My dear brothers
and sisters, I am grateful for the privilege
of speaking with you on this Easter Sunday. The atoning sacrifice and
Resurrection of Jesus Christ changed each of
our lives forever. We love Him and gratefully
worship Him and our Heavenly Father. During the past
six months, we have continued to grapple
with a global pandemic. I marvel at your resilience
and spiritual strength in the face of illness,
loss, and isolation. I pray constantly
that through it all, you will feel the Lord's
unfailing love for you. If you have responded
to your trials with a stronger
discipleship, this past year will not have been in vain. This morning we have heard
from Church leaders who come from every
populated continent on earth. Truly, the blessings
of the gospel are for every race,
language, and people. The Church of Jesus
Christ is a global Church. Jesus Christ is our leader. Thankfully, even
a pandemic has not been able to slow the
onward march of His truth. The gospel of Jesus
Christ is exactly what is needed in this confused,
contentious, and weary world. Each of God's children
deserves the opportunity to hear and accept the
healing and redeeming message of Jesus Christ. No other message is more
vital to our happiness--now and forever. No other message is
more filled with hope. No other message can eliminate
contention in our society. Faith in Jesus Christ is
the foundation of all belief and the conduit of divine power. According to the Apostle
Paul, "Without faith it is impossible to please [God]:
for he that cometh to God must believe that he is, and
that he is a rewarder of them that diligently seek him." Everything good in life--every
potential blessing of eternal significance--begins with faith. Allowing God to
prevail in our lives begins with faith that He
is willing to guide us. True repentance
begins with faith that Jesus Christ has the
power to cleanse, heal, and strengthen us. "Deny not the power of God,"
the prophet Moroni declared, "for he worketh by power,
according to the faith of the children of men." It is our faith that unlocks
the power of God in our lives. And yet, exercising faith
can seem overwhelming. At times we may wonder
if we can possibly muster enough faith to
receive the blessings that we so desperately need. However, the Lord
put those fears to rest through the words of
the Book of Mormon prophet Alma. Alma asks us simply to
experiment upon the word and "exercise a
particle of faith, yea, even if [we] can no more
than desire to believe." The phrase "particle
of faith" reminds me of the Lord's biblical
promise that if we "have faith as a grain of mustard
seed," we shall be able to "say
unto this mountain, Remove hence to yonder
place; and it shall remove; and nothing shall be
impossible unto you." The Lord understands
our mortal weakness. We all falter at times. But He also knows
our great potential. The mustard seed starts
small but grows into a tree large enough for birds
to nest in its branches. The mustard seed represents
a small but growing faith. The Lord does not require
perfect faith for us to have access to
His perfect power. But He does ask us to believe. My dear brothers and sisters, my
call to you this Easter morning is to start today to
increase your faith. Through your faith, Jesus Christ
will increase your ability to move the mountains
in your life, even though your
personal challenges may loom as large as Mount Everest. Your mountains may be
loneliness, doubt, illness, or other personal problems. Your mountains
will vary, and yet the answer to each
of your challenges is to increase your faith. That takes work. Lazy learners and lax
disciples will always struggle to muster even
a particle of faith. To do anything well
requires effort. Becoming a true disciple of
Jesus Christ is no exception. Increasing your faith and
trust in Him takes effort. May I offer five suggestions
to help you develop that faith and trust. First, study. Become an engaged learner. Immerse yourself in the
scriptures to understand better Christ's mission and ministry. Know the doctrine of Christ so
that you understand its power for your life. Internalize the truth that
the Atonement of Jesus Christ applies to you. He took upon Himself your
misery, your mistakes, your weakness, and your sins. He paid the compensatory price
and provided the power for you to move every mountain you will ever face. You obtain that power with your
faith, trust, and willingness to follow Him. Moving your mountains
may require a miracle. Learn about miracles. Miracles come according
to your faith in the Lord. Central to that faith
is trusting His will and timetable--how and
when He will bless you with the miraculous help you desire. Only your unbelief will
keep God from blessing you with miracles to move
the mountains in your life. The more you learn
about the Savior, the easier it will be
to trust in His mercy, His infinite love, and His
strengthening, healing, redeeming power. The Savior is
never closer to you than when you are facing or
climbing a mountain with faith. Second, choose to
believe in Jesus Christ. If you have doubts about God
the Father and His Beloved Son or the validity
of the Restoration or the veracity of Joseph
Smith's divine calling as a prophet, choose to
believe and stay faithful. Take your questions to the Lord
and to other faithful sources. Study with the desire
to believe rather than with the hope that
you can find a flaw in the fabric of
a prophet's life or a discrepancy
in the scriptures. Stop increasing your
doubts by rehearsing them with other doubters. Allow the Lord to lead
you on your journey of spiritual discovery. Third, act in faith. What would you do if
you had more faith? Think about it. Write about it. Then receive more faith
by doing something that requires more faith. Fourth, partake of sacred
ordinances worthily. Ordinances unlock the
power of God for your life. And fifth, ask your
Heavenly Father, in the name of Jesus
Christ, for help. Faith takes work. Receiving revelation takes work. But "every one that
asketh receiveth; and he that seeketh
findeth; and to him that knocketh it shall be opened." God knows what will
help your faith grow. Ask, and then ask again. A nonbeliever might say
that faith is for the weak. But this assertion overlooks
the power of faith. Would the Savior's
Apostles have continued to teach His doctrine
after His death, at the peril of their lives,
if they had doubted Him? Would Joseph and
Hyrum Smith have suffered martyrs' deaths
defending the Restoration of the Lord's Church unless
they had a sure witness that it was true? Would nearly 2,000 Saints have
died along the pioneer trail if they did not have faith
that the gospel of Jesus Christ had been restored? Truly, faith is the power
that enables the unlikely to accomplish the impossible. Do not minimize the
faith you already have. It takes faith to join the
Church and remain faithful. It takes faith to follow
prophets rather than pundits and popular opinion. It takes faith to serve a
mission during a pandemic. It takes faith to
live a chaste life when the world shouts
that God's law of chastity is now outmoded. It takes faith to
teach the gospel to children in a secular world. It takes faith to plead for
the life of a loved one, and even more faith to accept
a disappointing answer. Two years ago,
Sister Nelson and I visited Samoa, Tonga,
Fiji, and Tahiti. Each of those island
nations had experienced heavy rains for days. Members had fasted and prayed
that their outdoor meetings would be protected
from the rain. In Samoa, Fiji, and Tahiti,
just as the meetings began, the rain stopped. But in Tonga, the
rain did not stop. Yet 13,000 faithful Saints
came hours early to get a seat, waited patiently through
a steady downpour, and then sat through a
very wet two-hour meeting. We saw vibrant faith at
work among each of those islanders--faith sufficient
to stop the rain and faith to persevere when the
rain did not stop. The mountains in our
lives do not always move how or when we would like. But our faith will
always propel us forward. Faith always increases
our access to godly power. Please know this: if
everything and everyone else in the world whom
you trust should fail, Jesus Christ and His
Church will never fail you. The Lord never slumbers,
nor does He sleep. He "is the same yesterday,
today, and [tomorrow]." He will not forsake His
covenants, His promises, or His love for His people. He works miracles today, and
He will work miracles tomorrow. Faith in Jesus Christ
is the greatest power available to us in this life. All things are possible
to them that believe. Your growing faith in Him
will move mountains--not the mountains of rock
that beautify the earth, but the mountains of
misery in your lives. Your flourishing faith will
help you turn challenges into unparalleled
growth and opportunity. On this Easter Sunday,
with my deep feelings of love and gratitude,
I declare my witness that Jesus Christ
is indeed risen. He is risen to lead His Church. He is risen to bless the lives
of all of God's children, wherever they live. With faith in Him, we can move
the mountains in our lives. I so testify in the sacred
name of Jesus Christ, amen.
