Some initial thoughts on faith

  I've not posted here in a while! And that's as expected. In my personal study I've been focused on gaining a better understanding of faith. In my long and rambly notes from my efforts, I have begun to try to compile them in a more coherent manner. This is still a bit of a brain dump and lacks finesse, but here's my start.

Introduction
  While I was a missionary in Costa Rica, I came to realize how little I understood the core principles of the gospel of Jesus Christ. This invited me to see myself in somewhat of a pathetic light since I had grown up in the church. “I should understand these things!” I would tell myself.

  Over ten years since returning home, I still feel that I have but little understanding of core gospel principles, yet I no longer feel any shame in this. There’s no longer any should about it. The word “little” is a comparator with no meaning if set independent of something else. In view of the omniscience of God, “little” will always describe my understanding. In view of the understanding of others, I have nothing but intellectual blindness; that is, I have no true view of the understanding of others, only my perception. This is one of many reasons why comparing myself (my knowledge, or my understanding, or my muscle mass, or my eyebrow bushy-ness, etc.) to others is incapable of blessing my life or anyone else's.

  While I have chosen to disbelieve those beliefs which produced self-deprecating shame within me, it would be far from the truth to say I stopped caring about my level of understanding. I feel I “know no more. . .than a babe upon its mother’s lap.” That means there are some exciting things to learn!

  In the first part of 2013 I participated in a mentoring group that explored, among other things, what it means to live with faith. Exploring this core principle helped me face straight on my concerns about not understanding it. I was able to choose out of the shame and I also launched on a campaign to gain deeper understanding of this basic principle. This post is largely a result of that effort.

  I openly admit that, in writing this, I have a bit of concern. I do not wish someone to think that what I state here is absolute gospel truth. I take responsibility for what I write here inasmuch as it represents my current understanding according to my current capacity of expression. While I apologize to the reader for any errors and faults of clarity, I sincerely hope that I myself will see many of the shortcomings in this work! I would take it to mean that I have not ceased the adventure of life: learning.

  And so, here I begin to write my exploration of a singular principle of faith.


What is Faith
Definition
  Faith is the process in which an actor (or actors) act in hope of creating a specific outcome based on a belief or set of beliefs.

Faith the Process
  I believe faith is a process. Specifically, I believe faith is the process of creation.

  In Hebrews 11:1 we read “Now faith is the assurance of things hoped for, the evidence of things not seen.” Again in Ether 12:6, “faith is things which are hoped for and not seen.”

  Faith is hoping for something that has not yet manifested, that is, it has not yet been created. Whether it is the creation of some experience, a state of being within oneself, a lifelong dream, or a breakfast omelet, it requires hope through faith. Inasmuch as “faith without works is dead,” faith is the process of acting on that hope (or on that belief) to realize (i.e. create) some end.

  Let us consider the story of Ammon and his brethren in the Book of Mormon. They went out to teach the Lamanite people, a people described as “wild, and ferocious, and blood-thirsty people, full of idolatry and filthiness. . .continually seeking to destroy [them].” And yet somehow they managed to develop a hope, a belief, that “perhaps [they] might save some few of their souls.” They exercised faith on this belief all along the way. At the beginning, they asked permission of their father (Mosiah 1:5-8). In the face of much opposition and scorn from their own people, (Alma 26:23-25) they embarked (Mosiah 1:9). They parted ways in the wilderness (Alma 17:13) and taught for 14 years (Alma 17:4)! Was it a process? Oh yes! And it wasn’t a single-act, kick-off-only process either. If they stopped acting after asking King Mosiah for permission to go, if they never went, would they have created the results they did? Of course not. It was a long process of acting on their hope day after day after day. Faith is a process; it is the process of creating what you hope for.

Faith the Instance
  In the process of faith there is an actor and an action; faith without these is meaningless. Very simply, an instance of faith is an act performed. The converse is also true, that any action whatsoever is an act of faith. Thus an act performed is an instance of faith. Indeed, no action can be performed without faith.

  Another name for actions is works. In James chapter two we read over and over that “faith, if it hath not works, is dead, being alone.” (James 2:17) Works are the embodiment of faith. Faith is the spirit of works. Death is the separation of the body and the spirit.

  In lectures on faith, we read the following: “It is faith and faith only, which is the moving cause of all action within them; that without it both mind and body would be in a state of inactivity, and all their exertions would cease. . .Were [you] to. . .reflect upon the history of [your life], from the period of [your] first recollection, and ask [yourself] what principle excited [you] to action, or what gave [you] energy and activity in all [your] lawful avocations, callings, and pursuits, what would be the answer? Would it not be. . .the assurance which [you] had of the existence of things which [you] had not seen as yet? Was it not the hope which you had, in consequence of your belief in the existence of unseen things, which stimulated you to action and exertion in order to obtain them?. . .In a word, is there anything that you would have done, either physical or mental, if you had not previously believed? Are not all your exertions of every kind dependent on your faith? Or. . .what have you, or what do you possess, which you have not obtained by reason of your faith? Your food, your raiment, your lodgings, are they not all by reason of your faith?. . .If [faith is] the moving cause of all action in yourselves. . .is it not [the moving cause] in all other intelligent beings?” (Lectures on Faith, Lecture First, points 10-12)

Faith, Belief, and Hope
  The central principles and foundation of faith are belief, hope, and action. An instance of faith is an act performed based on a hope of what outcome such action will achieve. Underlying this hope, and thus the instance of faith (the act), is a belief that the particular act leads to the desired result. If one has hope for something, does it not depend on a belief? Without belief there is nothing in which to hope, and without hope there is no faith and indeed there can not be, for faith is acting on hope in a belief or set of beliefs.

  In True to the Faith we read, “Whenever you work [an act] toward a worthy goal, you exercise faith. You show your hope for something that you cannot yet see.” (True to the Faith p.54) So an act of faith is a manifestation of your hope. Paul taught the Romans “Now the God of hope fill you with all joy and peace in believing, that ye may abound in hope, through the power of the Holy Ghost.” (Romans 15:13) When we place enough confidence in a belief that it brings us joy and peace, we then not only have hope, but we abound in it.

  Let’s look at a simplistic example to illustrate all of this. I would like to drink a delicious fruit smoothie. I believe that I can make one. Regardless of how many times I’ve done it in the past, I do not have the assurance of a delicious smoothie because it is not in hand, i.e. it is not “seen” as yet. It has not yet been created. I believe I can enjoy one and I hope to enjoy one! I even feel a bit excited to enjoy one and may start salivating a little. Thus I act in faith to create one. I go to work! After making it, I taste the fruit of my faith (couldn’t pass up that pun). I beheld what I had only seen through the eye of faith. I held a belief with confidence, I had hope in that belief, and I exercised faith.

  Regarding hope and faith, the converse is also true. That is, to have hope requires an exercise of faith. Your belief that you could enjoy a delicious fruit smoothie might be firm, but if there is no action (be it by you or by another), you will have no hope of obtaining one! Thus hope and faith are mutually inclusive or, as I like to call it, bidirectionally complementary.

Blaming vs Trusting God

Understanding the difference between blaming God and trusting God is as yet, for me, a rather difficult task. I can think/say the same words in my head and in one instance be trusting Him and in another instance be blaming Him. Perhaps I can illustrate this with an example from my mission.

There is a phrase that the people of Costa Rica love to use and which all missionaries detest: "si Dios quiere." Translated it means "if God wants" or "God willing." When Paul left Ephesus he told the saints there "I will return to you again, if God will." In Spanish, you can guess what that says: "si Dios quiere." Here I believe Paul was saying "I would like to come back and visit you again, but I will only do it if it is God's will." In other words, I believe when Paul said "if God will," he was expressing that his trust in God was greater than his own hopes or desires. This is not the common use of this phrase in Costa Rica!

Whenever missionaries visit a home they obtain a commitment from their investigators, be it to read in the Book of Mormon, pray about it, come to church, etc. Almost every time an investigator would commit, they would tack on the end "si Dios quiere." It was used as full licensure to excuse oneself from any commitment. This practice blatantly blames God for one's own choices. There is no trust here! None whatsoever! It is an act of trying to give our agency back to God and telling Him "here, have this, I don't want it! I have no desire for that kind of responsibility. I'd much rather blame You or others for everything." How insulting that must feel considering the price paid to provide us this gift!

So bringing it back to our culture, when something doesn't turn out how we hoped, do we sometimes think or say "well, I guess God just didn't want it that way," or "It seems God had another plan"? (I think the question mark is supposed to go on the inside of the quotes, but that's a punctuation rule I've not come to terms with yet. I also love the Oxford comma, for what it's worth. SQUIRREL!) This sounds like a virtuously motivated desire to trust God, but is it? Might it possibly be us rationalizing that we are giving up, or that we weren't as fully committed as we'd like to think we were? Such an assessment requires a strong dose of self-honesty, sincere soul searching, and often some help from heaven*. For me personally, I find that sometimes I am trusting Him, more often I'm not sure, even more often I am blaming Him, and most often I don't even notice what I'm doing at all.

Given how poorly I understand my own self in this matter, it should seem absurd that I would judge others on the same. Yep... totally absurd. I try not to, but I struggle. So in my efforts to not judge, I choose instead to project my own experience on everyone else since that's at least more subtle. (Now I will justify my choice to project -- just want to make it obvious what I'm doing here.) I don't think I am alone though in getting caught up in blaming God for the results of my own folly.

Oh, life! You present so much more opportunity to learn than I feel the capacity to hold! I hope someday I might learn to discern clearly in those moments when I seek to blame God vs trust Him.


* Wouldn't President Monson be proud!

Understanding Prophetic Fallibility

I'm just linking to another post on this one. Thank you J. Max Wilson -- very well done.

My favorite part is this:

"This raises perhaps the central problem with appeals to prophetic fallibility. If God is capable of making his will known to you then why not to the prophets? And if his power to make his will known is limited by their human frailty why is it not limited by your own human frailty?

In other words, appeals to fallibility to defend disagreeing with the prophets almost always fail to account for how come that same fallibility principle does not call into question the ability of the one making the appeal to discern the will of God. Fallibility Boulevard is a two way street. Yet critics who cite prophetic fallibility rarely exhibit a self-awareness of the irrational asymmetry of their appeal. Their confidence that their own view is correct while the prophets are wrong because prophets are fallible is self-contradicting."

Read the whole thing. It's a bit wordy, but lots of yumminess in here. (Yes, yumminess is a word. If you don't think so, go eat a pint of Ben & Jerry's, then lets talk :) ). The video is very interesting as well.

http://www.sixteensmallstones.org/watchmen-on-the-tower-on-the-limits-of-prophetic-fallibility/

One of my favorite talks that I think could have been linked to at the end of his post is this one by Elder Oaks on criticism and how to handle it.

Asking for what we need and want

Imagine a parent/child conversation as follows:

Child: I don’t want milk, please.
Parent: What do you want?
Child: I don’t want milk.
Parent: Okay, but what do you want?
Child: I just don’t want milk.
Parent: Okay, you don’t have to drink it then.
Child: But I don’t WANT milk!
Parent: Great, that’s fine. You don’t need to have milk, but tell me what you want and I may be able to get it for you.
Child: I just don’t want MILK!
Parent: I know. So what do you want me to do?
Child: Don’t give me milk!
Parent: You already have milk. What would you like me to get you instead?
Child: I DON’T WANT MIIIIIIIILK!!!!!!!!!!!
Parent: Well, when you are able to tell me what you do want, let me know.
Child: <Pouts for a while> Mommy?! (or Daddy?!)
Parent: Yes, sweety?
Child: I want a drink
Parent: Okay honey, what would you like to drink?
Child: I don’t want milk
Parent: I know that, but what do you want?
Child: Something.
Parent: What something?
Child: Something to drink.
Parent: What something to drink?
Child: Not milk.
Parent: Since milk is what you don’t want to drink, what is it that you DO want to drink?
Child: I don’t know.
Parent: <Waits attentively and patiently while child tries to figure out what s/he wants to drink>
Child: Mommy? (or Daddy?)
Parent: Yes?
Child: May I have juice?
Parent: Yes! Of course! <Goes to get some juice>
Child: <Happy, bounces up and down in chair.>
Parent: <Fills glass of child’s favorite juice - let’s say it’s apple.>
Child: <Happily takes a sip, puts cup down with a frown.> Mommy! (or Daddy!), not THIS JUICE!!!!
Parent: Huh?
Child: Not this juice Mommy! (or Daddy!)
Parent: You don’t want apple juice?
Child: I don’t want apple juice!
Parent: Okay, what kind of juice do you want?
Child: Not apple juice!
Parent: Not apple juice, okay. Which kind of juice DO you want?
Child: Other kind of juice!
Parent: Which other kind of juice?
Child: The other kind! The orange kind!
Parent: You want orange juice?
Child: Yeah! Orange juice!
Parent: Okay. Is it okay if I drink your apple juice?
Child: Yes
Parent: <Downs apple juice real quick so as not to waste it. Rinses cup with water. Fills it with orange juice.>
Child: <Happy, bounces up and down in chair.>
Parent: <Gives cup to child with orange juice.>
Child: Mommy! (or Daddy!)
Parent: Yes, sweetie?
Child: I don’t want this cup!
…

And you get the idea. In the Bible Dictionary under prayer it says: "The object of prayer is not to change the will of God but to secure for ourselves and for others blessings that God is already willing to grant but that are made conditional on our asking for them.” I think part of the reason for this is that, in order to ask, we must define clearly what we want. He knows what we want, but by requiring us to ask implies that we have figured out and clearly defined what we want. What do we want? What does it look like? How do we want it? What kind of cup do we want it in? etc. etc. Not that we necessarily get it exactly how we ask, but learning to ask clearly for what we want is, I think, not trivial.

So, some examples.

"Please bless Amy." Okay, bless her how? With what? "Just bless her." Um... right. What do you want for her?

"Please bless me with thy Spirit." Okay, what are you seeking? Are you wanting protection? Are you wanting guidance about a specific situation? Are you wanting understanding as you study? Are you wanting strength to stand up for what you believe in? Are you anticipating a certain situation that may challenge you?

"I hate my job. I just don't like it." Okay, what do you want? What do you like? Get clear with yourself, what are you seeking? I can get you fired or laid off just fine. What are you seeking?

"Please help me have patience." Ooh, happy to! Uh... you might want to clarify. ;-)


Again, God knows what we want better than we do, but we need to ask. I think it is valuable and important then, for our own sake, to consider and clearly define what we want so we can thus ask for it.