Exercise Program for Developing Stronger Faith

The Lord said, “If ye will have faith in me ye shall have power to do whatsoever thing is
expedient in me.” (Moroni 7:33) He also said these words on faith, “Whatsoever thing ye shall ask the Father in my name, which is good, in faith believing that ye shall receive, behold, it shall be done unto you.” (Moroni 7:26; see also James 1:5) In this same discourse, Moroni states, “for it is by faith that miracles are wrought; and it is by faith that angels appear and minister unto men; wherefore, if these things have ceased wo be unto the children of men, for it is because of unbelief, and all is vain.” (Moroni 7:37)
Faith precedes the miracle. Let us all believe the Lord and take Him at His word! Let us
exercise our faith on Him daily, by expecting the blessings to come and recognizing His hand in all things. Great miracles will occur when we do!

DAILY EXERCISE ROUTINE FOR BUILDING FAITH
These “exercises” should be done daily if we are to keep our spiritual bodies strong in order to
build our faith.
1. PRAYER: Essential to our spiritual, emotional, mental and physical health! This is one essential element of our program that we dare not go without! Start each day with prayer to organize your thoughts and find what God desires for you. End each day in thank and prepare for the morrow. Always keep a prayer in your heart.
“And ye shall seek me, and find me, when ye shall search for me with all your heart.”
(Jer. 29:13)
“And all things, whatsoever ye shall ask in prayer, believing, ye shall receive.” (Matt. 21:22)
“Pray without ceasing.” (1 Thes. 5:17)
“For if ye would hearken unto the Spirit which teacheth a man to pray ye would know that ye must pray; for the evil spirit teacheth not a man to pray, but teacheth him that he must not pray. But behold, I say unto you that ye must pray always, and not faint; that ye must not perform any thing unto the Lord save in the first place ye shall pray unto the Father in the name of Christ, that he will consecrate thy performance unto thee, that thy performance may be for the welfare of thy soul.” (2 Nephi 32:8-9)
“Counsel with the Lord in all thy doings, and he will direct thee for good; yea, when thou liest down at night lie down unto the Lord, that he may watch over you in your sleep; and when thou risest in the morning let thy heart be full of thanks unto God; and if ye do these things, ye shall be lifted up at the last day.” (Alma 37:37)
“Wherefore, my beloved brethren, pray unto the Father with all the energy of heart, that ye may be filled with this love, which he hath bestowed upon all who are true followers on his Son, Jesus Christ; that ye may become the sons of God; that when he shall appear we shall be like him, for we shall see him as he is; that we may have this hope; that we may b purified even as he is pure. Amen.” (Moroni 7:48)
“Pray always, that you may come off conqueror; yea, that you may conquer Satan, and that you may escape the hands of the servants of Satan that do uphold his work.” (D&C 10:5)

2. COMMITMENT: After prayer each morning, recommit your heart, mind, and energy to the gospel ideals that are most important to you in your effort to stay home with your family. This is the best time of the day for me. It helps me get focused and I’m able to ponder on the goals that I want to accomplish during the day. More importantly, I’m able to bring to heart what the Lord wants me to do that day.
“Love the Lord thy God with all thine heart, and with all thy soul, and with all thy might.” (Deut. 6:5)
“Choose ye this day whom ye will serve...but as for me and my house, we will serve the Lord.” (Josh. 24:15)
“Be ye doers of the word, and not hearers only,” (James 1:22).
“Wherefore, ye must press forward with a steadfastness in Christ, having a perfect brightness of hope, and a love of God and of all men.” (2 Nephi 31:20)
“Come unto Christ....and offer your whole souls as an offering unto him,” (Omni 1:26)

3. HUMILITY: Without humility it is hard to see where we can improve. It is also hard to hear the Lord’s will concerning us because we are too busy saying, “My will, not Thine, be done!” Each morning as we recommit ourselves to living the gospel, we need to repeat to ourselves that we want what God wants for us...even if it makes us a little uncomfortable for awhile! It isn’t called the “refiner’s fire” because it is such an easy and pleasing experience to go through! But it is ALWAYS for our good and ultimate happiness. Remember, the opposite of humility is pride. If we are not humble, we are automatically lifted up in pride. Think about it.
“Be thou humble; and the Lord thy God shall lead thee by the hand, and give thee answer to thy prayers.” (D&C 112:10)
“For the natural man is an enemy of God, and has been from the fall of Adam, and will be, forever and ever, unless he yields to the enticings of the Holy Spirit, and putteth off the natural man and becometh a saint through the atonement of Christ the Lord, and becometh as a child, submissive, meek, humble, patient, full of love, willing to submit to all things which the Lord seeth fit to inflict upon him, even as a child doth submit to his father.” (Mosiah 3:19)
“Always retain in remembrance, the greatness of God, and your own nothingness, and his goodness and long-suffering towards you, unworthy creatures, and humble yourselves even in the depths of humility, calling on the name of the Lord daily, and standing steadfastly in the faith of that which is to come...” (Mosiah 4:11)

4. REPENTANCE: A daily necessity to recover from spiritual weakness. “I beseech of you that ye do not procrastinate the day of your repentance until the end; for after this day of life, which is given us to prepare for eternity, behold, if we do not improve our time while in this life, then cometh the night of darkness wherein there can be no labor performed.”(Alma 34:33)
Mormon tells us what the fruit of repentance brings to us. “And the remission of sins bringeth meekness, and lowliness of heart; and because of meekness and lowliness of heart cometh the visitation of the Holy Ghost, which Comforter filleth with hope and perfect love, which love endureth by diligence unto prayer, until the end shall come, when all the saints shall dwell with God.” (Moroni 8:26) The Lord’s mercy is so beautiful!

5. GRATITUDE: Have you ever been around anyone that constantly complains about all of their problems? They are in essence telling God and all within their voice, “I can see no blessings in my life, therefore I have no blessings to be grateful for!” Ingratitude is one of our greatest sins against God. “And in nothing doth man offend God, or against none is his wrath kindled, save those who confess not his hand in all things, and obey not his commandments.” (D&C 59:21)
“Thou shalt thank the Lord in all things.” (D&C 59:7)
“...Let thy heart be full of thanks unto God...” (Alma 37:37)
“Let us offer the sacrifice of praise to God continually, that is, the fruit of our lips giving thanks to his name.” (Heb. 13:15)
“Remember the words of your God; pray unto him continually by day, and give thanks unto his holy name by night. Let your hearts rejoice.” (2 Nephi 9:52)
“To the end that, my glory may sing praise to thee, and not be silent. O Lord my God, I will give thanks unto thee for ever.” (Psalm 30:12)
Gratitude is the joyful way to grow in faith!

6. SERVICE: Not only a great way of being useful to God and man, service can help us forget our own problems. When we assist others in their trials, ours don’t seem quite as bad. Whether it is family, neighbors, community or church responsibilities, find ways of serving others. One act of service, consciously given daily, is a healthy dose to begin with.
“As the servants of Christ, doing the will of God from the heart; With good will doing service, as to the Lord, and not to men.” (Eph. 6:6-7)
“And behold, I tell you these things that ye may learn wisdom; that ye may learn that when ye are in the service of your fellow beings ye are only in the service of your God.” (Mosiah 2:17)
If we did all our service to other people, as though we were actually serving the Lord in his own presence, what a difference our attitudes would be!

7. COURAGE: This step in our “exercise” program is the most frightening to face. Men and women become heroes, not because they feel no fear, but because they ignore their fears for a greater good. Of necessity, we must place before our minds “spiritual blinders” to block out the fears that can distract us from our righteous course! The scriptures reveal to us a lot about fear and I have found immense comfort from these verses.
“Fear not: for they that be with us are more than they that be with them.” ( 2 Kings 6:16 )
“For God hath not given us the spirit of fear; but of power, and of love, and of a sound mind.” ( 2 Timothy 1:7 ) My eldest daughter used this as her missionary scripture!
“There is no fear in love; but perfect love casteth out fear...” ( 1 John 4:18 )
“Fear not to do good...” ( D&C 6:33 )
“...If ye are prepared ye shall not fear.” ( D&C 38:30 )
“Fear not, let your hearts be comforted; yea, rejoice evermore, and in everything give thanks;” ( D&C 98:1 )
“Wherefore, be of good cheer, and do not fear, for I the Lord am with you, and will stand by you...” (D&C 68:6) This scripture leads us to our next “exercise” for faith.

8. CHEERFULNESS: Cheer, Gladness, Delight, Joy, Happiness, being Merry are all attitudes the Lord asks us to have concerning this life. I believe when we feel these things in our hearts it is easier to feel gratitude.
“Let thy heart be of good cheer before my face...” (D&C 112:4)
“A merry heart maketh a cheerful countenance...” (Prov. 15:13)
“A merry heart doeth good like a medicine...” (Prov. 17:22)
“My heart delighteth in righteousness; and I will praise the holy name of my God.”
(2 Nephi 45:49)

9. MUSIC: “Make a joyful noise unto the Lord... Serve the Lord with gladness: come before his presence with singing.” (Psalm 100:1-2)
“For my soul delighteth in the song of the heart; yea, the song of the righteous is a prayer unto me, and it shall be answered with a blessing upon their heads.” (D&C 25:12)
Beautiful music is so uplifting to our spirits. It is critical that we include a dose of it every day! Inspiring music increases our hearts with stronger testimonies, faith, understanding, joy, and peace. Could these be some of the added blessings promised in D&C 25?