Closer to the Savior

Patricia P. Pinegar, Second Counselor in the Young Women General Presidency

Patricia P. Pinegar

Choosing to increase our faith in the Savior isn’t easy. It takes work, but the feelings inside of peace and joy and love are worth all our efforts.

What can we do to turn to the Savior? In the scriptures it says, “But without faith it is impossible to please him”; and to please him we must “believe that he is” (Heb. 11:6).

• Choosing to believe is an important step. It has to be our choice. No one can make that choice for you. If I stand in front of a mirror and look myself in the eye and say, “I choose to believe in the Savior,” that helps me; then whenever I look in a mirror it reminds me of my choice.

• Ask for help, then listen. Our Father and Savior want us to have more faith. Faith is a gift, but it must be sought after. We can seek after faith by asking for more faith in our prayers. Could we say, “Heavenly Father, please help me have more faith”?

  Harder than asking is listening. We can listen in our hearts and hear Their voice. We can listen in the scriptures and hear Their word. We can listen to our prophet and leaders and hear their testimonies of faith. We can increase our faith by “hearing … the word of God” (Rom. 10:17).

• Practice turning to Him, practice thinking about Him. Increasing our faith does take more than choosing to believe and asking. It takes physical and mental action. It takes practice, diligence, patience, and obedience. We must be “doers of the word, … not hearers only” (James 1:22). We can practice living righteously by turning to Him, by thinking about Him, by following Him. And then we must help Him with His work by helping others.

I sense the tender feelings in your hearts. I feel that too. I believe we want to follow Him, to trust Him, to please Him, to live righteously, to increase our faith in Him. My testimony is that He loves us so much, that He understands, and that His light will comfort us and guide us as we come unto Him.