He spoke in the context of having “the constant influence of the Holy Ghost,” which he noted that the late President Russell M. Nelson had mentioned as being necessary to survive spiritually.

“One of the many reasons you will need the constant influence of the Holy Ghost is that you live in a season in which the adversary has become so effective at disguising truth that if you don’t have the Holy Ghost, you will be deceived,” President Oaks said. “Many obstacles lie ahead. The distractions will be many. Even active members may sometimes have concerns about some historical, doctrinal, or social issues connected with the Church.”

President Oaks said he wanted to help all members of the church to overcome their doubts and said that way was by getting closer to Jesus Christ.

“Again and again, He has taught us that He is the way,” President Oaks said.

The first way to draw closer to Jesus Christ, which will be discussed here, is strengthening faith in him, according to President Oaks.

I’ve heard people say in the past that they wish they could have as much faith as someone else.

This type of comment, said by people who ostensibly would like to have more faith, is made as if having strong faith simply isn’t possible for everyone. It’s said as if faith is some gift arbitrarily bestowed upon certain people and other people simply don’t have it or aren’t capable of it.

I do recognize that some people have a gift for faith. It just seems to come to them naturally.

Speaking of her husband, Jeffrey R. Holland, the late member of the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles in the church who died in December, Patricia Holland made the following remark in a 2022 interview to The Church News:

“He is a man with perfect faith. His patriarchal blessing says he’s blessed with perfect faith. Because he has perfect faith, he has a lot of confidence there isn’t anything that can’t be done. He just, kind of like what he said President Tanner said: He would never say that cannot happen if he thought it was the right thing to do, no matter how hard it was.”

She went on to say Elder Holland “is a man of miracles because he believes that it could be done.”

But I don’t believe that strong faith is impossible for some. I believe it’s like a muscle, and if you practice exercising it, it will grow. If you don’t, it will weaken. Some may need to try harder than others to grow or keep their faith, but everyone is capable of developing strong faith.

“Strong faith requires more than strong desire,” President Oaks said. “It means daily trying, one step at a time, with prayer and scripture study.”

Thus, we know the type of exercise that is required, and it’s not complicated. It may not be easy, because of all of life’s distractions, but it’s not complicated.

President Oaks added that we can “increase our commitment to the principles of the first article of faith, which states, ‘We believe in God, the Eternal Father, and in his Son, Jesus Christ, and in the Holy Ghost.'”

To me, that means we are committed to having faith in God the Father, Jesus Christ and the Holy Ghost. It’s not just about certain behaviors, like prayer, scripture study and other efforts; it’s about an attitude that we will be committed to having and increasing our faith in them.

I also think that means acting according to a belief in those principles. If we are committed to those principles, then we will act like we are committed. We will talk like we are committed. That doesn’t mean we’ll be perfect, but it does mean that people will know from observing us that we are committed to our belief in God the Father, Jesus Christ and the Holy Ghost.

“These principles anchor our faith in God and will keep us anchored to gospel truth and to our Savior’s example of service to our fellow men and women,” President Oaks said.

Ultimately, I can’t imagine God not wanting all to have strong faith in him. He wants everyone to return to him, so I don’t know why he would not want everyone to have as much faith in him as is possible. If we accept that and work persistently to strengthen our faith in him in the ways President Oaks mentioned, he will reward that effort.

Contact Ryan Comer at rcomer@standard.net.