Our first two stories come from the middle of Alma, in the Book of Mormon. In fact, I suspect that their placement and emphasis was very intentional on the part of Mormon (the editor), as the message is all the more clear as a result. We start with the story of Korihor, in Alma 30. Korihor was preaching, throughout the land of the Nephites, that there would be no Christ. After being cast out of a few cities he was eventually bound and delivered to Alma and the Chief judge. As Korihor continued to preach his message, Alma confronts him, and bears testimony of the Savior. To which we get this reply, with our first use of the word if:
"And now Korihor said unto Alma: If thou wilt show me a sign, that I may be convinced that there is a God, yea, show unto me that he hath power, and then I will be convinced of the truth of thy words." Alma 30:43
and then later:
"except ye show me a sign, I will not believe." Alma 30:48
You may recall that Korihor received his sign (he was struck dumb), claimed to believe, and begged to have his sign taken back. However, Alma foretold that if he were healed he would go back to his old ways. I call this the only if.
The second story comes only a few chapters later, as Alma and Amulek teach the Zoramites. In Alma 32, as the poor among the Zoramites come to Alma and Amulek to learn, we get the famous analogy comparing faith to a seed. After referencing Korihor in verse 17, Alma goes on to describe a different attitude around the word IF.
"Even if ye can no more than desire to believe, let this desire work within you, even until ye believe in a manner that ye can give place for a portion of my words." Alma 32:27
As these humble Zoramites did as Alma instructed, they were blessed with a firm knowledge of the truth. This is what I call the longing if.
Finally, we go across the ocean and back several hundred years to Babylon. Here we meet Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego, three young Israelite in a foreign land. These young men have been placed as magistrates over portions of Babylon. They actually held political leadership positions in this foreign land. At some point, the King builds an idol and commands that everyone should fall down and worship it. Having refused to do so, the three Israelite magistrates have been taken before the king:
"Nebuchadnezzar spake and said unto them, Is it true, O Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego, do not ye serve my gods, nor worship the golden image which I have set up?
15 Now if ye be ready that at what time ye hear the sound of the cornet, flute, harp, sackbut, psaltery, and dulcimer, and all kinds of musick, ye fall down and worship the image which I have made; well: but if ye worship not, ye shall be cast the same hour into the midst of a burning fiery furnace; and who is that God that shall deliver you out of my hands?
16 Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego, answered and said to the king, O Nebuchadnezzar, we are not careful to answer thee in this matter.
17 If it be so, our God whom we serve is able to deliver us from the burning fiery furnace, and he will deliver us out of thine hand, O king.
18 But if not, be it known unto thee, O king, that we will not serve thy gods, nor worship the golden image which thou hast set up." Daniel 3:14-18
The three are then thrown into the furnace where the Lord joins them and speaks with them, and they are not harmed. This is what I call the but if not.
So here we have three IFs, only if, longing if, but if not. Each unique, and each showing forth a different attitude. The first, only if, is Faith destroying. It is a selfish demand that God deliver what you want, when you want it. And a refusal to believe if he fails to do so. It reminds me a bit of the toddler who thinks he can get whatever he wants by refusing to breathe. As though somehow our refusal to believe it God will cause the truth he has spoken to go away. I think we fall into only if faith more often than we realize. What happens, for example, if we pay our tithing but still can't pay the bills? What if we pray for our child, even give them a blessing, and they don't get better? At times, it can be hard to grow beyond only if faith.
Longing ifs are faith generating. They re-direct our hearts to be open and honest and humble. When we truly have longing if faith, we are like the father who comes to Jesus with his horribly sick child. He begs the savior, "if thou cans't do anything, have compassion on us". When the savior responds, "if thou canst believe...", the man answers, "Lord, I believe, help thou my unbelief". Realizing his shortcomings, the man does not say "Only if you heal him, then I will believe". No, with longing if faith, he states his belief, and then begs the Savior to supplement that belief. But his quest for belief, even for a sign, is not conditional. He does not say, I won't believe if you don't heal. That is the key difference between only if faith and longing faith, it is unconditional. We still want the Lord to give us what we want, but we don't demand it. Which brings me to the final, and ultimate variety of faith, the but if not faith.
You see, true faith in the Lord Jesus Christ recognizes that our will and his will do not always align, and that our thoughts are not his thoughts. It recognizes that what we think we want, and what we would want if we knew everything he knows, are not always the same thing. This sort of faith leads us to respond as Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego; "I believe the Lord will answer my prayer, but if not, I will still believe and worship him." It is a total submission to the will of the Father and the Son.
Elder Bednar gave an exceptionally compelling talk recently about this type of faith, which he termed the faith not to be healed. He told of a young couple that he visited with recently; they were fairly newly married when the husband was diagnosed with cancer, and the outlook was very poor. When this couple asked Elder Bednar for a priesthood blessing, he felt prompted to speak with them a bit first. During this conversation, he was inspired to ask this couple, "do you have the faith NOT to be healed?" This was a new concept, even to Elder Bednar, but led to a conversation about trusting in God. The blessing was given, and the young man, for a time, was better. Two years later, he again was in the hospital for treatments, and was once again considering this concept of but if not faith.
So here we have three IFs, each with it's own reward. It is up to us to choose which type of IF we will use in our life. And it is up to us to choose what sort of faith we want to practice. Will we be like Korihor, the Zoramites, or the Israelite Magistrates? The choice is yours.
So here we have three IFs, only if, longing if, but if not. Each unique, and each showing forth a different attitude. The first, only if, is Faith destroying. It is a selfish demand that God deliver what you want, when you want it. And a refusal to believe if he fails to do so. It reminds me a bit of the toddler who thinks he can get whatever he wants by refusing to breathe. As though somehow our refusal to believe it God will cause the truth he has spoken to go away. I think we fall into only if faith more often than we realize. What happens, for example, if we pay our tithing but still can't pay the bills? What if we pray for our child, even give them a blessing, and they don't get better? At times, it can be hard to grow beyond only if faith.
Longing ifs are faith generating. They re-direct our hearts to be open and honest and humble. When we truly have longing if faith, we are like the father who comes to Jesus with his horribly sick child. He begs the savior, "if thou cans't do anything, have compassion on us". When the savior responds, "if thou canst believe...", the man answers, "Lord, I believe, help thou my unbelief". Realizing his shortcomings, the man does not say "Only if you heal him, then I will believe". No, with longing if faith, he states his belief, and then begs the Savior to supplement that belief. But his quest for belief, even for a sign, is not conditional. He does not say, I won't believe if you don't heal. That is the key difference between only if faith and longing faith, it is unconditional. We still want the Lord to give us what we want, but we don't demand it. Which brings me to the final, and ultimate variety of faith, the but if not faith.
You see, true faith in the Lord Jesus Christ recognizes that our will and his will do not always align, and that our thoughts are not his thoughts. It recognizes that what we think we want, and what we would want if we knew everything he knows, are not always the same thing. This sort of faith leads us to respond as Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego; "I believe the Lord will answer my prayer, but if not, I will still believe and worship him." It is a total submission to the will of the Father and the Son.
Elder Bednar gave an exceptionally compelling talk recently about this type of faith, which he termed the faith not to be healed. He told of a young couple that he visited with recently; they were fairly newly married when the husband was diagnosed with cancer, and the outlook was very poor. When this couple asked Elder Bednar for a priesthood blessing, he felt prompted to speak with them a bit first. During this conversation, he was inspired to ask this couple, "do you have the faith NOT to be healed?" This was a new concept, even to Elder Bednar, but led to a conversation about trusting in God. The blessing was given, and the young man, for a time, was better. Two years later, he again was in the hospital for treatments, and was once again considering this concept of but if not faith.
So here we have three IFs, each with it's own reward. It is up to us to choose which type of IF we will use in our life. And it is up to us to choose what sort of faith we want to practice. Will we be like Korihor, the Zoramites, or the Israelite Magistrates? The choice is yours.
