patterns of

prayer & faith

September 13, 2023

The first goal for the value of faith in the old Young ​Women’s Personal Progress book reads as follows:

“The first principle of the gospel is faith in the Lord Jesus ​Christ. Learn about faith from the scriptures and living ​prophets. Read Hebrews 11; Alma 32:17–43; Ether 12:6–22; ​and Joseph Smith—History 1:11–20. Read two general ​conference talks on faith. Exercise your own faith by ​establishing a habit of prayer in your life. Begin by ​regularly saying your morning and evening prayers. After ​three weeks of following this pattern, discuss with a parent ​or leader what you have learned about faith and how daily ​personal prayer has strengthened your faith. In your ​journal express your feelings about faith and prayer.”

I wanted to share my thoughts with you about how this ​pattern of daily and nightly prayer has impacted me, and

also my thoughts on conference talk and set of scriptures. You can jump to the end HERE if you would rather just hear about ​how this experience impacted me.

Hebrews 11

This chapter in the New Testament contains what are often referred to as “Heroes of Faith.” After a very well known verse 1 “Now ​faith is the substance of things hoped for, the evidence of things not seen,” it tells about “heroes” in the Old Testament whose ​faith was centered in Christ.

“Abel offered unto God a more excellent sacrifice than Cain” (verse 4), Enoch was translated, Noah built an ark without even ​knowing what he was really doing or why, Abraham went out in search of the promised land and offered up Isaac as a sacrifice, ​Sara was blessed with a child in her old age (verse 11), Isaac was able to bless Jacob and Esau “concerning things to come” (verse ​20), a Jacob on his deathbed was able to bless his sons and both the sons of Joseph, Joseph gave commandments to his brethren as ​well concerning his body after his passing, Moses forsook Egypt, kept the passover, and parted the Red Sea, and Rahab “perished ​not with them who believed not” when she hid away the spies on her roof (verse 31).

There are many other stories that are briefly mentioned in the chapter, such as Gedeon, Barak, Samson, Jephthae, David, Samuel, ​the prophets, women who received their dead raised to life again, and others who were sorely mistreated. Paul’s message to the ​Hebrews in this chapter gives us so many resources to look to concerning faith. This, I’m sure, meant something to the Hebrews, ​as they were hearing stories from a book that they were familiar with, which is why this chapter meant something to me as well. It ​is comforting to see how faith can bless us in big and small ways, and how we can have faith when we are asked to do something ​difficult, when we want something that seems impossible, or when we are just trying to do the right thing.

Alma 32:17-43

When I was in seminary, Alma 32:21 was a scripture mastery verse. “And now as I said concerning faith—faith is not to have a ​perfect knowledge of things; therefore if ye have faith ye hope for things which are not seen, which are true.” This verse is very ​similar to Hebrews 11:1, with the addition that faith is not a perfect knowledge. This important addition helps me to know that I ​don’t need to understand everything about something to believe in it, which has helped me develop a stronger testimony of the ​gospel. I don’t fully understand it, and that used to bug me, (because I like to know the answers to everything) but I can still have ​faith in its principles.

This section of Alma also includes the “parable”, if you will, of planting a seed of faith in your heart. Alma is essentially ​challenging these people, who are so poor that they can’t worship in the synagogues that they built, to humble themselves and ​have faith. He asks them to experiment with “the word” and pretend that it is a seed. He tells them that the seed won’t start to ​grow if they don’t even want to believe. The desire to believe has to be there. And once they have that desire, they will feel these ​swelling motions within themselves that will let them know that the seed is good. But, he tells them, it is not good enough to just ​acknowledge that they have this light within themselves, they need to take care to nurture it. A seed can’t take root and survive if ​one never nourishes it. And because it doesn’t have roots, the earth’s elements will cause it to wither away, and they will never be ​able to partake of the wonderful fruit that the tree would have grown.

Nourishing our seed comes from exercising our faith and choosing to believe. If a seed doesn’t grow, it doesn't always mean that it ​was a bad seed - we probably just didn’t take care of it well enough. Simply saying that we believe in the church and have a ​testimony of the gospel is not nurturing our seed. We need to exercise our faith by diving into the scriptures, praying daily, and ​listening to the words of prophets and apostles.

The last thought that I have about this passage in Alma is how amazing it is that anyone is able to receive revelation from ​Heavenly Father. In verse 23, it says, “And now, he imparteth his word by angels unto men, yea, not only men but women also. ​Now this is not all; little children do have words given unto them many times, which confound the wise and the learned.” I ​especially love the part about how Heavenly Father talks to His little children, and oftentimes, what He tells them is too hard for ​us to understand. And that’s why when we feel like things are getting too hard and we just can’t understand the circumstances we ​are in, we are asked to be like little children. I think their hearts are more open to feeling Heavenly Father’s love and guidance ​than ours are sometimes.

The Ladder of Faith - Elder Larry S. Kacher

This talk was recommended for me to read by a good friend of mine, and I remember hearing it in General Conference last year ​as well. Elder Kacher of the Seventy recounts a few experiences in which either he himself or people he knew experienced trials in ​their life, but were able to face them with faith. After recounting one such experience about blessing a sick infant multiple times ​on his mission in Tahiti, he states, “We pleaded with the Lord that His will be done. Shortly after, this little spirit returned to his ​heavenly home.

But we were at peace. We wanted the infant to live, but the Lord had other plans. Accepting His will in place of our own is key to ​finding joy no matter our circumstances.”

He suggests the concept that faith is a ladder, because faith is not “static”. Our faith can increase or decrease - go up or down - ​based on the choices we make.

Elder Kacher also asks us to ponder these questions as we climb the ladder of faith: “Am I stripped of pride? Do I give place in my ​heart for the word of God? Do I allow my afflictions to be consecrated for my gain? Am I willing to let my will be swallowed up ​in the will of the Father? If I have felt to sing the song of redeeming love, can I feel so now? Do I let God prevail in my life?” These ​are questions that I am working on answering for myself as I continue this study of faith.

Ether 12:6-22

Again in Ether, Moroni reminds us of the definition of faith “faith is things which are hoped for and not seen; wherefore, dispute ​not because ye see not, for ye receive no witness until after the trial of your faith.” (Ether 12:6) I remember that verse being a ​scripture mastery when I was in seminary, and we focused on the “trial of your faith” part. I like that Moroni adds this because it ​reminds me that we gain more faith by going through hard things and trials when our faith is tested. We can’t grow spiritually if ​we never have our testimonies challenged.

Moroni then goes on to talk about how it was by the faith of the people that Christ showed Himself unto the world, by the faith ​of Alma and Amulek that the prison walls fell, that Ammon and his brethren performed miracles among the Lamanites, that ​three of His disciples received immortality, and that the brother of Jared saw the finger of the Lord and had nothing withheld ​from him.

I would always get angry reading stories like these, wondering how we as latter-day members of the church were supposed to have ​such great faith if nothing like that was ever going to happen to us. Or wondering how we could even achieve that level of faith. ​But I think the people in those days needed signs and miracles more than we do now. We have witnesses and records and ​accounts of miracles being wrought among many, and we experience miracles great and small every day. They may not come in ​the form of angelic personages or parting seas, but in getting through a day with a sick child or having a home to live in.

Joseph Smith - History 1:11-20

It’s been a long time since I’ve read the account of the first vision, and the thing that struck me the most in reading it this time ​was just how young Joseph Smith was. When I was 14, I was honestly worrying about boys, sports, music, friends… certainly not ​whether or not the church I was in was correct. (Granted, I was born into the true church.) It just amazes me that he was so ​worried about joining the right church at 14 years old, and that James 1:5 spoke to him so powerfully that he went out into the ​literal middle of the woods to pray about his question.

I know this goal said to focus on verses 11-20, but with the time I had on my walk with my daughter I listened to a bit more, and ​just really pondered what it would have been like to experience this incredible vision of Heavenly Father and His Son, be ​persecuted by adult men about it even though you’re 14 years old, and also be told that because none of the churches are right, ​you’re going to organize the true church. Yes, the experiences of saints in the Old & New Testaments and the Book of Mormon ​are so inspirational, but Joseph’s Smith’s experience just really hits me because it’s closer to our time and I can understand a bit ​more of what he was going through.

It also just makes me think about Joseph’s parents and how well they must have raised their children if Joseph was so faithful at ​such an early age. And it makes me want to instill that type of belief in my children.

That We Might “Not… Shrink” (D&C 19:18) - Elder David A. Bednar

A testimony isn’t something I’ve always had, and I can’t say that I have testimony of every aspect of the gospel yet, because I want ​to be sure and gain one for myself about all its principles. But one thing that I do have a testimony of is faith and prayer, which I ​think was confirmed a few mornings ago by something my husband said, as well as a talk by Elder Bednar that I read.

A few weeks ago, I was feeling frustrated with prayer and wondering why, if we are supposed to align our will with God’s and say ​“not my will, but thine be done,” then what is the point of ever asking for anything when we pray?

Earlier that night, I had specifically prayed for my 10-month-old and I to have a good night’s rest because I had to watch her and ​another little boy that whole next day. I knew it would be a lot to handle, so I wanted my daughter and I to be well-rested and ​able to keep up with everything going on. My daughter had the worst night of sleep she’s had in weeks, which meant that I did as ​well. So I angrily asked my husband after finally getting her back down for the last time: “Why did I ask Heavenly Father for a ​good night’s sleep if it wasn’t His will that I would get one?”

We didn’t really get anywhere with the conversation, because it was 1:30 in the morning and we were half asleep. So it kind of just ​got put on the back burner until a few mornings later when we were studying our Come Follow Me. The We Believe app that we ​use had us focus on a talk by Elder Meurs of the Seventy given last conference, and also a devotional given by Elder Bednar in ​2013.

One of the messages that we were supposed to take away from Elder Meurs’ talk was that the savior “could” heal us, but sometimes ​His will is otherwise. This brought back up our discussion from a few nights earlier: why ask for anything when we pray if His ​will is already in place?” I thought this was a pretty valid question, but Heavenly Father answered it without me even asking Him, ​by having me read Elder Bednar’s talk.

In his talk, Elder Bendar tells a story about a newlywed couple he knew that was dealing with the husband’s cancer diagnosis ​three weeks after they were married. Elder Bednar was able to give the husband a blessing, but before he did, he asked the young ​man if he had the faith NOT to be healed. After a conversation between him and his wife, they agreed that while it was hard, they ​could accept God’s will.

The young man’s cancer went into remission for years, but later returned. After learning of its return, he wrote in his journal:

“Why should I have faith if His will ultimately is what will prevail? I learned that faith was not necessarily knowing that he would ​heal me, but that He could heal me. I had to believe the He could, and then whether it happened was up to him.”

We need to exercise faith, because as my husband counseled me that morning, “If we never ask, the answer is always no. There are ​certain blessings that are given to us as part of His will, only when we ask for them.”

So I have a testimony that prayer works when we align our will with Heavenly Father’s and when we open our hearts to receive ​revelation and look for His blessings in our lives, we will find them.

Final Thoughts

Part of this goal was to pray each morning and night for three weeks. I for sure said both couple and personal prayers every night, and couple prayers during our study each morning, but I didn’t quite succeed in saying a personal prayer each morning. My excuse, which isn’t really valid, is that I was never in a set morning routine with my daughter and didn’t have the alone time that I wanted to get it done. When I realized that my excuse wasn’t an excuse, I would sometimes pray out loud while walking Florence in the stroller or while driving in the car.

The difference between my couple prayers and personal prayers is the personal part. When we pray as a couple at night, I recount our day and thank Heavenly Father for various things that took place, and then ask for the rest we need for the next day. In my personal prayers, I repent of sins I might have committed during the day and ask for His forgiveness, as well as ask for strength for things I know I have coming up, answers I want to receive, and thank Him again for anything that sticks out about the day. Our couple prayers in the morning are short and focused on helping us gain something from our study, but they are still starting our day off right and if I don’t get a personal prayer in for that morning, I still feel pretty good about the direction of my day. My personal prayers focus more on asking for help with things I want to accomplish, and for help in keeping my thoughts and actions aligned with the mother that I want to be.

I still struggle with having the faith that something could NOT happen, or not receiving the answers I want WHEN I want them, but I’m trying. It feels like a personal punishment in the moment if things don’t go the way I want, like not getting a good night’s rest before an intense day or after a particularly hard one. But the next day is usually filled with tender mercies if I look for them, which I’ve been trying to do more.

Overall, this experience increased my faith, my testimony, and my time spent in the scriptures and focused on bettering myself for both me and my family. I plan to continue this pattern of prayer, and hopefully make it a habit to pray personally each morning, because prayer is what grounds me and helps me to keep my focus throughout the day. When I pause to think about my day, I receive revelation and inspiration that I wouldn’t get otherwise, which helps guide me and make decisions for my family. Prayer is an act of faith, but also an act of self-reflection and therefore self-growth.