Faith from Halfcourt

Lately, we've been asked to study what's called the Doctrine of Christ. The Doctrine of Christ is 5 basic elements: Faith in Jesus Christ, Repentance, Baptism, Receiving the Gift of the Holy Ghost, and Enduring to the End. As I've been studying, I've pondered a lot about these elements and how they apply in my life and in the lives of others. I'll just talk about faith for now. Faith is described in both the Book of Hebrews in the Bible, and the Book of Alma in the Book of Mormon, as being something that is hoped for, but not seen. As I've thought about this, I thought about basketball again. One of the really exciting things about basketball is the buzzer beaters. Time is running down in the half, quarter, or the game and you have the ball. With one second to go, you just toss it up there just to see what happens. Those things never go in, right...?

Ok, so maybe I lack faith in myself hitting a half court shot at the buzzer, but that kind of faith is not that important. Faith needs to be centered in Jesus Christ. When we have faith in Christ, we accept and apply His Atonement and His teachings. We trust Him and what He says. We know that He has the power to keep His promises. A really good chapter about faith is in the Book of Mormon, Alma chapter 32. I strongly encourage you to click this link and read it: http://lds.org/scriptures/bofm/alma/32?lang=eng. You'll learn a lot. I know that as we have faith in our Redeemer and trust in Him, we will see and recognize His hand more abundantly in our own lives. We will come closer to Him. I'm grateful to my Savior for all that He has done for me.