“Faith is a gift of God bestowed as a reward for personal righteousness. It is always given when righteousness is present, and the greater the measure of obedience to God’s laws the greater will be the endowment of faith.” (Mormon Doctrine, 2nd ed. [1966], 264).

If we desire more faith, we must be more obedient. When we teach our children by example or precept to be casual or situational in obeying God’s commandments, we prevent them from receiving this vital spiritual gift. Faith requires an attitude of exact obedience, even in the small, simple things.”

“As patterns of obedience develop, the specific blessings associated with obedience are realized and belief emerges. Desire, hope, and belief are forms of faith, but faith as a principle of power comes from a consistent pattern of obedient behavior and attitudes. Personal righteousness is a choice. Faith is a gift from God, and one possessed of it can receive enormous spiritual power.” Elder Kevin W. Pearson Of the Seventy

There are some aspects of the gospel that were difficult for me to understand and apply. One of those principles that I struggled with was that of the power of the priesthood and faith. In my patriarchal blessing I had been given the blessing of faith in the Lord Jesus Christ. It states that my prayer of faith would be heard by my Father in Heaven and answered in behalf of those in need of help.

For several years when I was ill or in need of a blessing, Golden would ask me if I wanted one and I would tell him I would as soon as I knew what to have faith in. Would the blessing be answered at the time of the blessing, or later down the road to test my faith. I wanted to know what to expect so that I could have faith in it.

I was concerned about this because I felt that if I could not understand faith and the power of the priesthood, how could I exercise my faith to help others. I decided to go on a quest to learn and understand faith.

My first approach was to read through all of the scriptures that dealt with faith and prayer. I was quite weak in understanding scriptures and applying them in my life so this was very difficult for me. It seemed at the time that every scripture I read said the same thing over and over again yet I did not understand. The answer to my question “how do you know when you have enough faith for a miracle?” was not getting answered. I still kept searching and asking over the years if anyone could answer my question but still no answers came.

One evening our home teachers came by for their monthly visit. Brother Orosco was one of them, and at the end of the lesson when they were getting ready to leave, he suddenly said that he felt he needed to talk on faith. I was shocked. I turned to Golden to see if he had told them of my questions on faith to see if they could help me but he had not told them anything.

Brother Orosco began talking about faith and I had many questions that I asked him. When he concluded I felt like he had touched on things that I had not understood, and that I was starting to get a better understanding, but I was still not satisfied. I wanted more, so my search continued. I am not sure how many years passed before my answer came, but it did come.

When I was sitting in sacrament meeting one day (it was fast and testimony meeting). Sister Hayes got up to bear to testimony. She had been having a lot of problems with pain and the doctors had not found a solution at that time. She said that she had come to sacrament meeting feeling that she would not bear testimony because it was so difficult. Then she said that she felt that there was someone in the congregation that needed to hear what she had to say. This is the experience she shared that opened my world to the understanding of faith and prayer.

She was a school teacher and was assigned to give a presentation. The pain had become so intense that it was difficult to speak one-on-one, let alone give a public presentation. Brother Hayes had given her a blessing and told her that she would be able to give her presentation, so she felt that she would be able to. Shortly before her presentation she still could not speak. Other teachers offered to do her part, but she thought of the blessing and told them that she would be fine.

As she stood to speak, it was at that point in time where she was able to finally experience the miracle of the blessing that was given to her earlier. The pain subsided, and for the time of her presentation she was able to speak. When the presentation was completed and she sat down, the pain returned.

My heart was full because my answer had finally come. I knew beyond a shadow of doubt how I would know when I had enough faith for a miracle. I felt such joy and I knew that I was the person that needed to hear her. There may have been others in the congregation that needed to hear her but at the time it felt like the message was just for me.

The answer was so simple and yet so hard for me to find. Every scripture that I read was true and the repetition was the witness of different prophets saying the same thing in different places and different times giving many witnesses to this truth.

What is the answer to my question “how do you know if you have enough faith for a miracle, and what do you have faith in?” I learned that I would have enough faith to experience a miracle if I did not quit. I learned not to have faith in the outcome, but to have faith in the One who answers our every need, our Savior Jesus Christ.