Lectures on Faith Overview

1. Lectures on Faith
Overview & Lecture First

2. Lectures on Faith Overview & Lecture First
We have been taught in Lecture 2 in Idaho Falls about the
importance of the Lectures on Faith:
“…I'd like you to value The Lectures on Faith. I'd like you to
study The Lectures on Faith. I'd like you to take a lot more
time with them.”
General Summary of the Seven Lectures:
Lecture First What faith is
Lecture Second The object upon which faith rests - How mankind comes to know about God
Lecture Third Characteristics of God
Lecture Fourth Attributes of God
Lecture Fifth The nature and perfections of the Father and the Son, and the Holy Ghost
Lecture Sixth The willingness to sacrifice all earthly things to gain faith or salvation
Lecture Seventh The effects and fruits of faith, prospective power and eventual perfection

3. Lectures on Faith Overview & Lecture First
Hebrews 1:38
38 By faith Enoch was translated that he should not see death,
and was not found, because God had translated him. For
before his translation, he had this testimony: that he pleased
God. But without faith it is impossible to please him, for he
that comes to God must believe that he is, and that he is a
rewarder of them that diligently seek him.
T&C 82:12
12 And this greater Priesthood administers the gospel and
holds the key of the mysteries of the Kingdom, even the key of
the Knowledge of God. Therefore, in the ordinances thereof, the
Power of godliness is manifest, and without the ordinances
thereof, and the authority of the Priesthood, the Power of
godliness is not manifest unto man in the flesh, for without this
no man can see the face of God, even the Father, and live.
Faith, Priesthood, Gospel, Keys, Knowledge, Ordinances, Power

4. Lectures on Faith Overview & Lecture First
Ten Lectures – Lecture 3 – Logan, Utah
Tonight we are just trying to figure out how it is we move
from wherever we are back to a state of being repentant.
That requires you to exercise your effort to learn and obtain
glory from God, which is intelligence, or in other words, light
and truth. (D&C 93: 36, see also verse 28.) Not darkness,
dimness, error, missteps, or incomplete and inadequate
information. You are going to have to face the truth, and
you're going to have to face it with some amount of
courage. We all labor with a good deal of tradition that has
been inflicted on our minds and on our hearts. Things that
we may love, but if they don't conform to the glory of God,
intelligence or light and truth, may have to be discarded too.
Because what God wants to do is bring you back into a state
of reconciliation with Him. This comes only from bravely
facing light and truth, the glory of God, or the power of
godliness, if you will. The very thing that Christ said was
missing as an ingredient in the Christian world at the time
that He talked to Joseph in the First Vision.
Genesis 4:9
9 …Therefore, it is given to abide in you the record of
heaven, the Comforter, the keys of the kingdom of
heaven, the truth of all things, that which quickens all
things — which makes alive all things, that which
knows all things, and has all power according to
wisdom, mercy, truth, justice, and judgment.
The Holy Ghost

5. Lectures on Faith Overview & Lecture First
T&C - Glossary of Terms - Holy Ghost
The Holy Ghost is most correctly understood as the individual spirit (and therefore the Heavenly record from our prior experiences, although now
veiled) within each of us. In that sense it is a he (or, if you are female, a she). The Holy Ghost is the light of truth. In that sense, it is an it. The Holy
Ghost is also the received communication, inspiration or light from above, and the source of that light can be any number of Holy Beings sent to shed
that light upon us. In that sense, it is a they. But we want it to be singular, because that makes it easier to grasp. The Holy Ghost is a personage. It is
an individual. It is a Spirit that will dwell inside you. The Holy Ghost, which resides inside of you, receives intelligence from Christ. The Holy Ghost is the
“record of Heaven” which lives inside you and that you have lost contact with because of the veil. It is a personage of spirit who resides inside you, and
you must “receive” it after baptism by finally listening to that inner “truth of all things” or “record of the Father and the Son” (Genesis 4:9-10). The Holy
Ghost bears record of the Father and the Son (Genesis 3:4). When the Son speaks to you through the Holy Ghost you hear the words in the first
person. Hence the Holy Ghost speaking that it “is the Son” in Genesis 3:4. Your spirit or your ghost is within you, connected to Heaven to such a
degree through this process that you are in possession of a “holy spirit” or a holy ghost within you. From Adam until Christ, the Holy Ghost was the
primary voice by which revelation was delivered from God to mankind. It is active and has been active in delivering the words of prophecy to “holy
men” throughout history. The scriptures have explained that the Holy Ghost which dwells in you – this personage of Spirit – has the following other
descriptions or attributes: the Comforter, the record of Heaven, the truth of all things, the peaceable things of immortal glory, that which quickens all
things, that which knows all things, that which has all power according to wisdom, mercy, truth, justice and judgment (Genesis 4:9). This is a
description of the personage of Spirit that dwells inside you. This is the Holy Ghost. This is something that can be in contact with the Holy Spirit, or the
“mind of the Father and Son….”
There are many times when the term “Ghost” and the term “Spirit” are used interchangeably. The distinction is not appreciated by some translators.
Therefore, if there is a difference between these two, you will need to be careful about trusting different translator’s use of the terms. They may not
have any distinction in mind. No man can receive the Holy Ghost without receiving revelations. The Holy Ghost is a revelator. God is no respecter of
persons and makes the Holy Ghost available and accessible to all (Acts 6:3-6, Epistle of Jacob 1:2, 5). The Holy Ghost, which is the “mind of the Father
and the Son,” can be communicated by: pure intelligence, light poured into the mind of a man, a ministering angel sent with a message, a ministering
spirit sent with a message, an open vision, a voice from Heaven, or any other means designed to convey into the mind of the man receiving it the
truth of things from God. This first comforter, or Holy Ghost, has no other effect than pure intelligence.
The Holy Ghost

6. Lectures on Faith Overview & Lecture First
Ether 1:19
19 … Come unto me, O ye gentiles, and I will
shew unto you the greater things, the
knowledge which is hid up because of unbelief.
Come unto me, O ye house of Israel, and it
shall be made manifest unto you how great
things the Father hath laid up for you from the
foundation of the world; and it hath not come
unto you because of unbelief.
The Temple - Denver Snuffer, 10-28-2012 Ogden, Utah
The miracle of The First Vision of Joseph Smith does not consist in the
fact that he went in the woods alone to pray, nor does it consist in the
fact that when he’s alone and praying that he got bound up by some
darkness which entirely overcame him… but calling upon God, he then
pressed through to receive what lays on the other side of the fears and
of the darkness and of the things that put you off the trail to God.
Unbelief, Opposition, Darkness

7. Lectures on Faith Overview & Lecture First
Keep the Covenant: Do the Work – Boise, ID
The contention, anger and hatred that dominate daily conversation have stirred up
the world to anger. “For the kingdom of the Devil must shake, and they which belong
to it must needs be stirred up unto repentance or the Devil will grasp them with his
everlasting chains and they be stirred up to anger and perish. For behold, at that day
shall he rage in the hearts of the children of men and stir them up to anger against
that which is good.”
Do not be angry with anyone, but certainly not with one another. Nearly all the
violence described in the Book of Mormon came because of anger. Christ condemned
this. “Behold, this is not my doctrine, to stir up the hearts of men with anger one
against another, but this is my doctrine, that such things should be done away.”
Anger – Cain & Able
Genesis 3:7-8
7 And Cain loved Satan more than God. And Satan commanded him,
saying, Make an offering unto the Lord. And in process of time, it came
to pass that Cain brought of the fruit of the ground an offering unto
the Lord. And Abel, he also brought of the firstlings of his flock and of
the fat thereof. And the Lord had respect unto Abel and to his offering,
but unto Cain and to his offering he had not respect.
8 Now Satan knew this and it pleased him, and Cain was very angry
and his countenance fell. And the Lord said unto Cain, Why are you
angry? Why is your countenance fallen? If you do well you shall be
accepted. And if you do not well, sin lies at the door. And Satan desires
to have you, and except you shall listen unto my commandments, I will
deliver you up. And it shall be unto you according to his desire, and
you shall rule over him. For from this time forth, you shall be the father
of his lies. You shall be called Perdition, for you were also before the
world. And it shall be said in times to come that these abominations
were had from Cain, for he rejected the greater counsel which was had
from God. And this is a cursing which I will put upon you, except you
repent. And Cain was angry and listened not anymore to the voice of
the Lord, neither to Abel his brother, who walked in holiness before the
Lord. And Adam also and his wife mourned before the Lord because of
Cain and his brethren.

8. Lectures on Faith Overview & Lecture First
T&C 86:2,4
2 Now, verily I say unto you that through the redemption which is
made for you is brought to pass the resurrection from the dead. And
the spirit and the body are the soul of man, and the resurrection
from the dead is the redemption of the soul, and the redemption of
the soul is through him who quickens all things, in whose bosom it is
decreed that the poor and the meek of the earth shall inherit it.
Therefore, it must needs be sanctified from all unrighteousness, that
it may be prepared for the Celestial glory, for after it has filled the
measure of its creation, it shall be crowned with Glory, even with the
presence of God the Father, that bodies who are of the Celestial
Kingdom may possess it for ever, and ever. For, for this intent was it
made and created, and for this intent are they sanctified.
4 And again, verily I say unto you, The Earth abides the law of a
Celestial Kingdom, for it fills the measure of its creation and
transgresses not the law. Wherefore, it shall be sanctified.
Measure of Our Creation
T&C 35:5
5 And again, I say unto you that whoever forbids to marry is not
ordained of God, for marriage is ordained of God unto man.
Wherefore, it is lawful that he should have one wife and they twain
shall be one flesh, and all this that the earth might answer the end of
its creation, and that it might be filled with the measure of man,
according to his creation before the world was made.

9. Lectures on Faith Overview & Lecture First
Moroni 10:2
2 …And when ye shall receive these things, I would
exhort you that ye would ask God the Eternal Father, in
the name of Christ, if these things are not true. And if ye
shall ask with a sincere heart, with real intent, having
faith in Christ, and he will manifest the truth of it unto
you by the power of the holy ghost. And by the power of
the holy ghost, ye may know the truth of all things.
Eighteen Verses – Chapter 14 – KNOWING ALL TRUTH
Acquiring knowledge of “all things” through the Holy
Spirit is not something Latter-day Saint intellectuals
defend as a possibility. Only the scriptures and the
prophets try to get us to see this message.
THE TRUTH OF ALL THINGS – The Doctrine of Christ & The Holy Ghost
Joseph Smith
Now I ask all who hear me, why learned men who are
preaching salvation, say that God created the heavens and the
earth out of nothing? The reason is, that they are unlearned in
the things of God, and have not the gift of the Holy Ghost; they
account it blasphemy in anyone to contradict their idea. If you
tell them that God made the world out of something, they will
call you a fool. But I am learned, and know more than all the
world put together. The Holy Ghost does, anyhow, and he is
within me, and comprehends more than all the world; and I will
associate myself with him. (HC 6:307-8)

10. Lectures on Faith Overview & Lecture First
Reminder – Truth Enters through the Heart
…the ordinance pertaining to the HEART is the Sacrament
1 Samuel 7:16
16 …But the Lord said unto Samuel,
Look not on his countenance or on the
height of his stature, because I have
refused him; for the Lord sees not as
man sees. For man looks on the
outward appearance, but the Lord
looks on the heart.

11. Lectures on Faith Overview & Lecture First
“AGENTS UNTO THEMSELVES”
T&C 45:6
6 For behold, it is not meet that I
should command in all things, for he
that is compelled in all things, the
same is a slothful and not a wise
servant, wherefore, he receives no
reward. Verily I say, Men should be
anxiously engaged in a good cause,
and do many things of their own free
will, and bring to pass much
righteousness, for the power is in
them wherein they are agents unto
themselves. And inasmuch as men
do good, they shall in no way lose
their reward, but he that does not
anything until he is commanded, and
receives a commandment with a
doubtful heart, and keeps it with
slothfulness, the same is damned.
Genesis 4:8
8 And our father Adam spoke unto
the Lord and said, Why is it that
men must repent and be baptized
in water? And the Lord said unto
Adam, Behold, I have forgiven you
your transgression in the garden of
Eden. From this came the saying
abroad among the people that the
Son of God has atoned for original
guilt, wherein the sins of the
parents cannot be answered upon
the heads of the children, for they
are whole from the foundation of
the world. And the Lord spoke unto
Adam, saying, Inasmuch as your
children are conceived in sin, even
so, when they begin to grow up, sin
conceives in their hearts, and they
taste the bitter that they may know
to prize the good. And it is given
unto them to know good from evil.
Wherefore, they are agents unto
themselves.
T&C 105:5
5 I the Lord stretched out the heavens,
and built the earth as a very handy
work, and all things therein are mine.
And it is my purpose to provide for my
saints, for all things are mine, but it
must needs be done in my own way.
And behold, this is the way that I the
Lord have decreed to provide for my
saints: that the poor shall be exalted,
in that the rich are made low, for the
earth is full, and there is enough and
to spare. Yea, I have prepared all
things, and have given unto the
children of men to be agents unto
themselves.
T&C 9:10
10 Wherefore, verily I say unto
you that all things unto me are
spiritual, and not at any time
have I given unto you a law
which was temporal, neither any
man nor the children of men,
neither Adam your father whom I
created. Behold, I gave unto him
that he should be an agent unto
himself and I gave unto him a
commandment, but no temporal
commandment gave I unto him,
for my commandments are
spiritual, they are not natural nor
temporal, neither carnal nor
sensual.

12. Lectures on Faith Overview & Lecture First
“UNSHAKABLE” FAITH – LOOK TO ME IN EVERY THOUGHT
Jacob 3:2
2 …Wherefore, we search the prophets, and we have many
revelations and the spirit of prophecy. And having all these
witnesses, we obtain a hope and our faith becometh
unshaken, insomuch that we truly can command in the
name of Jesus and the very trees obey us, or the
mountains, or the waves of the sea. Nevertheless, the Lord
God sheweth us our weakness, that we may know that it is
by his grace and his great condescensions unto the
children of men that we have power to do these things.
Joseph Smith History 13:16
16 Fear not to do good my sons, for whatsoever ye sow,
that shall ye also reap. Therefore if ye sow good, ye
shall also reap good for your reward. Therefore fear not,
little flock. Do good, let earth and hell combine against
you, for if ye are built upon my Rock they cannot
prevail. Behold I do not condemn you. Go your ways
and sin no more. Perform with soberness the work
which I have commanded you. Look unto me in every
thought. Doubt not, fear not. Behold the wounds which
pierced my side, and also the prints of the nails in my
hands and feet. Be faithful, keep my commandments,
and ye shall inherit the kingdom of Heaven. Amen.