D&C 88:118 states, “And as all have not faith, seek ye diligently and teach one another words of wisdom; yea, seek ye out of the best books words of wisdom; seek learning, even by study and also by faith.” I think that most, if not all people understand the concept of learning by study, but what does it mean to learn by faith? The Bible Dictionary states, “To have faith is to have confidence in something or someone.” Although one supposes that by this definition one could have faith in a number of different things, the point of this message is to provide us the way to maximize our learning. Scripture tells us in Proverbs 3:5&6, “Trust in the Lord with all thine heart; and lean not unto thine own understanding. In all thy ways acknowledge him, and he shall direct thy paths.” In all our ways we are to trust God to be the source of all our blessings, and this is especially true when it comes to our learning.
 

When opening our books to study, we should remember that the first principle and ordinance of this Gospel is faith in the Lord Jesus Christ and we should meekly and humbly, with a heart that is sincere in its desire to obtain that which God may reveal to us through our studies, seek our Heavenly Father’s assistance through prayer and petition in the name of his beloved Son Jesus Christ for help from on high. Having offered up our prayer, and having the gentle confirmation of our Heavenly Father hearing our prayer through the witness of the Holy Ghost, we should believe that God will grant our petition and bless us with what we have asked for.
 

This trust and confidence in the Lord and his blessings is the basis for our learning by faith. In a talk given in the 2006 General Conference, Elder David A. Bednar of the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles stated, “Endowed with agency, you and I are agents, and we primarily are to act and not just be acted upon.” Learning by faith requires that we act in order to be acted upon and receive the learning we are seeking through our studies. We must follow the Savior’s instructions when he said in Mark 11:24, “Therefore I say unto you, What things soever ye desire, when ye pray, believe that ye receive them, and ye shall have them.”
 

May the Lord bless your efforts to learn by study and by faith.
 

Craig Fujisue
 

There is hope for those that think there is no hope. For those that think that they have sinned too much for God to forgive them, there is good news. God sent his Son, his only begotten Son, to this Earth to pay the ultimate price so that you, in spite of all your sins, could be forgiven, and that you could come back into Heavenly Father’s presence. In spite of how unbelievable it may seem, you have been forgiven, if you are willing to give up on those sins and never go back.
 

Elder Jeffrey R. Holland of the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles stated in a talk from the April 2006 General Conference: “Are you battling a demon of addiction—tobacco or drugs or gambling, or the pernicious contemporary plague of pornography? Is your marriage in trouble or your child in danger? Are you confused with gender identity or searching for self-esteem? Do you—or someone you love—face disease or depression or death? Whatever other steps you may need to take to resolve these concerns, come first to the gospel of Jesus Christ. Trust in heaven’s promises. In that regard Alma’s testimony is my testimony: ‘I do know,’ he says, ‘that whosoever shall put their trust in God shall be supported in their trials, and their troubles, and their afflictions.’
 

“This reliance upon the merciful nature of God is at the very center of the gospel Christ taught. I testify that the Savior’s Atonement lifts from us not only the burden of our sins but also the burden of our disappointments and sorrows, our heartaches and our despair. From the beginning, trust in such help was to give us both a reason and a way to improve, an incentive to lay down our burdens and take up our salvation. There can and will be plenty of difficulties in life. Nevertheless, the soul that comes unto Christ, who knows His voice and strives to do as He did, finds a strength, as the hymn says, ‘beyond [his] own.’ The Savior reminds us that He has ‘graven [us] upon the palms of [His] hands.’ Considering the incomprehensible cost of the Crucifixion and Atonement, I promise you He is not going to turn His back on us now. When He says to the poor in spirit, ‘Come unto me,’ He means He knows the way out and He knows the way up. He knows it because He has walked it. He knows the way because He is the way.”
 

I testify that you have forgiveness for your sins, regardless how bad you think they have been. Come home unto Christ.
 

In The Name of Jesus Christ
 

Craig Fujisue