Believing in the Power of Jesus Christ

I was struck by this statement to Hyrum Smith in an 1829 revelation: “Behold, thou hast a gift, or thou shalt have a gift if thou wilt desire of me in faith, with an honest heart, believing in the power of Jesus Christ, or in my power which speaketh unto thee” (Doctrine and Covenants 11:10). Hyrum was promised that he would have a gift if He asked of the Lord with faith and with a belief in the power of Jesus Christ. What does it mean to believe in the power of Jesus Christ? I believe this is part of what it means to have faith in the Savior—we not only believe His words but we believe that He has power to help us individually in our lives. We believe that He can bless and heal and forgive and save us. Surely the centurion at Capernaum was one who believed in the power of Jesus Christ. He came to the Savior “beseeching him, and saying, Lord, my servant lieth at home sick of the palsy, grievously tormented.” When Jesus offered to come and heal him, the centurion responded, “Lord, I am not worthy that thou shouldst come under my roof : but speak the word only, and my servant shall be healed.” He believed that Jesus truly had power to heal his servant even from a distance, and the Savior marveled with these words: “Verily I say unto you, I have not found so great faith, no, not in Israel…. Go thy way; and as thou hast believed, so be it done unto thee” (Matthew 8:5-13). The servant was healed, and this centurion showed that he truly believed in the power of Jesus Christ.

               The prayer of the brother of Jared similarly showed that he believed in the power of Jesus Christ. After he took the stones to the top of the mountain he pleaded with the Lord for His blessing upon them in these words: “And I know, O Lord, that thou hast all power, and can do whatsoever thou wilt for the benefit of man; therefore touch these stones, O Lord, with thy finger, and prepare them that they may shine forth in darkness…. Behold, O Lord, thou canst do this. We know that thou art able to show forth great power, which looks small unto the understanding of men” (Ether 3:4-5). I love that pure faith in the power of the Savior and that phrase is one that I have reflected on often: “Lord, thou canst do this.” When we similarly have important challenges in which we desperately need the help of the Lord, we can likewise approach Him humbly in prayer and say in faith, “Thou hast all power, thou canst do this.” I remember one time on my mission we were in a van inside a city getting furniture out of a missionary apartment and we couldn’t get out of the city because of some little metal barriers in the road that go up and down. They were in the up position blocking our exit and we couldn’t get out. We prayed and soon thereafter someone came by who lowered them and we made it out. Though some might simply call it coincidence, for me it was another witness of how the Lord can bring his power into our lives if we ask. As in this example, often His show of power in our lives is in the small things, but I know that as we plead with the Father for the power of the Son to help us overcome whatever struggles we face, He will do so. As President Nelson powerfully taught, “When you reach up for the Lord’s power in your life with the same intensity that a drowning person has when grasping and gasping for air, power from Jesus Christ will be yours. When the Savior knows you truly want to reach up to Him—when He can feel that the greatest desire of your heart is to draw His power into your life—you will be led by the Holy Ghost to know exactly what you should do.” We must indeed seek to truly believe in the power of Jesus Christ as the Lord instructed Hyrum and desire it to help us in our lives above all else.