One of the speakers in my ward's Sacrament Meeting today spoke about faith. At one point in her talk, she asked us to ask ourselves what faith meant for us. I knew my answer almost right away. For me, faith means being willing to keep God's commandments, even though I don't know the reasoning behind some of them.
I like to know the reasons for things. When I was taking my Algebra classes, I always wanted to know how each mathematical formula worked. Often, the teacher would patiently explain the proof of the formula, but there were some times what the professor had to tell us that the math that explains the formula in question went well beyond our level. We could easily memorize and use the formula, but it would be much harder to explain how or why the formula worked. At those times, I just had to take the formula on faith. And, since the professor didn't mind explaining most of the formulas, I found it easy to forgive him for not explaining the few others he couldn't.
I ought to offer God the same forgiveness. God gives us lots of commandments, and He explains His reasons behind most of them. Often, the commandments are meant to alleviate or prevent suffering and to help us show love for God and others. I get those ones. However, there are a handful of commandments that aren't quite so clear to understand. There are a few commandments that I, for the life of me, can't figure out. Yet, I know that I should keep those commandments anyway, just as I memorized and used the formulas whose explanations I didn't understand. I don't have to understand everything about a formula or commandment in order to use it or keep it. I can trust God and His commandments just as I trusted my Algebra teacher and his formulas.
I would still love to know why these commandments are commandments, and I;m sure I will someday. In the meantime, I need to be patient and obedient and to take those commandments on faith.
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