining it I used to ask my students does God have faith and I would say

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more than half of them would say no because he knows all things you know there's there's

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those scriptures that we kind of wrestle with in the in Ether chapter three and other places

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that because once you know it you don't need faith well when you come to know it you you're

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on a different level of faith and your faith is replaced by by a greater power but faith

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is something that God has to have faith is the power that he was able to create the world

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now I know I know there's power in his priesthood in his keys and all of that as well but faith

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is what that's what Paul said that it was through faith that God created the worlds

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so faith is the power of godliness faith is the power behind God's actions and behaviors

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and faith is the power be behind everything that we do which will lead us hopefully to

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salvation and exaltation I remember president Nelson I working or press sorry elder Anderson

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and I working on the book and honestly it's impossible to write a chapter strong enough

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on this topic of faith because it is so key faith in Jesus Christ in his atonement is

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the absolute key to not only starting the process of repentance but continuing in that

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process and eventually receiving the miracle of forgiveness the greatest miracle of all

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and I there was a story told many years ago by Todd Bridge in the enzyme magazine and

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it really affected me I think I was a branch president missionary training center at the

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time and when I read it I thought wow that's that is my problem too he was a bishop of

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a student ward that they called him back then be a young single adult ward today and being

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a bishop of a student ward or today if you were a bishop of a young adult ward you you

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are trying to help young folks repent that's what that's the major part of your calling

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right is trying to help them to get connected to the Savior and to be forgiven of their

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sins well he was hearing a lot of confessions just like I was at the time being at the MTC

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I mean I spent most my time at the MTC listening to our confessions and I'll share a few of

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those stories later in future podcasts but he kept he was really frustrated one day

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because he kept hearing the same confessions from the same people over and over and over

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again and he thought wow he thought he was a failure he felt like he was a failure what

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I'm not helping these people I'm not helping these young people they just keep making the

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same mistakes committing the same sins confessing over and over and over again well he he made

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that a matter of prayer and and one day he happened to just serendipity dip it asleep

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reading the articles of faith and he read he read the fourth article of faith you know

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we believe that the first four principles in the gospel are and he said the next few

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lines just kind of pulsated off the page first faith in the Lord Jesus Christ second repentance

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and he hit you know oh he knew immediately what his problem was he said that every time

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they came in to confess sins he would talk about repentance probably the steps of repentance

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as most people like to teach it or speak of it and he said I never talked about faith

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with his you know members that were trying to repent he said that we always I always

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gave them such great information and would fill them with inspiring thoughts on repentance

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but they never really were able to do it and Scott based on that experience my own experience

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and many many many students who I have spoken to and in the ecclesiastical positions that

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I've been I know this this is a truth this is a fact this is the reality that when you're

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spinning your wheels when you seem like you just can't change when you feel like you just

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keep making the same mistakes committing the same sins over and over and over again without

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exception I can tell you why it's probably not because you're not repenting the reason

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why is because you do not have sufficient faith in the Lord Jesus Christ and his atonement

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maybe you believe in him but you just don't believe him and this is this honestly this

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subject this podcast and our next podcast on faith is is kind of the the hinge of that

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swings the door of repentance and forgiveness it's kind of the fulcrum on which you can

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go you know either way this is it this is faith is the power to receive the miracles

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blessings gifts and that includes forgiveness so I hope that as we as we speak of it today

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and in our next podcast that individuals will take it upon themselves to make it a study

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I mean until you really understand what faith in the Lord Jesus Christ and his atonement

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means to try to repent without knowing that it may become a somewhat of a frustrating

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or futile experience so I hope that I hope that we can do it justice and I hope our listeners

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can can be motivated to make it a personal study in a quest to increase wherever they're

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at wherever they're at in their faith and I know everyone has faith faith is every human

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being I believe has some faith in something and some level at some level I mean election

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on faith in essence say that and I believe that so I hope their listeners will make

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it a quest wherever they're at in their faith to to increase their faith their faith especially

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in Jesus Christ and his atonement I think that oftentimes I'm asses I know you have

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been over the years too but it and I've asked it myself I've wondered it myself but how do

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I access the blessings the benefits the effects of the atonement of Jesus Christ especially

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those conditional ones you know those conditional benefits those conditional blessings effects

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that come to us as a result of the atonement of Jesus Christ it has occurred to me that

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they are most available to us based on the level of our faith Dave and and you know that

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for me this has been one that has been a a wrestle if you will I don't know if I'd call

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it a struggle maybe you would well I think wrestles a positive word yeah well it's definitely

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been a wrestle you know because it's been something that I have I have definitely had

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to ingest I have had to look at where in my life would it be better if my faith was stronger

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where in my life is it is a lack of faith holding me back and lack of faith in what you know

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and so just determining all of those things where faith should be what it's about how

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it should be working in my life I have a scripture here this has been really helpful for me and

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this is an old scripture mastery from I did book Mormon my ninth grade year of seminary

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and I still remember this as being part of this well it's it's power of seminary I like

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that yeah but it's and it's an important scripture now as I said this is Alma 3221

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now as I said concerning faith faith isn't to have a perfect knowledge of things therefore

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if you have faith you hope for things which are not seen which are true and for me that

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has just been an important thing you hope for things which are not seen but they're

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true and you know I think through an eye of faith those things that are not seen become

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through that eye of faith sometimes can be seen to us as well so yeah well and we're

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going to talk about that scripture yeah 3221 skype because I think that is the beginning

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of faith that's the beginning that's the I don't want to say lowest level because it's

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it's a it's an important level that we must all go through in order to have faith is that

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we have this hope in things we can't see which are true that that's the level of faith that

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Alma was trying to teach the Zoramites who are apostates as they were coming back into

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the faith and that's where missionaries start when they're teaching non-members they teach

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by teaching that faith is something that you believe in that you can see that is true okay

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so I love that definition of faith but that's where someone begins that's the that's the

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lowest level of faith there's to believe in something that you can't see which is true

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but eventually you have to get beyond that and obtain the eye of faith where I believe it

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and I see it through an eye of faith through the eye of faith I see it yeah that's that's a higher

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level of faith and we'll we'll talk about that but you use the word wrestle the wrestle and so I

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immediately thought of enus right and enus says in the book of Mormon I will tell you of the wrestle

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which I had before God before I received a remission of my sins and then then he talks

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about this wrestle how his soul hunger now think about this in terms of faith he hungered

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he really hungered for it and he knelt down before his maker and he cried unto him in mighty

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prayer these are all all ways to increase our faith and then he hears eventually in in his

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wrestle he hears the words of the Lord say enus calls him by name enus thy sins are forgiven me

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and thou shalt be blessed and he knows that God cannot lie because he knows he attributes

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and perfections of God and we'll talk about that in a minute and then he says how is it done

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he cries out how is it done and he hears the words of the Lord because of thy faith in Christ

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that's it Scott how is it done because of thy faith in Christ there is no other answer

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that the Lord that even the Lord can give how how is it that I'm forgiven how how is it that I'm

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I'm clean that I've become purified how is that possible there's only one answer

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because of thy faith in Christ who now has never before heard nor seen well that's

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that's the importance of of faith Scott and I faith is is the power behind all the good things

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that we do in fact I used to tell my my students why did you get out of bed this morning why'd you

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get out of bed well because I had to well you didn't have to right why did you get out of bed

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this morning and if you really if you really get down to it Scott is because they had hope that

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something that something something good was going to happen or or maybe even something bad was going

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to happen if they didn't right but but they had some idea that they needed to get out of and they

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had faith that it would and so they every in the lectures on faith again the the definition and

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really the lowest level of faith is that faith is a principle of action everything that we do

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do every act that we commit we we do it because of of faith in something now you can have you can

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have true faith and you can have false faith but you you believe something's going to happen

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and therefore you do it that's faith is a principle of action that's a definition of faith

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in the lectures on faith lecture one faith is also a principle of power

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or that's a higher level that's that's a level where you know Jacob we read we read Alma's

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description or his definition in Alma 30 to 21 but let's read Jacob's definition of faith and

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as an example of faith and what it is in Jacob chapter six I think it's verse four Scott

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so in Jacob chapter six verse four Jacob gives us this description of faith and listen carefully

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to how he obtained this level of faith Jacob six verse four

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wherefore we search the prophets and we have many revelations all right so so listen right off the

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bat what do they do that we're searching the prophets it it takes extreme work and study

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to search the prophets god it's it's not just I'm going to read verse a day it's they searched yeah

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that's a much different experience they searched they didn't just read they searched okay they they

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they were seekers in order to obtain great faith you must be a seeker okay what else okay

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wherefore we search the prophets and we have many revelations there what else got many revelations

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you can't receive faith without the revelation without revelation and the spirit of prophecy

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which is a testimony of Christ right all right that's the definition of prophecy given to us in

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the book of revelation I think it's 1910 the prophecy is a testimony of Jesus and what else

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and having all these witnesses we obtain a hope and our faith becomes unshaken okay so

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they get these witnesses they search they they receive revelation and now they have all of these

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witnesses uh in which which they which they know to be true by revelation and they what

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their faith has become unshaken they have hope and this hope is not just a wish it's an assurance

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they have they begin to have knowledge and assurance and their faith then becomes unshakable

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yeah and what do they do what's the notice the example of the power of faith here in so much

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that we truly can command the name in the name of Jesus and the very trees obey us or the mountains

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or the waves of the sea wow then the next you just read the next verse for a part nevertheless

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the Lord God showeth us his weak showeth us our weakness that we may know that it is by his grace

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and his great condescensions unto the children of men that we have power to do these things

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so where's the where does he give all the credit to to Jesus it's grace yeah his grace

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his condescension the effect he knows it's not because of anything he did to have that kind of

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faith I think that maybe one of the beginning points of faith Scott going back to Alma chapter 32

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verse 21 is it takes great humility and meekness I mean we've talked about gratitude being the

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beginning of desire and you have to have desire to have faith but somewhere right there with desire

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you have to have humility and meekness I love what Alma is trying to teach these people on the

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hill of Oneida as they come to him and they've been cast out of their homes cast out of their city

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and he says well you know it would have been better if you would have become humble because of the

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word but it's great that you're here now and that you have been compelled to be humble it's it's

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verses 15 through 17 Scott you are you there Alma 32 yep 15 through 17 yeah he that truly

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humbled with himself and repentant of his sins and in dearth to the end the same shall be blessed

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yeah much more blessed than they who are compelled to be humble because of their exceeding poverty

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therefore blessed are they who humble themselves without being compelled to be humble or rather

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in other words blessed is he that believeth in the word of God and is baptized without stubbornness

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of heart yeah without being brought to know the word or even compelled to know before they will

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believe yeah there are many who do say if thou wilt show unto us a sign from heaven then we shall

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know of assurity then we shall believe so what do you get out of that yeah in regards to well

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and let me read 18 now I ask is this faith behold I say unto you nay for a man knoweth the thing he

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has no cause to believe it for he knows it I mean meaning meaning really meaning not so again this

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is a little bit problematic because people say well if I know it then I don't need faith well I

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think what Alma is really saying here when you think you know it you don't need any faith when

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you think you know everything when you think you're the man you can do everything on your you don't

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need faith which is knowing and believe well yeah in Christ you know I I think he's kind of using that

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a little bit tongue-in-cheek yeah maybe you know but but I think that knowing it does still

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still requires faith you know and again that'll get into the next level of faith as we talk about

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that because knowing it it still requires faith for it to take place for it to come to pass in

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many cases and around many things so you know faith and knowing it don't necessarily preclude

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themselves well knowing it as long as that knowledge has come from God right yep because of

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your own great genius yeah because you think you know everything right if the knowledge is

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is accompanied with this deep humility and meekness which he's describing there and this dependence

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upon God for that knowledge then then yeah absolutely but you know sometimes we think we

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know it all when we think we know it all well then we're not even going to seek for faith so

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faith faith begins really with not just desire which which Alma by the way talks about it I

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think it's verse 27 scott find the word desire in verse 27 right there it begins with desire but

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you know planting the seed before you plant the seed you know which is the word right the seed is

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not faith right and in his great analogy or metaphor here of planting a seed the seed is the word

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and before you you you're going to take the action plant the word in your heart there has to be

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desire but even before that he says you have to have the humility and it's best if you're not

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compelled to be humble so many people we talk about rock bottom right you tell you talk about that in

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the dictionary recovery rooms yep is great glad you're here because you hit rock bottom it doesn't

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matter why you're here but we're glad you're here because you were compelled to be humble yep it

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would have been better if you would have become humble without hitting rock bottom because of

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God or the power of the word right absolutely yeah absolutely you know and it's that rock bottom

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that brings with it so much of the fallenness or brings to light the fallenness of our situation

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right physically emotionally mentally even spiritually you know that fallenness that that

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rock bottom puts us in and there is a great deal of faith required for sure but to have that experience

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without having to be compelled totally different experience I mean but everybody in alcoholics

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anonymous I'm you know and I could probably say this without fear of successful contradiction

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everybody there has you know hit that rock bottom I mean because of the decisions and so forth that

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we've made yeah well so anyway humility is really key to the to the obtaining of faith

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and then comes this desire he talks about desire Scott do you want to read that yeah this is 32 I'm

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a 32 verse 27 but behold if you will awaken arouse your faculties even to an experiment on my word

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and exercise a particle of faith yay even if you can no more than desire to believe

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yay even if you can no more desire to believe let this desire work in you even to until you

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believe in a manner that you can give place for a portion of my words so I desire so so important

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in the obtaining and the the building of our faith and then and then he talks about again the

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planning of that seed and how will how will we know that it's a good seed by the swelling and the

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enlightening and the edifying and the enlarging it will be enlarging and delicious to me which

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all spells seed which is I think so interesting right verse 28 and then it seed is the word

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and if you plant that word in your heart and it begins to grow and he gives us the signs

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or evidences of its growth then you have the beginnings of faith and it may be a little

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seedling so again think of the levels of faith here there's a little seedling of faith and it

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grows up and it becomes a young plant and then it grows up and it becomes a little tree and

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eventually it becomes this great tree that bears fruit and that fruit would be of course I think

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much like the tree in Lehi's dream it becomes the love of God the atonement of Jesus Christ

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it becomes all of the blessings and ordinances of the gospel administered into our life the fruits

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of the gospel of Jesus Christ and eventually the greatest gift of all the tree and the fruit

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represent eternal life that that's kind of an essence Alma chapter chapter 32 Paul talks about

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how to obtain faith in much the same way much much more brief here in Alma or in Romans chapter 10

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uh he says this is Romans 10 verse 17 so then faith cometh by hearing and hearing by the word of God

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I I really just love that simple definition of faith and how to obtain it faith cometh

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by hearing and hearing by the word of God the first thing in uh President Nelson's great

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monumental I think talk a classic on the faith to move mountains which he gave along with his

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witness of Christ in April of uh 2021 I think that was maybe Easter Sunday if I remember

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anyway he bears his testimony of Christ then talks of faith the very first thing which he mentions

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is that it requires great study again that searching right it it's the searching that's how it it begins

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you you have to eventually for whatever however you come to humility whether it's hitting rock bottom

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being compelled to be humble or whether it's uh by your you're reading your scriptures daily or by

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it's some some event in your life President Nelson says the five suggestions to help us to develop

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faith and trust in God number one is study become an engaged learner immerse yourself in the scriptures

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to better understand not just in the scriptures generally but immerse yourself in the scriptures

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to understand better Christ's mission and ministry or in other words his atonement so uh he talks about

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studying the life of Christ study uh how how can we come to know Jesus because eventually to have

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faith in Jesus you must know the character attributes and perfections of his of his uh of his life

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and who he is and and that kind of goes back to the lectures on faith Scott the lectures on faith

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lectures really two through five talk about the importance of knowing in order to obtain the faith

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the faith of power you have to know the character attributes and perfections of God and of Christ

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so if we want to have that kind of faith we have to come to know God we have to come to know Jesus

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Christ and their and their attributes um President Nelson writes or in his conference talk he said

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the more you learn about the savior the easier it will be to trust in his mercy his infinite love

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his strengthening healing and redeeming power the savior is never closer to you than when you

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are facing or climbing a mountain with faith so uh the more we come to know the savior the more

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we not only will have believe in him but the more we will be able to believe him to trust him to

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believe what he says uh I think so many people uh Scott get kind of held up by just kind of seeing

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Jesus as some sort of a spiritual coach or as a positive role model or as something which is

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that's one level of faith but to really have the faith of power to experience the miracle of

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forgiveness in our life one is going to have to know Jesus Christ and who he is as their savior

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and their redeemer that is critical in the faith in Jesus Christ to be able to work out our repentance

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there's so much benefit to that to to to the knowing him you know John 17 3 this life eternal

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right to know the the only true God in Jesus Christ who now has sent we know that we've talked

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about that that very thing in this podcast on multiple multiple occasions but think about that

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you know to to really come to know him and for me Dave and this is the helix component that you're

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talking about of faith the more I know him the deeper my faith grows or the more power in that

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faith I receive uh but but that but that knowing him requires an investment on my part I I can't

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just read words on the page I can't just go to and listen to Sunday school lessons or even

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quorum meetings or release society lessons our podcasts or whatever to know him I really have

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to know him and to know him I have to spend time there you know I I've got to just spend a

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significant important meaningful time with the savior so that I can begin to fill that

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as president Nelson puts it as I can then begin to have that level of faith in my life

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where the effects of the atonement of Jesus Christ are seen by me for sure but maybe even

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witnessed by others as well in my life Dave that that requires I think Scott a lot of focus

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a lot of intention it has to be intentional some planning I mean it oh yeah he usually

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doesn't just happen by chance it can't happen by it requires a great deal of effort

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there's work definite work that's required by us in order to to have that relationship built on

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our knowing him not actually having that relationship with him well president Nelson after talking about

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studying and and the the effort to really study to come to know Jesus the second

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the second step in obtaining faith in Jesus Christ and his atonement is to choose

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his keyword to choose to believe in Jesus Christ to choose to believe him you know

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elder Anderson years ago talked about faith is a choice it is a choice it is not something that we

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just dawns on us or it's not something that just you know comes upon us it it is a one must make

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the choice and I just think that's such an important part and one must stop this is as president

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Nelson stop increasing your doubts by rehearsing them with other doubters allow the Lord to lead

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you on your spiritual journey in other words choose to to believe and and focus on your faith

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then not choose to uh who said that president new dwarf don't doubt your doubts uh uh doubt

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your doubts it was elder holland doubt your doubts yeah I don't know anyway yeah choose

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choose that I think it was elder holland but yeah it was if you're gonna doubt doubt your

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doubts right but but it's a choice Scott yeah faith is a choice and if that's the case

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if it is a choice and it but it does require effort on our part then then I think that investment

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that it requires of us making the choice spending time with him we'll spending time with him is a

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manifestation for example of our choice but making that choice in all the manifestations

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that come with that choice are really what's going to propel us into that faith Dave the third step

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president elton gives us is to act in faith faith requires action you know faith without works is dead

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and I would say work without faith is also dead but he says here think about it that that would

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require some focus and action right think about it he even says write about it don't just study it

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write about it maybe as you receive thoughts and inspiration about how to increase your faith

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or how to uh righteously exercise your faith write it then receive more faith by doing something

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that requires more faith I think that's an awesome sentence receive more faith by doing something that

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requires more faith can you can you think of an example of that Scott that our listeners can maybe

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relate to examples of someone who receives more faith who chooses to receive more faith

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by doing something that requires more faith I think a Joseph Smith for example you know he had a

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little bit of faith he read a if any of you lack wisdom he knew he did he felt like well I can go

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exercise some faith in that and he did and look what happened I mean his faith became a sure knowledge

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um I had so many others too Dave what have you gotten on top of your head there well you know I

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I'm thinking of my sweetheart you know she never felt like she could really call upon God for

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forgiveness until she had worked it all out for herself you know how many of us have felt that

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saved by grace after all we can do after all we can do she thought she had to do it all before she

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could even approach before she could even ask yeah and it kept her from taking the next step yeah

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which was to ask I mean I just think that's such a simple um a simple thing to do but it requires

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great faith really to ask God to forgive me requires great faith sometimes we as Latter-day

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Saints sometimes Scott we we're hitting all around it but we never get to the point where we cry out

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we'll talk about that when we talk about repentance where we cry out and we ask God to save us

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man I we we almost become defensive about that we you know I mean really we think

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we really do I don't I don't want to be evangelical Christian yeah I mean I heaven forbid yeah and

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so we never get around to taking that action to crying out asking God to forgive us to save us

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I think that would be a really positive thing for most of us to to have the faith enough to

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actually take the next step and which would be to do to take that action yeah cry out yeah

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what and there are so many other examples there there's practical examples of individuals who

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who I you know to to be able to take the faith to go offer someone your forgiveness right that

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requires a lot of faith to forgive others yeah requires great faith there's a lot of faith

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required in service you know I went to minister right I went to a missionary farewell of our

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dear little niece 80 the other day and you know that the level of faith that is being required

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by her to go and do what she's being asked to do on a mission that's why yeah and her parents you

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know yeah Darryl and Laurie require great faith in order for them to experience what they're

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experiencing there as well so we should talk more about this later but one of the one of the

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steps of to really obtain great faith in the lectures on faith is in lecture six and it requires

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great sacrifice so one of the actions that we should all consider what can we do to increase

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our faith is what's what sacrifice can I make what sacrifice am I not making maybe it maybe it

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would be to go to the temple more often may it may be the sacrifice of of time to do certain

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things or or a sacrifice of maybe getting up early in the morning to study the scriptures

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before we go to work or the sacrifice of paying our tithes and our our offerings and to to do all

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of those things and ultimately the sacrifice of of King Lamoni that we would give King Lamoni's

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father sorry the that we would offer all of our sins as a sacrifice to the Lord to the Lord to

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put to put our our sins on the altar and ultimately the sacrifice of our will to put our will on the

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altar those are all actions that should be considered that we should consider and the fourth

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by President Nelson to increase our faith the faith to move mountains is to partake of sacred

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ordinances right worthily and he says ordinances unlock the power of God for your life I think

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of Dr. incumbent section 84 it's in the ordinances thereof speaking of the temple in the ordinances

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thereof are the power is the power of godliness manifest I know that power is the atonement

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of Jesus Christ in our life but it's also the power of faith in our life so participating more

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in the ordinances including the sacrament including all of the saving ordinances of the gospel

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will unlock the power of God or faith in our life and the fifth and final step of President

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Nelson in his talk faith to move mountains ask your heavenly father in the name of Jesus Christ

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for help faith takes work and receiving revelation takes work so I think what he's saying there

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is we need revelation it needs to we need to receive it as a gift but in order to receive that gift

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we have to qualify for it and qualifying for it takes some effort on our part asking for it

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asking for God's help in our development of faith asking for revelation asking for confirmation

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that all requires great effort and ultimately it comes faith comes as we receive revelation

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and through the Holy Ghost so those are the five steps how to increase our faith in President

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Nelson's and I encourage everyone to maybe go back and review that talk if they want to increase

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their faith that's April 2021 well Dave great day I mean as we start talking about and moving

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into repentance you know we've kind of set the stage you know we talked about over the last

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several weeks why the atonement's important to how it answers the effects of the fall of Adam and

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Eve and how it effect answers the effects of our own personal falls we've also talked about how

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understanding and really knowing the events of the atonement of Jesus Christ will give us a deeper

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gratitude a deeper desire a deeper desire to have that faith to know him to come to him to have

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the blessings bestowed on us or to qualify for the blessings that come to us both the conditional

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and the unconditional blessings of the atonement of Jesus Christ and to have faith in that will

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dispel fear and I think that that's one of the great benefits that we will all experience as we

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embark on this journey of obtaining and gaining and exercising and growing in faith from faith

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in Jesus Christ to even a faith of power so hey gang thanks so much for being with us today as we

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talk about these things we hope that you feel the spirit we know that we do hear we pray that you do

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that you do there as well until we can be together again next week be well