When one thinks of faith the first thing that may come to mind is the teaching of Alma the younger, that faith is like a little seed. The Savior used similar rhetoric when comparing the strength of faith with a mustard seed. Faith, the diving principle of the Gospel, is how men are influenced by the rhetoric of the Holy Ghost. When one seeks to understand more, faith is the way. A man's faith can match that of Abraham's when he accepted the Lord's will to take Isaac, Abraham's only son, into the mountain. Soren Kierkegaard, a Danish philosopher, wrote extensively about faith. He knew nothing of the restored Gospel, yet he knew that man could grow only with the exercise of this simple tool.
How to specifically approach faith can be different, some learn by example, seeing others acting on their hopes, joys or aspirations. Faith can be seen in action outside of the gospel, many times sales and investments are made entirely on the faith one human being has in another. It can be called trust but it is the belief in things that are not always seen. With many types of faith and many things to put faith in there is much used to persuade that faith. The Spirit helps to guide with good feelings, inspiration or council. When others are seen feeling, knowing and growing one can't help but to wish to be in their position so they attempt an experiment on the word. They feel, learn and grow and the cycle continues.
Others need more than just example they need the persuasion, for example missionaries telling stories about great prophets. They need a closer encounter with the feelings, more reassurance, but faith is the connector. When the Spirit teaches he needs willing listeners, the faithful to approach him. When the doctrines come only more faith can achieve greater results.
Your title caught my eye, and I'm glad it did. I enjoyed reading this and I connected at the ending when you mentioned something to the effect of being inspired by the efforts of others. You got me onto the same page.
ReplyDeleteLucky I was intrigued by the title when I was looking into philosophy, this is actually the title of a book by Soren Kierkegaard. The mention of Abraham's faith was an allusion to the text as well as that is his prime example of faith.
ReplyDeleteI must admit--one of the gaps in my education is that I have never read Kierkegaard, and I honestly don't know much about him. It was a good example though--one sign of a good example is that the context gives it meaning for the reader. If I had read Kierkegaard, I would probably appreciate your example a little more--but you did a good job with it, so even though I haven't read him it still really added to your paper.
ReplyDeleteYour title also caught my attention! I liked how you provided several different examples of approaching faith and not only in an ecclesiastical way that it may broaden your intended audience. Good job! :)
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