Wednesday, August 7, 2019

George Albert Smith on Faith as a Gift from God


Commenting on faith, President George Albert Smith wrote the following, showing that (1) faith is a gift from God and yet, (2) there being a dynamic relationship between our will and God’s will with respect to our receiving this gift of faith (cf. John 6:40):

Faith, A Gift: Fruit of Righteousness

We know that faith is a gift of God; it is the fruitage of righteous living. It does not come to us by our command, but is the result of doing the will of our Heavenly Father. If we lack faith, let us examine ourselves to see if we have been keeping His commandments, and repent without delay if we have not. It has been faith that the men who have stood at the head of this work have been inspired to give the instructions that we have needed. It is by faith that we are edified on occasions, like this, by those who minister in the name of the Lord, and the Comforter quickens their understanding, bringing things past to their remembrance and showing them things to come, thus evidencing the spirit of revelation. (George Albert Smith, Liahona, Vol. 13, p. 330, as quoted in Sharing the Gospel with Others: Excerpts from the Sermons of President Smith [comp. Preston Nibley; Salt Lake City: Deseret News Press, 1948], 49)