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"When the Son of man cometh, shall he find faith on the earth?"
A starving Old Testament widow showed faith by giving Elijah bread before feeding herself and her son. She was rewarded with food for many days. "In the wisdom of our day, the widow's response may appear foolish and unwise. That is largely because we often learn to make decisions based upon what we see. . . . Your faith should not stand in the wisdom of men, but in the power of God."
Faith in Christ is the first principle of the gospel. It consists of: 1) absolute confidence in that which we cannot see, 2) action and 3) absolute conformity of that action to the will of God.
"For our faith to make a difference, we must act." While acting, "how do we know when our faith conforms to the will of our Heavenly Father and he approves of that which we seek? We must know the word of God" by studying the scriptures and counsel of latter-day prophets. We must ponder, pray and seek the Holy Spirit.
Faith is a principle of power, "powerful beyond our comprehension. . . . Through faith waters are parted, the sick healed, the wicked silenced and salvation made possible."
When trials of our faith come, "we should not lose hope. . . . Often when the world seems dark, when the heavens seem distant, we seek to blame everything around us when the real cause of the darkness may be a lack of faith within ourselves. Be of good cheer. Have faith and confidence. The Lord will not forsake you."