Hey there everybody and welcome back to another episode of Redeemed Through His Blood, Scott
Durfey here joined by Uncle David Durfey.
What's up Dave?
Oh, wow Scott.
I'm excited about this podcast.
You know Scott, I don't think there's, I don't know, I was just going to say I love talking
about faith in Jesus Christ.
I just don't know if there's anything more important.
Really?
I think it's the one needful thing that he talked to Martha about in Luke chapter 10
is coming to know him, which is part of of of being able to have adequate faith in him.
Anyway, this is the, this is where kind of the rubber hits the road, Scott.
Yeah.
Last week we, last episode we had a kind of a good discussion on what faith is and starting
to move into even a deeper part of that today.
But you know, there's probably some things that we ought to recap.
Well, first of all, we are now talking about the conditional.
Yep.
The aspects of the atonement of Jesus Christ.
How do we conditionally receive the power of Jesus Christ through his atonement?
These are these blessings, these powers are conditional and that really is describing
the conditional blessings and aspects of the atonement of Jesus Christ.
And what Nephi describes in second Nephi chapter 31 and 32, which is the doctrine of Christ.
What we're really talking about now for the next several podcasts is the doctrine of Christ,
which is faith in Jesus Christ, repentance, baptism, receiving the Holy Ghost and enduring
to the end.
These, these are the conditional requirements on all of us to receive the power, the full
power of Jesus Christ through his atonement.
We spent, I don't know how many podcasts Scott talking about the unconditional blessings
of the atonement of Jesus Christ, which is unconditional for all of his children, all
of God's children.
We spoke of that and that should certainly lead us to gratitude and humility and the
gratitude and humility should give us desire to learn more and to draw closer to our heavenly
Father and to come to know his son Jesus Christ.
We've talked also Scott about faith in the general as we've moved into the doctrine of
Christ.
We've talked about faith in the general faith in our heavenly Father.
In fact, again, you can have faith in anything, there's false faith and there's true faith.
But faith in heavenly Father, Scott can do amazing things.
Mountains can be moved, miracles performed, people can be changed, miracles, miracles,
miracles, miracles, all because of our faith in our heavenly Father and the, the really
the power of prayer.
Faith in the general Scott is, I don't think I said this before, but I love what President
Eyring said about, about faith many, many years ago in a symposium that I was participating
in, in, it was a seminary and institute symposium.
And he was a keynote speaker and he, he said, faith is not simply to know God could do something
faith is to know he will.
That's, that's a different level of faith.
And then let me just add to that.
So let me repeat that faith is not simply to know God could do something faith or we
could say the faith of power really faith is to know he will.
And I would add, because you know his will, if you know the will of God by revelation,
I mean, to really exercise the power of faith, we didn't use that word in our last podcast,
but to really exercise the power of faith, one must have the Holy Ghost and receive revelation
to know the will of God because once you know the will of God and you speak it or you requested
or you seek to carry it out, Scott, it will happen and miracles will take place.
Well, you talk about, you know, receiving that revelation and acting on that.
And, you know, that's just kind of at first glance that may seem difficult, you know,
that may I got to receive revelation.
I've got to go have this experience, etc.
It's not that hard.
We have the tools that we need to have that revelation through conference talks, through
the addresses of the brethren, through the scriptures.
So you know, to learn and understand the will of the Lord for and in behalf of us and in
our lives is just not that.
I mean, it can be, it can require some effort and it can require, especially as we get into
some of the more deep and important decisions in our life, etc.
But generally speaking, you know, we have some really good direction in knowing what
is the will of the Lord.
True, Scott, really true.
Thank you.
And when we give priesthood blessings in the church or we receive priesthood blessings
or when we pray and we ask and we seek and we knock, you know, we should pray by the
Spirit and we should know by the Spirit.
This is doctrine, covenants section 46, the great revelation and section on the gifts
of the spirit.
When we pray by the Spirit and we give blessings by the Spirit, we know what to pray for.
We know what to ask for.
We know what to bless individuals with.
And if I can just say this, Scott, we didn't talk about this either.
We didn't use this term, but I love this term, which is in Alma chapter five and in in Ether
chapter 12.
And it's really unique to the this phrase into the Book of Mormon in those two chapters,
the eye of faith.
When when you have the Holy Ghost and revelation and the spirit as you pray, as you seek to
know the will of God and to carry it out and to receive miracles in your life, Scott,
believing is seeing.
Faith is actually seeing it happen before it happens.
That is an eye of faith and that requires great revelation.
And I there's some work involved in receiving that gift, which the eye of faith, I think
is one of the greatest gifts we can ever receive in this life to actually even with an eye
of faith, Scott, we can see ourselves glorified.
We can see ourselves.
I've I've just experienced this giving patriarchal blessings that with an eye of faith in preparing
to give patriarchal blessings.
I've seen individuals.
I've seen them present their families to Jesus Christ.
It is second coming.
I've seen individuals come forth in the morning of the first.
Those aren't just words.
I don't know how it works for other patriarchs, but it's like I can close my eyes before I
ever lay my hands on individuals heads to give them a patriarchal blessing and I can
see things.
And I know that's really sacred.
I know that's personal and spiritual, but the eye of faith, Scott, is a really precious,
sacred gift of the spirit that we should all seek for.
I mean, just just think about this for a minute because I was kind of in the daldrums, you
know, in our last podcast because of my son, Isaac and, you know, his challenges and but
it just think if I could see if I could see him the way God sees him.
If with an eye of faith, I could see him the way God sees him.
Think of how things could change in my attitudes and in my actions, even towards him in my
attitudes and my feelings.
If we could see our children the way God sees them, if we could see our situation the way
God sees it, if we could get a glimpse, Scott, with an eye of faith, the end from the beginning.
I know that that's, you know, that's God sees all things from beginning to the end and he
sees the end from the beginning.
And that's why he's never worried or fearful.
He knows how it's going to turn out.
And that's why I don't think he's too worried about my kids or your kids.
I think he knows how it's going to turn out.
But we should seek that.
And I know that that can, I know that that can happen.
I had my dear, my dear Japanese friend, Brother Fujita, who had a son who he was so worried
about who was really in a lot of trouble.
This is when I was their bishop in Minnesota.
And he was so worried and concerned about this, this son and praying about him and seeking
to know the will of God for his son in the, in the celestial room in the Chicago temple,
Chicago, Illinois temple.
And he had this impression to look up.
Then he looked towards the veil of the temple and he saw his son coming through the veil
of the temple dressed in the robes of the priesthood.
He saw Scott and this was like a vision for him.
He saw his son with an eye of faith.
And he told me I've, I've never been afraid for him since.
I've never really, I mean, you always worry about your children and you don't want your
children to experience pain, even if you know how they're going to turn out.
It's painful to watch them to suffer.
But he knew where his son, his son, Sam was going to be and how things were going to turn
out.
That's, that's such a tremendous gift that we should all seek for.
And not just for our children or for those we love Scott, but for ourselves.
I think how that would change you, me, all of us.
If we could see ourselves the way God sees us and how we're going to turn out, what gifts
and blessings and glories he has prepared for us.
Oh, if we could just get a glimpse, Scott, that the eye of faith, it's a, it's a powerful,
powerful gift that I hope we can all seek.
Well, you've just shared a couple of experiences, one, a sacred experience, you know, that sometime
in you didn't get any details or anything personal, but sometimes you have seen through
an eye of faith as a patriarch performing patriarchal blessings for folks that you've
been able to see things.
You just shared about your friend seeing because through an eye of faith, his son coming through
the veil dressed in the robes of the Holy priesthood.
So the question is, and I know that we have, we have listeners who are wondering this,
well, that's great, but where do I start?
How do I develop that eye of faith?
So what would you say if somebody were to ask you that question?
Well, I think we answered a lot of that question in the last podcast, you know, that it, I
think it really begins with the desire and the need.
Desire gratitude is the beginning of desire.
Sometimes tribulations and afflictions can bring on great humility, great humility, and
it's better.
It's awesome that you're compelled to be humble and repelled to be humble by a wayward son
or daughter or and we get that example from the Zora mites and or by even abuse in our
own life.
Yeah, I mean, it's, it's, it's horrific.
It's terrible.
It's awful when individuals are abused, but whatever happens in our life and all of the
bad things that happen in our life, Scott should, should help us to be humble and to
recognize a need, the utter complete need we have for a Savior and Redeemer.
But the best way to become humble.
So humility is, I think, where it starts and gratitude.
But humility comes best and most powerfully and in its purest form, it comes best through
receiving the word.
That's by the word that we become humble and that word is Jesus Christ.
So when he says, come on to me, that's an invitation for us to begin that process.
And we've talked about that.
And where is he?
And yeah, he says, come on to me.
Where is he?
On the mountain in the temple?
No, all those things are great, but where is he?
He's in the Garden of Gethsemane suffering for the sins of the world, which humbles me
every poor and then concluding that in Elder Holland tells us that we worship the suffering
Christ.
And so where did he suffer?
He suffered in the Garden and at Golgotha.
That was, you know, we, Deb and I just a few weeks ago were there and, and I've talked
to actually a couple of friends that were there.
We didn't know that they were going right after us.
Actually one of them I was having this conversation with, he's also a member of Alcoholics Anonymous
and it was Saturday night after a meeting and he came up and his wife actually said,
were you guys just in Israel?
And then we talked about how our lives had been enhanced, changed maybe two, but enhancements
changed because we had been there because being there, Dave, caused for me to have such
deep con more a deeper contemplation, perhaps, and maybe I'd had before to be where he actually
suffered.
So when I go now, I actually have a body learning, a, an experience where I can go when he says,
come unto me, I can go back to those places in my mind and in my heart.
Well, as wonderful as it is for you and for others who have been to Israel to be able
to literally picture those things in your mind.
It's not necessary though.
And I, a true eye of faith, right, and transport us to those places in even a more pure, clear,
more powerful way.
I mean, how many people have been to Israel, but they never have the eye of faith.
The eye of faith can take us there.
We can be transported there and we can stand at the foot of the cross and we can get a
glimpse of, of him bleeding from every poor and yes, Semine, and we can hear him cry out
with an eye of faith and the ear of faith.
We can hear him cry out, my God, my God, why has thou forsaken me?
We can see him and we can hear him when he invites all twenty five hundred of the those
in bountiful to come forth and to thrust their hand into his side and feel the prince of
the nails in his hands and his feet.
We can, we can see him stop in the busy streets of Jerusalem and and he asked who, who, who
just touched me and he then tells that woman with the issue of blood who was immediately
healed because she touched the Savior because of her faith in him.
And he not only heals her, but he pronounces her whole.
You know, through an eye of faith, God, as we, as we study his life, we review his, his
teachings.
Well, not just review.
We, we search, we treasure, we feast on his teachings and his word.
We become humble and we can be transported to those, to those places with an eye of faith.
And when that happens, wow, we have great, we have the power of faith, which is more
than just the idea that Jesus Christ suffered for us, which is more than just the, the understanding
of his character attributes and perfections.
But then we have this desire and this power to be able to know that the course of the
life that we're pursuing is pleasing to him because we are with him because the thoughts
and the intense of our hearts are always with him.
That we're praying always in gratitude.
I can't believe how many times that's in the scriptures and I've pondered so many times.
What does that really mean to pray always?
To always remember him.
That's what it means as we make covenant to do every Sunday to always remember him, to
look unto me hit the invitation, right?
I'm impressed how many times that's been quoted in general conference lately, the last few
years.
Look unto me in every thought, doubt not fear not.
Those are great statements of how we can obtain greater faith in Jesus Christ and his atonement.
So well, you know, you got to finish that, you know, look unto me in every thought.
Yeah, doubt not fear not.
And that's important.
And then it's easy to read.
But 37 that's so that's verse 36 of the doctrine covenant section six.
But 37 says, and this is where it is because, you know, looking unto him and every thought
where is he is fine, right?
And here's where he is.
Behold, the wounds which pierced my side and also the Prince of the nails in my hands and
feet.
Right.
Be faithful and keep my commandments and ye shall inherit the kingdom of heaven.
Well if we would look unto him in every thought, and we did behold the wounds, and we did,
you know, behold the wounds in his side and the Prince of the nails and his hands and feet,
we would keep his commandments.
We'd have the faith to keep his commandments.
So anyway, that's, that's just kind of an overview, I guess, Scott of where we've been
and kind of where we are.
And now let's talk a little bit about today.
And what I really wanted to kind of talk about today was the difference between faith in Jesus
Christ and faith in the name of Jesus Christ.
I hope our listeners after maybe listening to this will begin immediately to begin to
notice how many times in the scriptures, dozens and dozens, how many times in the scriptures
it talks about faith in the name of Jesus Christ or faith on his name and how many times
that's in the scriptures over and over again.
And as you think about that, I think that we should all just pause and ponder and appreciate
the difference between what it means to have faith in Jesus Christ, which is powerful,
and faith in the name of Jesus Christ, which is exalting.
I first became really sensitive to this, Scott, when just kind of serendipitously I came across
the book called In His Holy Name, or maybe it's just His Holy Name.
Yeah, okay.
Yeah, you just held it up because I mentioned this last year in our previous...
Yeah, yeah.
When you mentioned this, I went and found it.
It's a short little book.
And I have absolutely fallen in love with this short little book.
And I found it in Walmart of all places.
I found it on Amazon.
It's available.
Well, I saw that in Walmart in the year 1998.
I think that's about the year it was written in Rexburg, Idaho.
I was there for a leadership conference and just had some free time one evening and went
down there.
When was the first edition?
Yeah, you get a pretty good memory for an old guy.
Is it 1998?
It is 1998.
Yeah, yeah.
That's when I was in Rexburg, Idaho for a leadership conference and that book was there
and I'd never seen it before, never heard of it.
And it was a short little book and so I purchased it.
I went home that night and had some time and began to read it.
I couldn't put it down.
I read it all that night.
And Scott, it had a profound effect on my life.
It still has a profound effect on my life.
And so let me just tell you a little bit about it.
It's written by Elder Oakes, now President Oakes.
He talks about that when he was called as an apostle in 1984 that he had gone to the
scriptures to find out his responsibilities on what it means to be an apostle.
And he went to section 107, verse 23, Scott, and it says in section, we should read that
maybe.
I got it.
I can paraphrase it, but let's just read it.
Section 107, verse 23, when it talks about being a special witness, not just of Jesus,
but it talks about being a special witness of the name of Jesus.
107, verse 23, the 12 traveling counselors are called to be the 12 apostles or special
witnesses of the name of Christ in all the world, thus differing from other officers
in the church in their duties of their calling.
Okay, so he said that when he read that verse, the spirit came over him and he thought to
himself, I'm sure this was by revelation, he thought to himself, okay, I think I know
what it means to be a special witness of Jesus Christ, but I have no idea what it means to
be a special witness of the name of Jesus Christ to all the world.
And so he writes in his introduction to this, this life changing book, his holy name.
He writes, so this book is a culmination of my 10 years of research of what it means to
be a special witness of his name of his holy name.
Oh, wow, that got my attention.
I read that introduction actually in Walmart because I didn't want to buy another book
that was just a compilation of, you know, their conference talks that they've already
given.
And when I read this introduction in his book, I thought, I got to have this.
So anyway, 10 years, Scott, he said that he looked up every verse of scripture that talked
about the name of God.
I think I'm reading the preface right now, or at least parts of it.
And I find this interesting too.
He says, with illumination from the Holy Spirit, it has grown his understanding of what the
revelation, the meaning and significance of scripture references to the holy name of
Jesus Christ.
So with illumination from the Holy Spirit, it has grown line upon line, precept upon
precept.
But even now, I find this really interesting.
After 10 years of research and from an apostle and after reading every verse in the Holy
Scriptures, but even now it only scratches the surface of the subject that is deep and
important.
He ended up giving a whole conference talk on this, Scott, about what it what it means
to take upon ourselves the name of Jesus.
And he uses the sacrament prayer, you know, that that they are willing that they are willing
to take upon themselves the name of Jesus Christ in this.
You know, we say that in the sacrament prayer on the bread.
And he gave a whole talk on that.
And the elder Ben Nars giving a conference talk on this as well.
But for some reason, it doesn't seem to have, I don't know, it just seems like we don't
put as much emphasis on it as we should, or that we really understand the difference.
Well, and I think that's why I don't.
I think that there's a lack of emphasis because there's a lack of understanding as to what
it means is so easy to default to the things that are easy for us to understand that sometimes
the things that are a little that require a little more effort and work on our part
become a little more difficult because of that.
Well I think that's true.
And I also think that it's a really sacred, yeah, and a really sensitive subject.
And they're really careful how they talk about it and frankly, you know, they don't
want to cast pearls before swine.
And it really is a sacred subject and I hope that we can talk about it and treat it that
way as we do for the rest of this podcast.
But anyway, so let's talk about the difference between faith in Christ and faith in the name
of Christ.
I know that kind of the one of the conclusions I think that Elder Oaks makes in his last chapter
of his book is that, hey, there are so many great Christians in this world who to some
degree experience salvation and forgiveness and the blessings of Jesus Christ in their
life.
There can be no doubt about that.
And there are so many people who have a great powerful faith in Jesus Christ and receive
so many blessings in their life from that Scott.
But the difference between other Christians and the Church of Jesus Christ, Latter-day
Saints is that we believe that you are saved by faith in Jesus Christ and that you are
exalted by faith in the name of Jesus Christ.
Many years ago, Scott, I was reading a the new King James version of the Bible and this
is a book I love to read and study because it has some commentary and lots of footnotes.
And I was reading a scripture in Acts that talks about in the name and the name of Jesus
Christ and in the footnote it said that faith in the name of Jesus Christ is faith in the
ordinances.
I mean so this is not this idea is not completely unique to us.
But in the restored gospel of Jesus Christ, we understand by revelation section 84 verses
20 through 22.
Scott, we should probably turn to the nose.
I know I think this is probably elder Bednar's one of his favorite passages of scripture
because I've heard him quote it so many times.
But we read about the power of godliness and the ordinances thereof.
Why don't you start with 19, Scott?
Section 84 verse 19 and let's just talk about this because it has a direct impact on what
it means to have faith in the name of Jesus Christ.
Section 84 verse 19 through about 22.
And this greater priesthood administereth the gospel and holdeth the key of the mysteries
of the kingdom, even the key of the knowledge of God.
Therefore, in the ordinances thereof, the power of godliness is manifest.
And without the ordinances thereof and the authority of the priesthood, the power of
godliness is not manifest unto men in the flesh.
Therefore without this no man can see the face of God, even the Father, and live.
And we could say reside in his presence and be exalted in his presence.
So the power of godliness is manifest through the ordinances.
And it's through the ordinances, Scott, of the holy temple where we take upon ourselves
the name of Jesus Christ in even a more significant way than we take upon ourselves the name of
Jesus Christ by being baptized.
I mean, when we're baptized, we become the children of Christ, right?
That's Mosiah chapter 3 verse 7, Scott.
Mosiah, I'll turn there real quick and, or I'm sorry, Mosiah 5 verse 7.
In Mosiah 5, 7 I'm there.
And now because of the covenant which he have made, this is the covenant of baptism, ye
shall be called the children of Christ, his sons and daughters.
For behold this day he has spiritually begotten you.
For ye say that your hearts are changed, get this, Scott, through faith on his name.
Faith on his name.
Therefore ye are born of him and have become his sons and his daughters.
Through an ordinance, through faith on his name and acting on that faith in his name,
we participate in ordinances.
And the ordinance of baptism makes us the sons and daughters of Jesus Christ.
We become the children of Christ, or we could say the children of the covenant of Christ.
But Scott, when we go to the Holy Temple, we take upon ourselves higher, even higher
ordinances.
The ordinance of baptism is really presided over by the power of the lesser priesthood
or the ironic priesthood.
And that's important to understand the distinction between the two.
But the higher priesthood, as we read in section 84, to minister in the mysteries of godliness
and receive the highest ordinances of the restored gospel of Jesus Christ and participate
in the temple ordinances.
We go from being the children of Christ to being joint heirs with Christ.
That's not only a higher power, that's a more sacred, deeper, more significant relationship.
And in the sacrament prayers, when we say, I mean we're already baptized, but when we
say in the sacrament prayer that we make this covenant and that we participate in the sacrament
as a witness, that we are willing to take upon ourselves the name of Jesus Christ.
As Elder Bednar has taught so clearly in a conference talk, I think, called in standing
and good standing.
He talks about this, that the sacrament prayer points us to the temple.
Participating in the ordinances of the sacrament should lead us to the temple.
And Scott, when we participate in the sacrament, we are renewing all our covenants, not just
baptism, but we are renewing all the covenants that we have received, including the highest
ordinance and covenant of celestial marriage.
I don't know, I just, when people to partake of the sacrament, they should definitely contemplate
their baptismal covenants, but they should also be pondering their temple covenants and
ordinances.
And all of that, Scott, is what it means to have faith in the name of Jesus Christ.
We don't just believe in Jesus, we don't just believe that he has redeemed us, that
he saved us, and that's powerful.
And that is such a blessing and a miracle and saving to all of us.
The talk that you're looking for by Elder Bednar is called Honorably Hold the Name and
Standing.
Okay, thank you.
Honorably Hold the Name and Standing.
And he really gets in.
Which comes from a verse of Scripture in Dr. Incumbent, section 109, The Dedication on
the Current Land Temple.
So, you know, he gets into that a lot.
I remember being counseled by a member of his state presidency many, many years ago.
This was given in 2014, and so, you know, nine years ago this was delivered.
But the neat thing about this is the opportunity to hear, again, a witness of the name, Elder
Bednar, talk about honorably holding a name and a standing, and what all that means to
draw us closer to our Heavenly Father.
In fact, in a completion of the conditional blessings that come through the Atonement
of Jesus Christ, we just read in Mosiah where we become his sons and his daughters, right?
Speaking of Jesus Christ, faith on his name, therefore you are born of him and have become
his sons and his daughters.
And then, you know, there's a footnote right there in 7 where it says, sons, there's a
footnote D that takes us to Dr. Incumbent, section 11, verse 30.
And I'm just going to read that quickly.
It says, but very, very, I say unto you that as many receive me, them I will give power
to become the sons of God, even to them that believe on my name.
So that, you know, the intensity that comes not just from becoming children of and sons
of Christ, but this says that they will become the sons of God, even to them that believe
on my name, whose name Jesus Christ, right?
And so we become the sons of God also through this.
Yeah.
Well, all of that's what it means to have faith in the name of Jesus Christ.
In Dr. Incumbent, section 3, I think it's the last verse, God, I'm section 3 and 10
or sections where Joseph Smith was somewhat chastised, not somewhat, but severely, I guess,
chastised for losing the, for the lost 116 pages of the Book of Mormon.
But I think this is really instructive in the very last verse of section 3.
I'm going to pick it up in the middle of the verse.
He talks about the importance of the Book of Mormon and the importance of the restoration
really.
He says that they might know the promises of the Lord and promises, I would say, covenants,
that they might know and I would say, see the promises of the Lord, that they may believe
the gospel and rely upon the merits of Jesus Christ.
This is the purpose of the Book of Mormon, Scott, that they might believe the gospel
and rely upon the merits of Jesus Christ and be glorified.
We could replace that word with exalted and be glorified or exalted through faith in
his name and that through their repentance, they might be saved.
Well, faith in Jesus Christ is powerful.
Faith in the name of Jesus Christ is exalting.
It glorifies us.
I am so thankful for the blessings of the restored gospel and the restored ordinances and covenants
of the gospel of Jesus Christ.
They are sacred and the Book of Mormon, I think if people were more careful how we read
all of the scriptures, actually not just the Book of Mormon, but the Old New Testament,
we could see the powers of the mysteries of godliness and of the ordinances in all of
the scriptures.
When it talks about the robes of righteousness, I think about the temple and it talks about
the palms of his hands, I think about the temple and it talks about Jesus Christ as
the veil, I think about in Hebrews, I think about the temple.
I mean, really, we shouldn't read the scriptures hardly ever without seeing temple and ordinances
and understand that all of this is part of what it means to have faith in his name or
faith on his name.
So my prayer for all of us today and always is to just understand and it's not, it's,
Scott, I don't want to be fanatical about this.
I mean, I know faith in Jesus Christ is the first principle of the gospel and I know that
that's where it starts and yet faith in the name of Jesus Christ and understanding that
distinction can I know for myself and for hundreds of students who I've taught at the
Institute of Religion.
When you understand what faith in the name of Jesus Christ means, it is very motivating
and it's very humbling and it leads us to participate at a higher level in the restored
gospel in the holy temples.
So I hope that when we think of faith in Jesus Christ, we'll also immediately think about
faith in his name and faith in the name of Jesus Christ and understand the difference
between what it means to have faith in his name.
So faith in Jesus Christ and faith in his name all points to and leads us to the principle
of redemption and repentance and being restored.
So what else can we say about faith in Jesus Christ, Scott?
What it means, how we obtain it, the lectures on faith was what is faith, what are the blessings
that flow into our life through faith and how can we obtain it?
Those are the three great questions that the lectures on faith seek to answer.
One other thing I think we should say about faith and faith in Jesus Christ and faith
in the name of Jesus Christ, Scott, is the role of sacrifice.
Lecture six is my favorite lecture, the seven lectures on faith, and it talks a lot about
the ancients, meaning the ancient patriarchs and prophets and their families, and it talks
about their sacrifice.
And I think about church history and about the sacrifice of our early saints in this
dispensation and the faith, the incredible level of faith, Scott, that they had that
in all of their distress, that in all of their suffering, really, to go from New York to Ohio,
from Ohio to Missouri and from Missouri, from Jackson County to Clay County, from far west
to Nauvoo, from Nauvoo.
Oh my goodness, Scott, what a crucible of faith that our early saints were called to
go through.
And the sacrifice, the level of their sacrifice and the lectures on faith make this a point,
not only speaking of the ancients, but the saints of our day.
Those who are willing to make the sacrifice do so not only by the level of their faith,
but it increases their faith.
Sacrifice is a crucial element that should be discussed when it comes to talking about
faith, and it's also true for faith in Jesus Christ.
So to really have powerful faith in Jesus Christ, Scott, understanding his atoning sacrifice,
it leads us to the great prayer of King Lamona's father in which he says, I'm willing to sacrifice,
yay, I'll give up, I'll give up, have my kingdom to know thee, I'll give up all my kingdom
to know thee, I'll give up everything I own to know thee.
But then the great sacrifice, I think it's in chapter 22, Scott, in Alma chapter 22,
then he cries out in his prayer, yay, I will give up all my sins to know thee.
Wow, when we are willing to make that sacrifice, our faith in Jesus Christ grows in leaps and
bounds.
We understand, we to make that statement, Aaron, Aaron must have done an amazing job
teaching King Lamona's father, and it's really cool that he says that he starts, you know,
in teaching the fall and the need for redeemer, that's how Aaron starts his whole, you know,
proselyting and teaching of King Lamona's father.
He begins by talking about the need for a savior, and by the time he's through and he
talks about the atoning Jesus Christ, King Lamona's father is not willing to give up
all he owns, but he's willing to sacrifice and give up his sins.
So Scott, in this amazing chapter, Alma chapter 22, when Aaron has done such an amazing job
teaching King Lamona's father, so Scott in Alma chapter 22, when Aaron, the brother of
Ammon, when he's done such an amazing job expounding the scriptures, teaching the lessons
right in one sitting to King Lamona's father, and I love it that he starts by talking about
the fall that man had fallen, and he teaches King Lamona's father that he can merit nothing
of himself, this need, right?
This is where faith begins.
Faith begins.
You know, when I was in a mission presidency, as a counselor in the mission presidency,
God, my responsibility in mission presidency gave me besides having half of the stakes
in our mission to conduct interviews for those who had committed serious sins or who were
in trouble with the law or had had abortions in their life or whatever, I would have to
interview those candidates for baptism.
But I also was given the assignment to increase the power of the missionaries teaching, and
teaching preached by gospel.
And so I, I went with several missionaries and I just wanted to be a fly on the wall
and I never said anything that sometimes is really hard for me to do, but I just wanted
to observe.
And so I would just sit silently in some discussions.
Scott, it was so hard for me.
And we tried to in zone conferences do a better job that teach us to the missionaries.
Hey, if you don't teach the fall.
Well.
If you don't teach how badly someone needs Jesus Christ, they will never be able to have
sufficient faith in Jesus Christ to participate in the blessings of salvation or exaltation.
And Aaron does that in the Book of Mormon does that.
And we've, we've talked a lot about that in our podcast, Scott, that this, this utter
complete need leads to humility and then this, the word of Christ and, and knowing that through
his merits and through his suffering that he atoned for our sins.
And in this I'm reading in verse 14 now of Alma chapter 22, that through faith and repentance
and so forth that we can be saved.
And then after Alma has expounded all these things, the King asks, so what, what do I
need to do to have this eternal life of which thou has spoken?
And in, in verse 17, let's begin there.
And it came to pass that when Aaron had said these words, the King did bow down before
the Lord upon his knees.
Yet even he did prostrate himself upon the earth.
He was laid out.
He just was flat out and he cried mightily.
Just try to picture this.
Oh God, Aaron told me that there is a God and if there is a God and if thou art God,
wilt thou make thyself known unto me and I will give away all my sins to know thee.
Wow, Scott.
That's a sacrifice.
Isn't that amazing?
Yeah.
That's the ultimate sacrifice.
Yeah, it really is.
You know, you think about that, you know, and I'm going to invite us all to consider what
does that mean to us because we think I hate my sins.
Really?
You know, do we really?
You know, we automatically, I think just a human part of us say, well, that's easy.
I hate my sins.
I'd be happy to give away all my sins.
Not so fast.
I don't think that's really the case.
Yeah.
No, I, I know that you've, you've taught me, Scott, about the payoff.
There's always a payoff, right?
Yeah.
And that's why we keep sinning.
That's right.
Is that we, there's some sort of a payoff.
Oh, it's so tragic, really.
But now I know we're, I know we're all sinners.
I know that we live in a fallen world and we're, we're tainted by sin every day and that we're
never, we're never really free from it, from the temptations or sins.
And I know that.
But the willingness.
Yeah.
And I think this statement of faith, of King Lomoni, to say, I will sacrifice all my sins
to know thee.
This is such an important principle in understanding how we can obtain faith in Jesus Christ and
His Atonement.
Well, and look what happened because of it.
You know, we know that the experience that Lomoni had, you know, and, and, and it was
unconscious and then came back.
And then, but, but what was really one of the things that really kind of stands out to
me in this whole story, David, is the ripple effect that that had, because King Lomoni
was willing to give up all of his sins.
He actually sent a proclamation in verse, verse three of 23.
Powerful.
Throughout, he sent a proclamation throughout the land to his people.
He wanted everybody to be converted.
That the word of God might have no obstruction, but that it might go forth throughout all
the land and his people might be convinced concerning the wicked traditions of their
fathers and on it goes.
And then in verse seven across the page kind of talks about the effect that that had for
they became a righteous people and they did lay down the weapons of their rebellion that
they did not fight against God anymore, neither against any of their brother.
And now these are they who were converted unto the Lord.
So what does that tell me?
The Lord, unto the Lord, as I'm converted unto the Lord, not the church, no, the Lord,
the Lord, not to the church, not to the dogma, not to the doctrines, but to the Lord, which
is, you know, the truth and the restored part of that is all part of that, but it's only
a part of that.
It's part of being converted onto the Lord.
And they laid down their weapons of rebellion.
We had a great discussion in the Institute classes that Deb and I teach on this just
last Thursday and we talked about the weapons of rebellion.
May I invite us all to consider what weapons of rebellion are really at the forefront of
our lives and how do we lay them aside like these people did as they became converted
to the Lord?
That's that's one of the ways that we can understand and begin to see the conversion
in our own lives unto the Lord is when we are willing to lay down those weapons of rebellion,
such as sacrifice.
So exactly.
Sacrifice my anger.
Sacrifice my control.
My fears.
Sacrifice my fear and all of those other things that we see so prevalent, prevalent, prevalently,
maybe in other people's lives, but we need to see that as a mere maybe in our own life.
We're so myopic.
Yeah.
Barry.
We have so many blind spots.
Right.
We have so many blind spots in our life too.
So Scott, we can't speak of faith in the general faith in God or faith in the specific in Jesus
Christ without understanding that to really obtain the faith of power, one must be willing
to live the principle or law.
It's even a law in the temple of sacrifice, sacrifice and obedience.
We need we need to live those laws.
Faith is the result of an obedient life of sacrifice.
Whose obedience is a sacrifice for some of us, Dave?
Well, yeah, no doubt.
No doubt, Scott.
It's interesting, you know, how the Lord kind of separates the two in the Old Testament
and Samuel, but obedience is better than the sacrifice.
So they go together.
They absolutely go together.
We can't make sacrifices without being obedient.
We can't be obedient without making sacrifices.
But I just think that those are such important points to consider when when we talk about
how do we obtain the faith of power in Jesus Christ and in the name of Jesus Christ in
all of the ordinances, Scott, that we receive.
We not only are promised the amazing blessings, but we also promise to make sacrifice.
And so I I think that we should all be and this is a hard thing, I think, for maybe our
culture these days is how much do we really sacrifice to be a great Latter-day Saint?
How much do we really sacrifice to be a true follower or disciple of Jesus Christ, Scott?
Sacrifice is a seems to be a unpopular principle these days.
And I I just you know, I'm going to be going on a church history trip again soon and I'm
going to be reviewing all of the great stories and of sacrifice that our pioneer forefathers,
saints were willing to make.
And that's why they had such amazing faith because they were willing to make these amazing
sacrifices and there were people all along the way, Scott, including some of our great
great great grandparents who were not willing to make the sacrifice and who stayed behind
who were left along the trail who didn't make it out here.
And they lost their faith.
They did.
They I know they had maybe some level of faith in Jesus Christ, but they definitely lost
their faith in the name of Jesus Christ.
And I know that that I'm not the judge and that they'll have maybe opportunities to to
rekindle that or to receive those blessings in the next life.
But they definitely missed out on a lot of blessings in this life because they were not
willing to make the sacrifice.
I think of the journal entry of Sarah P. Rich, wife of Charles C. Rich, and when she crossed
the river, the Mississippi River, and she looked back at the Naboo temple upon the hill
in Naboo, and she took her last glimpse.
She said she and she records this feeling which came over her that going forward across
the plains of Iowa, which was so difficult.
Oh, we should talk about that sometime.
But anyway, going forward and making this sacrifice, she said, was like taking a step
into the dark.
And she said, I would not have been able to do it had it not been for the ordinances,
the blessings and the promises that we had received in the house of the Lord.
Or in other words, taking upon her the name of Christ.
Exactly.
And brothers and sisters, we often think of the ordinance of baptism as being the ordinance
that cleanses us from sin and the sacrament also in connection with that.
But I want to also testify to you that whenever we participate in any ordinance of the gospel
of Jesus Christ, when we are faithful and participate in any ordinance of the gospel
of Jesus Christ, either as the giver or the receiver of the ordinance, the atonement of
Jesus Christ is applied in our life.
And I would also include in those ordinances the ordinance of bearing one's testimony.
Now, I know that's not a real true ordinance in the sense or definition of the word as
we usually use it.
But when we bear our testimonies of Jesus Christ, it says we're forgiven of our sins
if we do so by the Spirit.
When we pray in the Spirit, which I think is like an ordinance, we are forgiven of our
sins when we participate in any ordinances of the gospel of Jesus Christ, exercising
faith not just in Jesus, but in the name of Jesus.
And all ordinances are done in the name of Jesus God.
We bear our testimonies in the name.
If there's one thing I wish that we would do, and President Nelson has been so powerful
in trying to help us do this, how do we use the name?
How do we take it upon our lips?
What do we do with the name of Jesus?
And I hear people and their prayers and their testimonies, just like it's just automatic
or it's just they just almost flippantly just ended that way because that's the official
way to end it.
But do they know what they're really stating?
What they're really saying that anytime we invoke the name of Jesus Christ God, it's
like an ordinance and the power of Jesus Christ and His atoning sacrifice is being applied
in our lives.
That's exercising faith in the name.
Whenever we use the name, I remember when Brother Matthews was in my home in Minnesota
and we were having this long discussion about this very topic and I said to him, so Brother
Matthews, you know, who wrote the Bible dictionary, Brother Matthews, I've come to the conclusion
that when we participate in any ordinance of the gospel, either as a giver or a receiver,
the power of Jesus Christ and His atonement is being administered into our life.
And he said, David, wait just a minute.
Wait just a minute.
If you got a pen or pencil, I went and got a pen or pencil.
He said, so say that again.
And he had me say it slow and he wrote it down.
I thought this was so interesting.
He wrote it down and he he then studied it.
He kept reading it and rereading it for a minute or two.
And then he looked up at me and he says, David, that was worth coming to Minnesota for.
I believe that's true.
Whenever we participate in any ordinance of the gospel or invoke the name of Jesus Christ
by the Spirit, we are receiving the blessings of Jesus Christ and His atonement in our life.
That's what it means, Scott, to exercise faith in the name.
And we should be very careful how we use it.
But so I hope our listeners, we invite our listeners, please use the name more sacredly,
more carefully, say it may be a little slower when you in your prayers or bear your testimony.
Think about what you're doing when you participate in any ordinance of the gospel and you invoke
the name of Jesus Christ and think about renewing all of your covenants when you partake of
the sacrament.
Think about how this sacrament points us to the temple, not only reviewing our covenants
that we have made there, but pointing us to return there often to help others to enjoy
the blessings of faith in the name of Jesus Christ and may all of us be able to increase
and receive the blessings and promises of having and exercising faith in the name.
And that's my prayer for all of us today.
Well, what you're really saying, and this is another invitation, we've got a couple
of, we've had a couple of invitations here today, but to just be more intentional.
We just need to be more intentional about our relationship and that will include the
way that we end our prayers and everything else if we have great intent.
And also, that intent will really inspire us, motivate us to take a look at what are
our weapons of rebellion and how are they keeping us from fully taking upon us His name
and invoking that name in our own lives and in all that we do.
Thanks for being with us, everybody.
We appreciate your listening in.
You can send your experiences, etc., to us at HeReDemesus at gmail.com.
Also remember that you have been redeemed through His blood.
Thank you.