Faith + Acts
Faith + Acts
President Quinn’s Weekly Message
California Santa Rosa Mission
September 30th, 2024
Thank you for your responses to my challenge last week. I am inspired by your faith and willingness. As we combine our faith and acts, I am confident CASRM can realize the blessing of having each companionship enjoy a baptism by year end.
One of my favorite prophets in the Book of Mormon is Nephi, the son of Lehi. I admire Nephi for the lessons his obedience to the Lord teaches us about faith and acts. Nephi accomplished all the difficult assignments the Lord commanded him by taking actions that demonstrated his faith (1 Nephi 3:7).
I have chosen one example of how Nephi’s combined his faith and actions to achieve miracles. Contrast the response of Nephi to that of his brothers, Laman and Lemuel, when the Lord commands them to build a ship to cross the ocean to the promised land. The Lord commands Nephi, “Thou shalt construct a ship.” (1 Nephi 17:8). To this command Nephi immediately responds:
“Lord, whither shall I go that I may find ore to molten, that I may make tools to construct the ship after the manner which thou hast shown unto me?” (1 Nephi 17:9)
Do you see what Nephi teaches us in this verse? Rather than explaining to the Lord that he is in a wilderness lacking the tools to build a ship, Nephi’s immediate response shows his faith and his willingness to act. We read a verse later that Nephi straightway begins making a bellows to molten stones for making the required tools to construct the ship (verse 10). Now, contrast Nephi’s response with that of his brothers:
“And when my brethren saw that I was about to build a ship, they began to murmur against me, saying: Our brother is a fool, for he thinketh that he can build a ship; yea, and he also thinketh that he can cross these great waters. And thus my brethren did complain against me… neither would they believe that I was instructed of the Lord.” (1 Nephi 17:17-18)
As a mission, we have the goal for each missionary companionship to have a baptism by December 31st. I doubt this goal has ever been accomplished before in the history of CASRM. How are you responding to the goal we have set? Are you acting in faith like Nephi or finding excuses not to act like Laman and Lemuel? I hope you are prayerfully looking for ways to act, just as Nephi did, so that the Lord will bless you with people to teach.
Since issuing the challenge, we have had 4 of our friends baptized. We have another 13 friends on date over the next two weeks. This is a wonderful start to achieving our goal. We have plenty of time between now and year end to be led to people ready to accept the gospel. Please engage ward leaders and members in this goal. They can be of great assistance to you.
I invite you to follow the example of Nephi, to exercise and demonstrate your faith by your actions. Like Nephi, we are under assignment from the Lord – we are on His errand. I know He will bless us in achieving His righteous ends when we exercise faith in Him and act in ways that will qualify us for His miracles.
Join in to Miracle Monday tonight for a special CASRM announcement.
Love,
President Quinn
(630) 881-4030
