Faith in Jesus Christ

            Families, communities, and nations are strengthened as individuals exercise faith in Jesus Christ. This is the second in a series on the Young Women values. The first post in the series can be found here. It discusses the Young Women values and the Personal Progress program that assists women of all ages to develop these attributes. Each value is represented by a specific color.

            The first Young Women value is faith in Jesus Christ, and it is represented by the color white, which symbolizes purity or pure faith. An ancient American prophet by the name of Alma taught that faith is “not to have a perfect knowledge” but to have a “hope for things which are not seen, which are true” (Book of Mormon – Another Testament of Jesus Christ, Alma 32:21).

            We read of many miracles performed by Jesus Christ as He walked the roads of Palestine. One of those miracles was the healing of the daughter of Jairus as well as the story of a woman who was healed. These stories are found in Mark 5:22-43. Jesus was approached by “one of the rulers of the synagogue” by the name of Jairus. He fell at the feet of Jesus and begged Him to return to his home to heal his “little daughter” who was near death.

            Jesus went with Jairus, but His travel was hindered by the many people who thronged around Him. One of those people was a woman who was healed of a long-time health issue because she believed she would be healed if she only touched His robe. She accomplished her goal of touching Him and was immediately healed. He felt the virtue go out of Him and demanded to know who had touched Him. She came to Him and told Him the truth. He said, “Daughter, thy faith hath made thee whole; go in peace, and be whole of thy plague” (v. 34).

            While Christ was thus delayed, a servant of Jairus arrived with the news that the daughter had died. Jesus told Jairus, “Be not afraid, only believe” (v. 36). Jesus took Peter, James, and John and went to the home of Jairus, which was surrounded by people weeping and wailing. Jesus asked them, “Why make ye this ado, and weep? The damsel is not dead, but sleepeth” (v. 39). The people laughed with scorn at His words.

            Jesus took the father, mother, and His apostles and went into the room where the damsel was lying. He took her by the hand and told her to “arise” (v. 41). The twelve-year-old girl immediately “arose and walked” (v. 42); she was given some food and ate it (v. 43).

            The woman with the health issue was healed because she had faith that Christ could heal her with only a touch. The young maiden was healed because her father had faith in Jesus Christ and His power to heal. There are many other examples in the scriptures and in life where people are healed because they have enough faith to be healed or others exercise their faith in behalf of the ill person. There are other times when people exercise faith in Jesus Christ, but it is not the Lord’s will for them to be healed. Faith in Jesus Christ means faith in His ability to know what is right in each circumstance and a willingness to accept His will. Just as Christ has the power to heal people physically, He also has the power to heal spiritually. He has the power to heal individuals, families, communities, and nations.

            Elder Joseph B. Wirthlin while a member of the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles said, “Faith is not so much something we believe; faith is something we live.” In other words, more is required that simply belief. Faith is an action word. The woman with the health issue did more than simply believe in Christ; she reached out to touch His robe. The ruler Jairus did not simply believe in Christ. He found Jesus and asked Him to come to his home to heal his daughter.

            Faith can be exercised in many different areas of life. It takes faith for a young couple to start their family while still obtaining their education. It takes more faith than money to pay tithing. It takes faith to establish and continue a pattern of prayer and scripture study. It takes faith to move to a new area simply because one feels it is the right thing to do.

            A wonderful family home evening lesson about faith in Jesus Christ can be found at this site. I encourage you to consider your own faith in Jesus Christ. What can you do to strengthen your faith and, in return, strengthen your family, community and nation?