"You have so many things before you. You have so many things to do and [that] must be done…. I believe what will help you is faith in the Lord Jesus Christ and our Father in Heaven," taught Jonathan Serrao, President of the Honolulu Hawaii West Stake, at his devotional address on Tuesday, May 19, 2009, at the BYU–Hawaii Cannon Activities Center. "Through your faith and works and [the Lord and Heavenly Father's] help you will be able to succeed and accomplish all things that you must accomplish," said Serrao. He spoke of faith as a motive cause of all action, and that faith "can be developed and increased and become a power to you."
Serrao began with an experience his oldest son recently had. When his son was called to serve as a counselor in the bishopric, his son asked—'Why me?' Serrao taught that Enoch "expressed himself similarly when he was called by the Lord to declare repentance to the people."
He then shared various scriptural experiences that taught the need for diligence and faith in the Lord Jesus Christ and Heavenly Father. He spoke of the prophet Alma's confidence: "And now as I said concerning faith—faith is not to have a perfect knowledge of things; therefore if ye have faith ye hope for things which are not seen, which are true" (Alma 32:21). Furthermore, he stated, "The Prophet Joseph Smith taught that faith motivates our day-to-day activities…. that faith is a principle of power and the moving cause of all action within us. Faith then is acting upon things we hope for when we cannot see the end result."
He spoke of Adam and Eve's faithful obedience, of the apostle Paul's preaching to the faithful saints, of Noah's faith to build an ark when there was no rain, and of Sara's faith to have Isaac at ninety years of age.
Of Abraham's faith to offer Isaac as a sacrifice, he summed, "When the decision was made to rise up early in the morning and follow the Lord's commandment to offer Isaac as a sacrifice, there was no ram caught in the thicket. [But] there was a man's faith to be obedient, and in the process of being obedient, the Lord provided." To this he noted that Abraham's faith was the motive cause of his actions.
He then spoke of the application of faith, something which he learned on the mission field, noting that blessings always follow individual faith and works.
To drive his point home, he shared a story he learned: A man that had fallen off a cliff, dangling precariously from a branch, anxiously sought the Lord's help. In answer, the Lord asked him if he believed that he, the Lord, created all things, including the branch the man held on to for dear life. The man answered, 'Yes.' The Lord then instructed him to let go.
This dilemma that the man faced—the process of letting go—is dependent upon faith. For some letting go is a matter of releasing the branch quickly and then grabbing back on. For others, letting go means one hand will still cling tightly to the branch while the other hand is free. And yet for others, letting go is never an option. But for those that let go completely, they "allow faith to be a principle of power in their lives" and their faith increases.
In closing he stated, "Whatever it is, may we exercise our faith with action. May we go and do because we know that Father in Heaven and His son Jesus Christ will bless us…. May you have faith in Jesus Christ, I pray in His sacred name, amen."
—Photo by Monique Saenz
Click here to see a copy of Jonathan Serrao's talk