If the D&C had a slogan...

In the Book of Mormon we read the phrase "keep the commandments" a lot. More often than not it's followed up by something to the effect of: "and you shall prosper in the land." We could say that, in effect, the slogan phrase of the Book of Mormon is "keep the commandments." It's certainly repeated often enough.

Which brings up another point. For a being who's all knowing God tends to repeat Himself a lot. He doesn't forget what he's already told us unlike some of our friends or acquaintances (or perhaps ourselves) who tell people things two, three, four or more times depending on how excited we are about it or how bad our memory is.

I actually enjoy those people quite a bit. Once I lived in an apartment complex for a few semesters while going to college and in that ward there was a young man (he shall remain nameless) whom introduced himself to me no less than six times on six different occasions. Every time asking my name, home state, interests, academic pursuits, etc. We would carry on a bit of small talk and go our separate ways. Apparently he would then promptly forget every word of the conversation. I grew to appreciate the amazing consistency of both his friendliness and his poor memory.

But I digress.

God doesn't repeat Himself because He forgets what He's told us. He repeats himself for our benefit. "Repetition is the key to learning" (A favorite phrase of President Mecham, a mentor of mine). The things God wants us to remember most are the things He tells us most often.

That's why Jesus Christ is referred to 3,923 times in the Book of Mormon (about once every 1.7 verses) and by at least 100 different names. He is the central figure of all scripture. If repetition is the key to learning, God's trying to teach us something here.

By my count, the word "faith" is mentioned 101 times in the Commandments and Blessings of the D&C. I'm not talking about the entire D&C. I'm just talking about the number of blessings mentioned in the D&C that are tied to/dependent on our exercising faith.

Here are a few of the blessings of faithfulness as mentioned in the D&C:
- Lifted up at the last day. (5)
- Saved in the Kingdom of God. (13)
- A hair of your head shall not be lost. (25)
- Your life will be preserved and you shall have an inheritance in Zion. (72)
- The Lord will be with you till His coming. (94)
- Be made ruler over many things. (145)
- Be crowned with blessings from above, and with revelations in their time. (161)
*(Numbers in parentheses are the reference numbers from the Commandments and Blessings list)

Faithfulness is one of the most basic principles of the gospel. Without faith we are spiritually destitute. And faith is much more than just passive belief.

Belief ≠ Faith
(≠ means "does not equal)
We learn from James the brother of Jesus that faith without works is dead. So to have true faith we must have good works that show the evidence of our faith. But here's the interesting part. Faith even goes further than belief combined with works.

Belief + Works ≠ Faith
This is something that people well versed in scripture may have picked up on, but hadn't consciously realized. "The effects of true faith in Jesus Christ include an actual knowledge that the course of life one is pursuing is acceptable to the Lord (see Heb. 11:4)." (BD, Faith) So if we believe in Christ as our Savior and profess good works by fulfilling our callings and outwardly behaving ourselves, but in our heart we are rebelling and reviling against God, concealing sins and being unrepentant, then we don't have true faith. We may have belief, we may even have hope in Gods promises that if we do repent then we can be forgiven. But if the "course of life [we are] pursuing" is not acceptable to the Lord then our faith, as James would put it, is dead.

Belief + Works + Correct Course = True Faith

Now please understand my intent here. I don't at all mean for us to over-criticize ourselves or beat ourselves up for mistakes we make. We are all sinners and that's part of the mortal experience.  My guess would be that many people who would consider their own faith "dead" actually posses a faith which is merely "weak" and in need of strengthening.

That is why the earlier description of faith contains this wording: "the course of life one is pursuing." What are our desires? What are we working towards? What type of life are we pursuing? I love this particular phrase because it involves our works. It doesn't ask what our intentions are. It doesn't ask if our 5 year plan involves repentance or getting back into church activity. It doesn't ask if we're perfect yet, or not. It simply makes us ask ourselves which direction we're heading. Are we taking arrogant strides into the blackness of sin, trusting to our own strength and fortitude to see us through the pitfalls and traps that lurk just beyond our view? Have we given up and are currently coasting along, doing our best to fence-sit our spirituality. Or are we making our way towards God, slowly but surly, regardless of our slip-ups and mistakes along the way?

Faith is a principle of power. "By faith all things are fulfilled." (Ether 12:3) Christ said "If ye have faith as a grain of mustard seed, ye shall say unto this mountain, Remove hence to yonder place; and it shall remove; and nothing shall be impossible unto you." (Matt 17:20)
And finally in the D&C it promises unto those that ask in faith: "They shall cast out devils; they shall heal the sick; they shall cause the blind to receive their sight, and the deaf to hear, and the dumb to speak, and the lame to walk." (D&C 35:9)


So then let us be faithful.

Perhaps if the Commandments and Blessings of the D&C had a slogan it would be "Be Faithful." So keep doing your best. Stand a little higher and keep pushing on towards Christ.

Andrew