Four Ingredients of Faith

The third principle in getting through adversity is to use the power of faith to move forward toward your idea vision.

Faith must be Fed

“Faith in the gospel [or relationships, or ourselves, etc],” John A. Widtsoe’s says, “is much like a living [thing]. To be healthy and vigorous it must be fed. If starved, it sickens, weakens, and may die. Loss of faith may always be traced to neglect, mistreatment, or sin.”   

How do we get more faith on our shelves, for ourselves?  In adverse times our mind can become fogged in—and though we know general principles to access faith and its power are stored in their somewhere—we can’t remember them in the haze of stress.

Faith--like many things--is a compound of several elements.  We feed--or mix them together--and the end result is faith.  Having fed faith it can then feed us.

Here is John Widtsoe’s elements that achieve faith—with commentary by great men.

Ingredients of Faith

Desire

“[God] grants unto men according to their desires,” Alma said.

“Our deepest desires, our premortal yearnings, are still divine in their origins, and they are still deep in our souls. The echoes of our [premortal life]  still reverberate…” Jeffery R. Holland

Prayer 

“If any of us are imperfect,” George Q Cannon says, “it is our duty to pray for the gift that will make us perfect. Have I imperfections? I am full of them. What is my duty? To pray to God to give me the gifts that will correct these imperfections. . . . They are intended for this purpose….”

“Grant us faith,” Gordon B. Hinckley prayed, “to look beyond the problems of the moment to the miracles of the future…Grant us faith when storms of adversity beat us down and drive us to the ground….

Study 

Some people think” John A. Widtsoe says, "that “knowledge of the gospel comes as it were, with breathing, while to secure academic knowledge requires toil and more toil…

“Neglect to maintain familiarity with gospel principles through regular study, coupled with neglect to practice gospel precepts in daily life, is a fruitful cause of loss of faith...”

Practice

“The great lesson to be learned in the world today,” David O McKay tells us, “is to apply in the little acts and duties of life the glorious principles of the Gospel. Let us not think that, because some of the things may seem small and trivial, they are unimportant.”

“…There’s no practical problem before me at all,” C.S. Lewis observed, coming out of a trial, “I know the two great commandments, and I’d better get on with them.”

  

Further Study

“The Way of the Disciple” Dieter F. Uchtdorf

“Testimony” Dallin H. Oaks

“The Desire of our Hearts” Dallin H. Oaks

“Spiritual Preparedness: Start Early and Be Steady” Henry B. Eyring

“Gifts of the Spirit for Hard Times” Henry B. Eyring

"Reservoir of Living Water" David A. Bednar

“Lord, Increase our Faith” by Neal A. Maxwell (book)

“Evidences and Reconciliations” by John A. Widtsoe (book)