Two Ways To Have More Faith In God

1) A simple admonition given by D. Todd Christopherson “Let us cheerfully do all things that lie in our power." struck me.  How many times do we worry, fret and stew so much that we can do nothing else?  It's so unproductive!  Many times the best way we can know that God has been there for us is when we come up short but leave the rest in God's hands and somehow He comes up with the balance.   What a faith strengthener!  
Something very simple happened to me the other day, helping me to understand that.  I had misplaced my phone and had looked everywhere to find it.  It was like I had cut off my pinky finger!  I needed it badly.  I was immobilized without it.  Even my husband got involved looking for it.  Finally I asked him if we could say a prayer because I had looked everywhere that I knew.  So we did.  As we said the actual prayer, the thought of where I had last used the phone came to me and along with it, the place where I had left it.  It was really quite amazing! But the help came only after we had done everything we could do and came up short.  That is when we left it in God's hands. When I quit worrying and being frantic, the answers came.


2) "Everything that invites and entices us to do good comes from God."  -David Bednar.  Have you ever wondered if the thought or idea you just had is your own thought or did it just come from above?  Maybe you haven't prayed for awhile and all of a sudden you can hear your mother telling you to say your prayers, like she did when you were a child.  (If you were so fortunate!) 
 I believe that God uses others to deliver personal messages, in this case, through memories of one's own mother, to remind of things already known but forgotten along the way!  Why would He do anything else if we already have had or now have a good example in our lives? And it applies to us too! We can be angels to those around us if we keep our eyes open and an open heart.  Basically all good comes from God, so when in doubt ask yourself, is this something that is good?  Or is it selfish, prideful, or coercive?  If that is the case, chances are it isn't from God. 

An Amazing Example
 I have to think about Mariam Ibraheem, the Sudanese Christian woman who was held captive, sentenced to die for not converting to Islam.  She was married to an American and wanted to leave Sudan to be with him.  I don't believe in religious coercion and any person, group or organization who tries to force a religion on anyone else is plain evil in my book.  This woman was firm about her belief in Christianity and despite very difficult conditions, including lack of help from the U.S. government, held firm.  Her faith was amazing. She knew that being a Christian was what she wanted and that it was good.  So she held on to that belief.  Finally she was released, after giving birth to her baby boy in a filthy prison, with chains on her ankles, after being pressured by Islamic Imams to switch religions, and after looking death in the face. 
It is through examples like this that I look at myself and wonder just how strong I might be in similar circumstances and realize that I need to be more proactive in my stand for good.  And thus this post.