All day whenever I heard something great at church I kept thinking "I should blog this!" But really, what a great way to articulate the incredible insights that came out of Colonial 1 today!
The lesson in Relief Society was titled "Living by Faith" in Wilford Woodruff, Teachings, in summation "We walk by faith and not by sight, with the assurance that the Lord will strengthen us in our efforts..."
Faith in Jesus Christ is a gift that is given to us from the power of God, and is cultivated by obedience to His laws and ordinances. If we see faith as a gift, and recognize that that gift comes through obedience, we have a direct connection that yields an increase in faith and obedience that streams us on a direct path leading to eternal life, and greater spiritual intelligence. The more faith we cultivate, the greater our desire for obedience, and thus, an even greater devotion and faithFUL following toward our goal. As we increase our faith, we gain more focus on those things that are the both the "righteous desires" of our hearts and the will of God. In contrast, a slip into disobedient acts will immediately cast doubts upon that focused goal and as a result, cause faith to waver. Even the smallest acts of disobedience, be it omission or commission, can cause that gift of faith to wane. Thankfully, we have the atonement constantly at our side to help guide us back to obedience, turning us back toward our goal and recovering the ground lost.
This gift of faith through obedience is exemplified through the image of a small child walking across the street with his parents. He isn't worried about the cars and obstacles in the road because he innately trusts in his parent's loving protection and guidance. In this same way, we can place our trust in Heavenly Father to keep us out of harm's reach if we are focused in faith and obedience on His principles. He will watch out for the cars while we make the action to move.
So, all in all, our spiritual intelligence is strengthened through faithful obedience to the knowledge we aquire in the ever present gift-giving cycle.
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