PLANTING THE SEED OF FAITH

I found a book with many pictures of beautiful wood carvings in Taipei, Taiwan. This picture, a wood carving of a plant growing in the wood carving of a person's hands, reminded me of a scripture in the "Book of Mormon", Alma chapter 32 verse 28:

"Now we will compare the word (of God) unto a seed. Now, if ye give place, that a seed may be planted in your heart, behold, if it be a true seed, or a good seed, if ye do not cast it out by your unbelief, that ye will resist the Spirit of the Lord, behold, it will begin to swell within your breasts; and when you feel these swelling motions, ye will begin to say within yourselves--It must needs be that this is a good seed, or that the word is good, for it beginneth to enlarge my soul; yea, it beginneth to enlighten my understanding, yea, it beginneth to be delicious to me."
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We have experienced a number of serious trials while serving our mission in Taiwan which has made us realize to an even greater extent our dependence on God. We often reflect on the scripture from Proverbs 3:5,6 that says, "Trust in the Lord with all thine heart; and lean not unto thine own understanding. In all thy ways acknowledge him, and he shall direct thy paths."

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It is easy to talk about having faith but faith is something that has to be worked on constantly, like nurturing a plant. As Paul the Apostle said, "faith is the assurance of things hoped for, the evidence of things not seen" (Hebrews 11:1). When we feel weak in faith and weighed down by our own problems and the sorrow we see others bear, we turn to the scriptures and words of latter-day prophets.

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These words of the prophet Alma teach us that the word of God helps strengthen faith and that if we can just muster the strength to "desire to believe", the word can be "planted in [our] heart" and enlighten our understanding. " This is just like planting a seed in soil and having faith that with good care it will grow. We know this is true; when it is hard to sleep at night or concentrate on our daily tasks because of our concerns, our prayers in the name of Christ and study of the prophets has given us peace. We have had many faith promoting experiences occur this past year that has strengthened us, such as help from doctors, people who have come into our lives at unexpected times, thoughts that have come into our minds, help from our family members, and support from missionaries and other friends here in Taiwan. Our faith has also been strengthened seeing how our children and other friends have dealt with major challenges in their lives through the help of the Lord.