Faith: A Bond of Trust and Loyalty
Faith sprouts as we trust in Jesus Christ and blooms as we are faithful and loyal to Him.
When I was 17, I made an agreement with my friend José Luis to teach him how to swim. So one morning we dedicated time to practice. When our lesson was over and I was leaving the pool, I heard my friend shouting for help. He was drowning in the deep end of the pool.
I threw myself into the water and swam toward him while praying for help. As I grabbed his hand to pull him to the surface, my desperate friend climbed onto my back and put me in a choke hold. Now we were both drowning. Trying my best to reach the surface, I prayed with all my might for a miracle from God. Then, slowly but steadily, the power of God was manifest as I felt a hand propelling me toward the shallow end of the pool, bringing us to safety.
This experience confirmed a profound lesson President Russell M. Nelson once taught: “When you reach up for the Lord’s power in your life with the same intensity that a drowning person has when grasping and gasping for air, power from Jesus Christ will be yours.”
Dear children and young people, today I want to talk to you about the essential principle of faith in Jesus Christ.
Faith in Christ Means Trusting Him
What does it mean to have faith in Christ? Does it mean we believe in Him or have a testimony that He is real? That may be a start, but it’s more than that. Have you ever thought of faith as trust? Think of the person you trust the most—perhaps a family member or a friend. Why do you trust them? It is probably because you have seen their constant love and help.
When we have faith in Christ, we recognize His blessings and develop a relationship of trust with Him.
How Can You Increase Your Trust in Christ?
In a recent youth devotional, you were invited to meditate on a time in your life when you received a ray of heavenly light. Try this exercise!
Start by meditating about Christ and the happiness His Atonement and gospel bring to your life. Also, make a record of the “spiritually defining memories” where God has been there for you, for your loved ones, and for the people in the scriptures. Now, these testimonies will not bring power to your life until the Spirit etches them in the “fleshy tables” of your heart. So ponder and record all God set in motion for these miracles to come at just the right time.
Next, use this exercise as an opportunity to get closer to God. Pray to your Heavenly Father as if it were the first time. Express your love and gratitude for His blessings. Even ask Him how He feels about you and about the direction your life is taking.
If you are sincere and humble, you will hear His answer and begin a personal and lasting relationship with Heavenly Father and Jesus Christ. Not only that, but your religious habits will become meaningful! For instance, you will look forward to your prayers, personal study, and temple worship as opportunities to get to know Them and be with Them.
Faith Flourishes with Loyalty
Notice that faith sprouts as we trust in Jesus Christ and blooms as we are faithful and loyal to Him. If you want a true relationship with Christ, show Him by making covenants and honoring them with faithfulness and loyalty. Making covenants with Jesus Christ builds hope. Honoring them builds faith.
Let me use a personal example: When I was a child, I found my mother crying alone one day. When I asked her why, she gently said, “I need you to be a good boy.” Even though I knew that I was not the cause of her distress, I loved and trusted my mother like no one else and wanted to make her life less difficult. So, with tears in my eyes and with all the solemnity that a nine-year-old can have, I promised her that day I would always strive to be the best son and make her proud.
Can you imagine the power that promise had—and still has—on me?
That promise with her would guide my life. Before making decisions, I would consider whether my actions would please her. The bond of this promise and the relationship with my mother were the anchors for my conduct throughout my life.
Years later, as I came to know Jesus Christ better, I already knew how to base my faith in Him. I made covenants with the Lord, and as I have sought to honor them, He has forgiven my sins, guided my life, and “filled me with his love” to the very core of my being. Christ has instilled in me a deep love, respect, and loyalty for Him.
Do you understand why “faith is a principle of action” and that “without faith it is impossible to please [God]”?
As you try to do what pleases Him, you will say, like Joseph in Egypt when he was tempted by Potiphar’s wife, “How then can I do this great wickedness, and sin against God?” And when faced with opposition, you will say, like the young Prophet Joseph, “I knew it, and I knew that God knew it, and I could not deny it; … I knew that by so doing I would offend God.”
So faith in Jesus Christ is a bond of trust forged in loyalty and love. In other words, in gratitude for God’s merciful love (hesed), we show our loyal love (emunah) by keeping His commandments.
Christ promises, “He that hath my commandments, and keepeth them … shall be loved of my Father, and I will love him, and will manifest myself to him.” If you commit to being loyal to Him, He will manifest His love for you.
Faith in the Face of Adversity
But how should you respond to such adverse situations that require His miracles? While challenges are inevitable and sometimes frightening, simply walk undaunted toward Him, just as the 2025 FSY conference theme invites: “Look unto me in every thought; doubt not, fear not.”
How Can You Walk Undaunted Toward Him?
Imagine that you are an explorer in uncharted territory. To overcome the obstacles ahead, you need a source of light. Your faithfulness to God and your constant interactions with Him are the fuel for your lantern. So when you encounter dark and perilous situations, instead of walking toward them blindly, you will turn on your lamp filled with the oil of faith in Christ to shed glimmers of hope on the uncertain path. Your past experiences will increase your hope that the Lord will sustain you on your journey.
How Far Will You Go with Your Hope and Faith in Christ?
Remember my story at the pool? In that moment of despair, the miracle came in the way I had expected, but God does not guarantee that it will always be according to our will. Our faith must be centered in Christ and our hope in His blessings, as He chooses to send them. “Expect miracles,” but “let God prevail in our lives.”
God’s Promises to His Faithful People
My young friends, how much we love and trust you! You belong to the family of God and are children of the covenant. Believe and trust in Jesus Christ. He will enable you to truly become His disciples.
I invite you to begin today to nurture your relationship with Jesus Christ. Make a commitment to never forsake Him.
Your loyalty, love, and trust in Christ will shape your character and identity after His. You will gain confidence and strength to overcome Satan’s attacks. And when you make mistakes, you will yearn for His forgiveness. Finally, your hope for the future will be bright. He will trust you with His power to accomplish anything He expects of you, even the power to return to His presence.
I testify to you of the joy that comes from singing “the song of redeeming love” and being “encircled about eternally in the arms of his love.” In the sacred name of Jesus Christ, amen.