Sunday, September 9, 2012

Faith is the Power / Foundations of Faith


“If the foundation of faith is not embedded in our hearts,
 the power to endure will crumble.”
                                               
                                                                 -Henry B. Eyring


From that quote, I picture two distinct images in my mind.

First I see an image of a coal power plant. As coal is taken to and burned at a plant, it generates electricity. We can then use that electricity to power everything from lights, to computers, to even cars now. These things help our lives move forward.

 Faith is power.  To generate that power, we need to add elements to our lives such as meaningful scripture study, mighty prayer, and purposeful service. As we let activities like those burn within our souls, they change us and generate faith. Faith is the power—the energy source that motivates us to keep moving forward and endure to the end.




Second, I see an image of a foundation, and this is the image that President Henry B Eyring writes about. In order to have a strong foundation, there must be solid ground underneath. Next you pour the foundation, and after some curing time, you have a strong foundation.

In building a foundation of faith, the only way to have solid ground underneath is to have personal integrity. The actual foundation is then poured as a mixture of different elements. Meaningful scripture study, mighty prayer, and purposeful service would all be good faith-building elements in that mixture.  Next there must be a passage of time to let the mixture harden, which allows the foundation to be strong. Faith takes time to solidify in our souls. Remember, it is letting the right elements have time to solidify, and not the passage of time alone that creates a foundation of faith.



I’m grateful for Elder Eyring’s April 2012 conference talk entitled Mountains to Climb. It has given me two images in my mind that remind me how important faith is in our lives to help us endure to the end and to help us in a world of changing values stay steadfast and immovable.

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