Working Miracles By Faith

In his recent talk on faith, President Nelson said this: “Moving your mountains may require a miracle. Learn about miracles. Miracles come according to your faith in the Lord. Central to that faith is trusting His will and timetable—how and when He will bless you with the miraculous help you desire. Only your unbelief will keep God from blessing you with miracles to move the mountains in your life.” Indeed as the scriptures talk about miracles, the need for faith is almost always mentioned. For example, Moroni declared, “For if there be no faith among the children of men God can do no miracle among them; wherefore, he showed not himself until after their faith.” He gave examples of those who worked miracles through faith: Alma and Amulek causing the prison wall to tumble, Nephi and Lehi converting so many Lamanites, the sons of Mosiah having so much missionary success, and the three Nephites obtaining a promise not to taste of death. He declared, “Yea, and even all they who wrought miracles wrought them by faith, even those who were before Christ and also those who were after…. And neither at any time hath any wrought miracles until after their faith; wherefore they first believed in the Son of God” (Ether 12:12-18). If we need miracles, Moroni and President Nelson’s message is clear: we must have faith in the Son of God.

               Nephi in the Book of Mormon is a powerful example of working miracles by faith. He declared of the Savior: “He manifesteth himself unto all those who believe in him, by the power of the Holy Ghost; yea, unto every nation, kindred, tongue, and people, working mighty miracles, signs, and wonders, among the children of men according to their faith” (2 Nephi 26:13). He showed on numerous occasions that he indeed could work miracles by faith. When they tried but failed to get the plates, he encouraged his brothers saying, “Let us go up again unto Jerusalem, and let us be faithful in keeping the commandments of the Lord…. Let us go up; the Lord is able to deliver us, even as our fathers, and to destroy Laban, even as the Egyptians.” He trusted completely in the Lord’s power and went by faith according to the words of the angel, going at night into the city, being “led by the Spirit, not knowing beforehand the things which [he] should do” (1 Nephi 4:1-3,6). He miraculously obtained the plates of brass through his faith in the Lord. Later, on their next trip to Jerusalem, when his brothers tied him up with cords and left him for dead, he prayed to the Lord, “O Lord, according to my faith which is in thee, wilt thou deliver me from the hands of my brethren; yea, even give me strength that I may burst these bands with which I am bound.” He recorded, “And it came to pass that when I had said these words, behold, the bands were loosed from off my hands and feet, and I stood before my brethren, and I spake unto them again” (1 Nephi 7:18). When his family was near death because of the lack of food in the wilderness, he kept the faith and trusted in the Lord’s guidances through the Liahona, saying, “I, Nephi, beheld the pointers which were in the ball, that they did work according to the faith and diligence and heed which we did give unto them…. And it came to pass that I, Nephi, did go forth up into the top of the mountain, according to the directions which were given upon the ball. And it came to pass that I did slay wild beasts, insomuch that I did obtain food for our families” (1 Nephi 16:30-31). Through his faith he was miraculously led by the Lord to find food for his family.

He continued to show great faith on the rest of their journey. When at the seashore and the Lord gave him the daunting task of building a boat, he went forth with faith encouraging his brothers “to faithfulness and diligence.” He declared with incredible faith: “If God had commanded me to do all things I could do them. If he should command me that I should say unto this water, be thou earth, it should be earth; and if I should say it, it would be done. And now, if the Lord has such great power, and has wrought so many miracles among the children of men, how is it that he cannot instruct me, that I should build a ship?” (1 Nephi 17:15, 50-51) With that faith he built the ship according to the instructions of the Lord, and it was so good that even his skeptical brothers “beheld that it was good” (1 Nephi 18:4). On the ship he again showed his faith when after four days being tied up by his brothers, amidst the raging storm, he still trusted in God: “I took the compass, and it did work whither I desired it. And it came to pass that I prayed unto the Lord; and after I had prayed the winds did cease, and the storm did cease, and there was a great calm. And it came to pass that I, Nephi, did guide the ship, that we sailed again towards the promised land” (1 Nephi 18:21-22). It was his faith and trust in God that allowed him to calm the storm and lead their ship to the promised land. His life is a powerful witness to us that with faith in the Lord, we can indeed work miracles. President Nelson declared to us, “Faith in Jesus Christ is the greatest power available to us in this life. All things are possible to them that believe. Your growing faith in Him will move mountains—not the mountains of rock that beautify the earth but the mountains of misery in your lives. Your flourishing faith will help you turn challenges into unparalleled growth and opportunity.” His words and the example of Nephi invite us to seek more earnestly to put our faith in the Savior that we might move all the mountains before us.