One of my Stake Leaders pointed out a simple formula tonight for the faith necessary to lead one to life and salvation as defined in the Lectures on Faith from Joseph Smith.
For a rational and intelligent being to exercise faith unto salvation = 1. Know God exists, 2. Correct understanding of who He is/what He is like, 3. Knowledge that your life is in accordance with His will
The Formula is PRO- Pray, Read, Obey
1. Pray- There is no better way to learn and know that God exists. He hears and answers our prayers thus giving us evidence of His existence and His involvement in our lives.
2. Read- Through reading the scriptures with the companionship of the Holy Ghost, we gain a correct understanding of who He is and what He is like. This is our greatest source of this knowledge besides learning directly from the Spirit or seeing His involvement in our own lives. Seeing how He interacts with those in the scriptures also helps us recognize His involvement in our own lives.
3. Obey- The best way to know your life is in accordance with His will is to try to obey Him.
What I also find interesting in the formula [exercise faith unto salvation = 1. Know God exists, 2. Correct understanding of who He is/what He is like, 3. Knowledge that your life is in accordance with His will] is that when 1, 2, or 3 is lacking, we will struggle in exercising our faith unto salvation. The endure to the end part will become difficult. We will begin to struggle in the basics.
Our trials can make us struggle with 1 or 2. Not doing the basics will make us struggle with 2 and 3. Our testimony and understanding doesn't stay stagnant for long, it is increasing or decreasing depending on our actions. And when we struggle with 3, we often try to forget He exists or determine Him to be unjust or an angry god.
3 seems to be the tricky one here. As members of the church, we often feel that we could be doing more and thus we are not doing enough therefore our lives aren't in accordance with His will. His gospel is one of peace and love, not fear and guilt. That's where the reading and praying come in. If we are feeling the influence of the Spirit in our lives, we can feel His love and approval. If you're struggling with 3, try to live right and then pray. Tell God about it and then be still for a while. You'll feel His approval.
If you want to see where I came up with the formulas, you can read below.
Lecture One Faith -> Action; Faith = Power
"Faith is the moving cause of all action in temporal concerns, so it is in spiritual. 13. But faith is not only the principle of action, but it is also the principle of power in all intelligent beings, whether in heaven or on earth. 15. The principle of power which existed in the bosom of God, by which he framed the worlds, was faith."
Lecture Two Knowledge of God (His character and glory) = Diligence and Faithfulness in seeking after Him
"Let us here observe that after any members of the human family are made acquainted with the important fact that there is a God who has created and does uphold all things, the extent of their knowledge respecting his character and glory will depend upon their diligence and faithfulness in seeking after him, until, like Enoch, the brother of Jared, and Moses, they shall obtain faith in God and power with him to behold him face to face."
Lecture Three For a rational and intelligent being to exercise faith = Know God exists, Correct understanding of who He is/what He is like, Knowledge that your life is in accordance with His will
"Let us here observe that three things are necessary for any rational and intelligent being to exercise faith in God unto life and salvation. First, the idea that he actually exists; Secondly, a correct idea of his character, perfections, and attributes; Thirdly, an actual knowledge that the course of life which one is pursuing is according to His will."
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