The Desire to Believe – Sunday, January 18, 1942
It is a common experience of history that when a man’s physical world begins to crumble, he seeks refuge in the realm of those spiritual and intangible things which he had heretofore ignored or neglected. When things beyond our control begin to move in upon us—things which neither our money nor our influence nor our goods nor our strong right arm can cope with, we turn for comfort and assurance to those things which are beyond the grasp of men—those things which are known to a few by certain knowledge but which are know to most of us by faith.
We read that faith is a gift of God, and we have heard much about the power of faith in the troubled lives of men—how, growing within, it brings peace and understanding. But suppose a man doesn’t have the gift to begin with—what is he going to do about it? Must he merely sit back and wish that he had it and envy those who have, and endure the emptiness of life that is the lot of those who live without faith?
The picture is not as discouraging as this—not even unto those who feel that they haven’t faith—because even within many who are skeptical, there still resides a divine spark of faith, perhaps undiscovered and undeveloped, and anciently a prophet gave inspired answer to those who inquired of him how they who did not have faith could acquire it. Unto them he said: “I would that ye should remember that God is merciful unto all who believe on his name, therefore, he desireth in the first place that ye should believe, yea, even on his word. * * * Now, as I said concerning faith—that it is not a perfect knowledge—even so it is with my words, ye cannot know of their surety at first, unto perfection, any more than faith is perfect knowledge. But behold, if ye will awake and arouse your faculties, even unto an experiment upon my words, and exercise a particle of faith; yea, even if ye can do no more than desire to believe, let this desire work in you, even until ye believe in a manner that you can give faith for a portion of my word. * * * Then, my brethren, ye shall reap the rewards of your faith.” (Book of Mormon, Alma 32:22,26,27,43)
The substance of this thought bears re-statement: “Even if ye can do no more than desire to believe, let this desire work in you”—try the experiment of belief in the word of God—exercise a particle of faith—and even in a world that is sorely shaken, even in the midst of tangibles that crumble as dust, there will come into our lives, peace and understanding, and quiet assurance, “sweet above all that is sweet” * * * “and ye shall feast upon the fruit even until ye are filled, that ye hunger not, neither shall ye thirst.” (Book of Mormon, Alma 32:14)
By Richard L. Evans, spoken from the Tabernacle, Temple Square, Salt Lake City, January 18, 1942, over Radio Station KSL and the Nationwide Columbia Broadcasting System. Copyright – 1942.
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January 18, 1942
Broadcast Number 0,648