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)