There was a great question posed in my family Gospel Study Group and I thought I would say a few words in an effort to shed some light on the answer.
“So many times in the scripture they say “my spirit is wanting my flesh is weak”, that is the ultimate thought to describe wanting change.
So again there’s things that I need to work on and that everyone needs to work on so how do we change our deepest thoughts and motivations to do whatever it is that we need to change?”
Boyd K. Packer made a statement that should never be underestimated.
“True doctrine, understood, changes attitudes and behavior.
“The study of the doctrines of the gospel will improve behavior quicker than a study of behavior will improve behavior. … That is why we stress so forcefully the study of the doctrines of the gospel”
Boyd K. Packer of the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles. (“Little Children,” Ensign, Nov. 1986, 17).
Why is this so vitally important? In my opinion it is because the Gospel of Christ speaks to our spirits in a way that nothing else can, regardless of how good it is. It contains within its teachings every principle and truth to exalt man and through their pursuit, man is perfected and purified.
Now, hold that thought, and let me tell you a quick story.
My company put on a 3-day live event last September. During an Q&A session, a lady asked the question, “how can we go from version 1.0 of ourselves to version 2.0 of ourselves, how do we cross that line?” All three founders were on stage, Brendon Burchard, Dean Graziosi, and Ethan Willis, and had great responses, but let me share what Ethan said. He said that when he has a project that he is working on, he goes into his theatre room, shuts the door, and starts to visualize the project. He might be there an hour or longer and visualizes the whole project, in as much detail as possible. To the extent that when things happen, it doesn’t surprise him, because he has already created it.
Ethan is an active member of the church, and I have great respect for him. As he spoke, the Spirit fell upon me and told me, that what he was saying was a powerful demonstration of faith.
So, here we are at the first principle of the Gospel, which is faith. The more I learn about faith, the more I realize it’s importance. I think that it is the first principle, because it is the most important. When we were born, air was the first thing we took into our bodies, because it is the most important and without it, life would end. Similarly, I am a firm believer that if we don’t learn how to have and use faith, we can’t and won’t progress spiritually at all. But like air, faith is ever present and in use in our very lives, either on the one hand or on the other.
Joseph Smith taught us in the Lectures on Faith:
9 From this we learn, that faith is the assurance which men have of the existence of things which they have not seen; and the principle of action in all intelligent beings.
Here we see that faith is the “principle of action in all intelligent beings” in the pursuit of that which we want. Using the words “intelligent beings” shows unto us, that it is only when we are acting rather than being acted upon (2 Nephi 2:13-14) that our action is based on faith.
This is a very pertinent component to understand as we look at changing our ways. When we act because we are being enticed by the evil one, we are being acted upon, thus faith is not present. Another way to look at it, is when we follow the path of least resistance we become crooked like rivers, and faith is not present or active in us.
Joseph continues to demonstrate or prove faith as a principle of action:
10 If men were duly to consider themselves, and turn their thoughts and reflections to the operations of their own minds, they would readily discover that it is faith, and faith only, which is the moving cause of all action, in them; that without it, both mind and body would be in a state of inactivity, and all their exertions would cease, both physical and mental.
11 …Are you not dependent on your faith, or belief, for the acquisition of all knowledge, wisdom and intelligence? Would you exert yourselves to obtain wisdom and intelligence, unless you did believe that you could obtain them? Would you have ever sown if you had not believed that you would reap? Would you have ever planted if you had not believed that you would gather? Would you have ever asked unless you had believed that you would receive? Would you have ever sought unless you had believed that you would have found? Or would you have ever knocked unless you had believed that it would have been opened unto you? In a word, is there any thing that you would have done, either physical or mental, if you had not previously believed? Are not all your exertions, of every kind, dependent on your faith?
12 And as faith is the moving cause of all action in temporal concerns, so it is in spiritual…
13 …But faith is not only the principle of action, but of power, also, in all intelligent beings, whether in heaven, or on earth.
17 Who cannot see, that if God framed the worlds by faith, that it is by faith that he exercises power over them, and that faith is the principle of power? And that if the principle of power, it must be so in man as well as in the Deity? This is the testimony of all the sacred writers, and the lesson which they have been endeavoring to teach to man.
Amazing, faith is not only the principle of action but also of power, both in man and God. Last piece of the faith puzzle to consider today.
Moroni 7:33
If ye will have faith in me ye shall have power to do whatsoever thing is expedient in me.
So to bring this all together, when we act for ourselves in the pursuit of that which we desire, action is created and taken, and if it is expedient to God, He will give unto us power to accomplish that thing, regardless of what it is.
Now, how do we use our faith to change our behavior? Joseph Smith continues, “When a man works by faith he works by mental exertion instead of physical force. It is by words, instead of exerting his physical powers, with which every being works when he works by faith.” (Lectures on Faith, pp. 9–10, 61.) To work, by faith, we use our mind and words. Is not this where the battle is fought, in our own minds? We have forces of evil constantly trying to entice us down the wrong path, and if we yeild, we are being acted upon and therefore faith is not active and without faith, the principle of action and power to do that which is expedient to God is gone. Just like going to the gym, muscles not used retrogress in their growth, verses muscles that are used, grow. Our mental/faith muscles are no different; we must use them and use them often.
Abraham didn’t sacrifice Issac in a moment. The mount was a 3 days journey away, let alone the undisclosed time that he had known what he was commanded to do, and needless to say, he had ample time to talk himself out of it many times, but as history shows he stayed true to God. He had learned to use his faith/thoughts to surrender his will over to that of the Lord and then act with and through the power of God. Truly, he overcame this world with his faith and was sealed by the Holy Spirit of Promise (D&C 76:53). We too can and must do the same.
We must be vigilant with our thoughts, and when anything enters our mind that does not serve us, we must use our faith to erase and delete it and then replace it. Not just the thought itself but the feelings that accompany the thought. Fear, for example, is never just a thought by itself, it always brings it’s big brother emotion with it. So, erase and delete the thought and the emotion and visualize them both leaving your mind and body, and then replace it with your faith, your love of God, faith in the atonement to wash us clean from the stain of sin, and most importantly, put emotion and feeling into that serving and righteous thought. Let the power of faith work within your own mind and body. The stronger the faith, the stronger the emotions and feelings of trust and love in and for God.
This is the process that Abraham used to cast out all fear and doubt and what was left, was pure faith in God and obedience to His commands. It is true that we will all have to pass through an Abrahamic test one day, but let us practice with the day to day trials with perfect faith as the principle of action and power to accomplish all that is expedient to God. This is my prayer, in the name of Jesus Christ, Amen.
Craig
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