Faithful Unto My Name

In an inspirational video I watched again recently, President Nelson told of an experience he had in  a small airplane that had a mechanical problem. It started to fall from the sky, and the passengers believed that they were going to die. He told how one woman in particular was uncontrollably hysterical as they plummeted down. But he related that he felt calm and ready to meet his Maker. The pilot eventually got control of the airplane, and they were able to make an emergency landing. President Nelson related, “I thought through that experience, if you’ve got enough faith, you can handle difficulties, knowing that with an eternal perspective all will be well.” He expressed his gratitude that the gospel gives us strength in tumultuous times. With faith in Jesus Christ, if we are striving to do what we He has asked us to do, we can rest assured that we will indeed have His strength and help. I love the way that the Prophet Joseph Smith put it, “Therefore, dearly beloved brethren, let us cheerfully do all things that lie in our power; and then may we stand still, with the utmost assurance, to see the salvation of God, and for his arm to be revealed” (Doctrine and Covenants 123:17). This is a powerful instruction for how to deal with anxiety and worry. First, we cheerfully do all that lies in our power. That will undoubtedly include earnest prayer and pleading for His help, in addition to doing what we can in the situation. Then we can stand still and rest assured, full of faith that we will see the arm of the Lord be revealed. Isaiah put it this way to those who fear, “Say to them that are of a fearful heart, Be strong, fear not: behold, your God will come with vengeance, even God with a recompence; he will come and save you” (Isaiah 35:40). We must have faith that God will come and help us. We do all that lies in our power and trust in His saving hand.

               In the most recent general conference Elder Sandino Roman spoke about faith. He taught, “What does it mean to have faith in Christ? Does it mean we believe in Him or have a testimony that He is real? That may be a start, but it’s more than that. Have you ever thought of faith as trust?” Faith is indeed a form of trust; we trust that the Savior will help us and sustain us and strengthen us as we face difficulties. Isaiah wrote this, “Trust ye in the Lord for ever: for in the Lord Jehovah is everlasting strength” (Isaiah 26:4). An extension of trusting Him is to be loyal to Him and His commandments. Elder Roman continued, “Notice that faith sprouts as we trust in Jesus Christ and blooms as we are faithful and loyal to Him. If you want a true relationship with Christ, show Him by making covenants and honoring them with faithfulness and loyalty.” When I think of loyalty, it reminds me of the thousands of people who serve tirelessly in the temple, both patrons and workers. In our Layton Temple there are about 2000 ordinance workers, each of which serves for about five hours a week out of their own loyalty and love for the Lord. They assist patrons who come in faith again and again to serve the Savior and their deceased ancestors. These patrons have faith in the efficacy of the ordinances of the temple; they have trust in the Lord that He will help them in their trials as they give of their time; and they show their loyalty by choosing to be in His house instead of all the other places they could be. This is repeated in hundreds of temples across the world. Faith always leads to action and is exercised by showing our trust and loyalty to Him.

The world loyal is not a scriptural one, but I believe the synonym we use to mean the same thing is faithful. To be faithful is to both have faith and to act in loyalty to Him. As we are faithful we both express our trust in Him and serve Him with our actions in the best way we know how. These words of the Lord to prophet Moroni encourage us to stay true to Him with faith to the end: “And blessed is he that is found faithful unto my name at the last day, for he shall be lifted up to dwell in the kingdom prepared for him from the foundation of the world. And behold it is I that hath spoken it” (Ether 4:19).