Doctrinal Mastery: Lesson 163

Acting in Faith to Find Answers

Moving Forward, Trusting the Lord

It can be challenging to wait for Heavenly Father’s will and timing to receive answers to our gospel questions. Many Old Testament stories demonstrate how followers of God continued to make choices that demonstrated their faith and trust in Him while seeking answers. This lesson can help students act with faith in Jesus Christ as they seek answers to their gospel questions.

Student preparation: Invite students to review paragraphs 5–7 of the “Acquiring Spiritual Knowledge” section of the Doctrinal Mastery Core Document (2023). They could prepare to share why they think our actions are important when seeking answers to questions or concerns about the gospel.

Possible Learning Activities

Waiting on the Lord for answers to questions

Consider displaying pictures from a few Old Testament stories of people who acted with faith in the Lord. You could assign small groups of students a scripture passage to study that goes along with one of the pictures. You might select stories such as:

1. The faithful woman of Zarephath during the famine (1 Kings 17:7–12).

2. Naaman seeking healing of his leprosy (2 Kings 5:1–3, 9–10).

3. Enoch’s call to preach the gospel (Moses 6:26–28, 31).

Students could read the part of the story that introduces the challenging situation (references in parentheses above) and answer the following questions. (Later in the lesson, students will study how these individuals acted in faith.)

• How did this person’s circumstances require faith in the Lord?

• What concerns or circumstances might teenagers face today that require them to act on their faith in the Lord?

  If it would be helpful for students to identify modern-day examples of questions, you could show the video “Act in Faith: The Stonemason” (4:57), from time code 0:00 to 1:48, and invite students to look for the challenging situations these two teenagers faced. Consider helping students identify the questions the teenagers had. You could invite students to write the questions on one half of the board.

  After students have identified several questions, you might invite them to respond in their study journals to the following.

• When have you or someone you know had questions or concerns about the gospel?

• What are some things you have done or could do to feel close to the Savior when you have gospel concerns or questions?

Having questions or concerns about Heavenly Father, Jesus Christ, or Their gospel is normal. The three principles of Acquiring Spiritual Knowledge can help us navigate difficult questions or concerns. These principles can help us understand how to stay close to Heavenly Father and Jesus Christ as we seek answers.

Faith is a principle of action

You could share with students that today’s lesson will focus on the first principle: Act in faith. Consider writing the following incomplete truth on the board: When facing gospel questions or concerns, we can act with faith in Jesus Christ by…

You could copy the following chart on the board, inviting students to find at least one way to complete the bolded truth from each paragraph.

Read paragraphs 5, 6, and 7 of the “Acquiring Spiritual Knowledge” section of the Doctrinal Mastery Core Document (2023), looking for ways to complete the statement on the board.

	When facing gospel questions or concerns, we can act with faith in Jesus Christ by…
Paragraph 5
Paragraph 6
Paragraph 7

• Using each paragraph, how would you complete the statement on the board?

• Are there other ways to act with faith in Jesus Christ that you would add to this list?

Students might complete the statement with phrases such as:

… continuing to keep the commandments. (paragraph 5)

… relying on what we already know to be true. (paragraph 6)

… trusting Heavenly Father until we receive answers. (paragraph 7)

You could use the following to give students an opportunity to evaluate how well they feel they can use each of these three statements to address their gospel questions or concerns.

Take a moment to reflect on these ways to act with faith in Jesus Christ when you have questions. On a scale of 1 (a little) to 5 (very), how confident do you feel acting in faith in the Savior in these ways? Pay attention to promptings from the Spirit to help increase your confidence in areas where you recognize you could improve.

Actions that show our faith in Jesus Christ

Groups could use the following references to continue studying the scripture story they started at the beginning of the lesson, looking for how the person acted with faith in the Lord.

1. The faithful woman of Zarephath during the famine (1 Kings 17:13–16)

2. Naaman seeking healing from his leprosy (2 Kings 5:11–15)

3. Enoch’s call to preach the gospel (Moses 6:37–39; 7:12–13)

If you showed the beginning of the video “Act in Faith: The Stonemason” earlier in the lesson, you could show the conclusion of it from time code 1:49 to 4:57. Invite students to look for how the Lord blessed the teenagers as they acted with faith in Him.

Students might benefit from sharing ideas that could help someone act in faith when facing concerns or questions about the gospel. One way to do this is to display the following instructions.

Imagine you were invited to give advice to someone who had questions or concerns about the gospel. Select at least two of the following to complete:

1. Identify ways this person could act with faith in Jesus Christ by answering the following questions:

   • What commandments could he or she continue to keep?

   • What would you hope this person knew or remembered about Heavenly Father and Jesus Christ?

   • What could he or she do to demonstrate trust in Them?

2. Find at least one doctrinal mastery or other scripture passage that could help this person act with faith in Jesus Christ.

3. Find a statement from a Church leader that might help this person act with faith in Jesus Christ.

After enough time, invite students to share with a partner the advice they might give. You could also give students an opportunity to share experiences they have had acting with faith in Jesus Christ while seeking gospel answers or blessings.

Make a plan to act in faith

Consider inviting students to make a plan to act with faith in Jesus Christ when they face gospel questions or concerns. One way to do this is to share the following prompts to be answered in their study journals. As time allows, you could invite willing students to share what they wrote.

• Something I want to remember about acting with faith in Jesus Christ is .

• One thing I want to do to act with faith in Jesus Christ the next time questions or concerns arise is .

Additional Resources

Why are my actions important when I have gospel questions?

Elder Dale G. Renlund of the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles taught:

Faith deepens as we act in ways that anchor us more firmly to [Jesus Christ].

Now, it would be nice if increased faith were transmitted like the flu or the common cold. Then a simple “spiritual sneeze” would build faith in others. But it does not work that way. The only way faith grows is for an individual to act in faith. These actions are often prompted by invitations extended by others, but we cannot “grow” someone else’s faith or rely solely on others to bolster our own. For our faith to grow, we must choose faith-building actions, such as praying, studying the scriptures, partaking of the sacrament, keeping the commandments, and serving others. (“Unwavering Commitment to Jesus Christ,” Ensign or Liahona, Nov. 2019, 23)

How can I rely on what I already know?

President Jeffrey R. Holland of the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles shared:

When problems come and questions arise, do not start your quest for faith by saying how much you do not have, leading as it were with your “unbelief.” That is like trying to stuff a turkey through the beak! Let me be clear on this point: I am not asking you to pretend to faith you do not have. I am asking you to be true to the faith you do have. Sometimes we act as if an honest declaration of doubt is a higher manifestation of moral courage than is an honest declaration of faith. It is not! So let us all remember the clear message of this scriptural account: Be as candid about your questions as you need to be; life is full of them on one subject or another. But if you and your family want to be healed, don’t let those questions stand in the way of faith working its miracle. (“Lord, I Believe,” Ensign or Liahona, May 2013, 94)

Elder Neil L. Andersen of the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles shared:

I like the lesson taught by President Dallin H. Oaks to his son when his son asked a question that was not clearly explained in the doctrine of Christ. His answer? “Son, I don’t know the answer to that question, but let me answer a question that I do know.” He then bore witness of the Prophet Joseph Smith and the First Vision. Let’s be willing to say, “I don’t know about that, but this is what I do know. (“The Power of Jesus Christ and Pure Doctrine,” [Church Educational System broadcast, June 11, 2023], broadcasts.ChurchofJesusChrist.org).

Supplemental Learning Activities

Additional Old Testament examples of acting with faith in Christ

Other Old Testament examples of acting in faith can be found in the following stories. The scripture passages have been organized for use in addition to or in place of the stories of faith used in the lesson.

Challenging situation	Acting with faith in the Lord
Challenging situation The Israelites crossing the Jordan river (Joshua 3:9–13)	Acting with faith in the Lord Joshua 3:14–17
Challenging situation Gideon preparing to battle the Midianites (Judges 7:2–8)	Acting with faith in the Lord Judges 7:16–21
Challenging situation Esther going before the king (Esther 4:7–14)	Acting with faith in the Lord Esther 4:15–17; 5:1–3

Elder David A. Bednar of the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles uses the story of Joshua to teach about our need to act in faith. You could show students the video of his message “Exercise Faith in Christ” (1:43).

Sharing ideas of how to act in faith

To help students make a plan to act in faith, it might be helpful to create a graphic on the board for students to easily share ideas with other classmates. You could draw a flow chart on the board with “Act in Faith” as the main idea and three branches with labels for each of the three statements. After the study activity, students could come to the board and write ideas of how a teenager could act in faith in each of these areas. You could also provide sticky notes for students to write their ideas on and place them under each statement. Invite students to come to the board and review the ideas their classmates shared before making their plan.