Good afternoon. It is so great to look out at the congregation and see family, friends, and ward members. I really appreciate your love and support. My name is Zach Gardanier and as many of you know, I received a mission call to serve and teach the people of Uruguay. I leave for the Provo Missionary Training Center on Wednesday. I’m really excited, but also a little nervous. I know it will be a wonderful experience and I’m grateful for all of your love and support. I know missions are hard work and that I will go through challenges that I have never experienced before. But I know that if I have faith and follow the Lord’s teachings that I will be okay and everything will turn out great.
This leads me to my topic for today. I was asked to speak on “Faith in Jesus Christ.”
So, what is faith? The Apostle Paul taught that “faith is the assurance of things hoped for, the evidence of things not seen.” (Hebrews 11:1). Another ancient prophet said, “If ye have faith ye hope for things which are not seen, which are true.” (Alma in Alma 32:31).
Faith is a principle of action and power. Whenever we work toward a worthy goal, we exercise faith. We show a hope for something that we cannot yet see.
A song that Primary children sing teaches the nature of faith, it goes:
Faith is knowing the sun will rise, lighting each new day.Faith in Jesus Christ
Faith is knowing the Lord will hear my prayers each time I pray.
Faith is like a little seed:
If planted it will grow.
Faith is a swelling within my heart.
When I do right, I know
However, in order for our faith to lead to salvation, it must be centered in the Lord Jesus Christ. Faith may be viewed as faithfulness in the face of uncertainty. It is following the Lord and going forward without knowing the outcome. It means relying completely on the Savior—trusting in His infinite power, intelligence, and love. It means believing that even though we do not understand all things, our Savior does. Jesus Christ experienced all of our pains, afflictions, and infirmities, and because He did, He knows how to help each of us rise above our daily difficulties. We can fight the good fight and stay the course, even if it is just one day at a time.
One of my favorite Bible stories is the story of David and Goliath. As you’ll recall, the army of Israel was engaged in a deadly war with the army of the Philistines. One army was on one hill, the other army on an opposite hill, and a valley in between. The Philistines had a giant of a man named Goliath. Clad in his armor, he came down to the valley and called out to the army of Israel. He challenged the Israelites telling them to choose a man to fight him. If their man could beat him, then the Philistines would be their servants. However, if he Goliath wins, then the Israelites would be servants to the Philistines. The Israelites were frightened because they had no one the size of Goliath. While this was all going on, David a young boy and a sheepherder was at the battleground to take food to his older brothers. When David heard the challenge, he asked the king why he was so afraid and said that he would fight the giant. David had a firm faith in God, and that faith gave him great courage. When he went out to go fight the giant Goliath, Goliath mocked him, and David’s reply is one of the great expressions of faith and courage in our scriptures. He said: “Thou comest to me with a sword, and with a spear, and with a shield: but I come to thee in the name of the Lord of hosts.… This day will the Lord deliver thee into mine hand … that all the earth may know that there is a God in Israel.” (See 1 Sam. 17:40–51.). The faith of David, just a young boy and a sheepherder, truly inspires me.
Living by Faith
I think it is important to remember that faith is much more than a passive belief. True faith always leads to action -- action in the way we live our lives. The Savior promised, “If ye will have faith in me ye shall have power to do whatsoever thing is expedient in me.” (Moroni 7:33). Faith in Jesus Christ can motivate us to follow His perfect example. Our faith can lead us to do good works, obey the commandments, and repent of our sins. Our faith can also help us overcome temptation.
I believe the Lord can work mighty miracles in our lives according to our faith. When times of trial come, faith can give each of us strength to press forward and face our hardships with courage. Even when the future seems uncertain, our faith in the Savior can give us peace.
I remember hearing a story once of a famous tight-rope walker who walked on a tightrope across the Niagara Falls. The story goes that crowds gathered around to watch the man, who not only made it across the rope, he also did it blindfolded! Then he walked back along the tightrope, across, the Falls, but this time, wheeling a wheelbarrow. He said that for his next stunt, he would cross the rope with the wheelbarrow again, but this time he would safely carry a person in the wheelbarrow. “Do you think I can do it?” he asked the crowd. The crowd cheered and shouted, “We believe you can do it!” “Okay,” the man said. “Who is willing to get in the wheelbarrow?” The crowd was silent. The moral of the story is obvious – we may say that we believe, but true faith requires action. Do we believe enough to “get in the wheelbarrow” and experiment on God’s word?
I really loved playing high school football and it was a dream of mine to play in college. During the summer of my junior year and after my senior season, I went and visited with several coaches both here in the West and on the East Coast. As we talked, one of the things I would ask them was how they felt about me leaving after my freshman year to go on a two-year mission. My question caught many of them by surprise and even disbelief. They wondered, why would a nineteen year old kid interrupt school and his life-long dream, and at his own financial expense, leave his family and friends behind for two years to serve a full-time mission at an unknown location. Well, the answer is simple. It is because of my faith in Jesus Christ. Not only do I know Jesus Christ is my Savior, but because of my faith in Him, I feel compelled to share the Gospel of Jesus Christ with others. I love the scripture that says: “I will go and do the things which the Lord hath commanded, for I know that the Lord giveth no commandments unto the children of men, save he shall prepare a way for them that they may accomplish the thing which he commandeth them.” (1 Nephi 3:7)
My next question is how do we grow our faith in Jesus Christ?
Let me share a brief experience. To excel in sports, such as football, it is important to exercise and workout daily to develop one’s muscles and become stronger. I would put a lot of time into lifting weights, doing drills, and running. Playing football during my junior season, I tore the labrum in my left shoulder. When football season ended, Dr. Mortensen operated and surgical repaired my shoulder. I was then forced to leave the shoulder in a sling for two months and not use my arm. I was amazed when the sling was removed after only two short months how much smaller my arm had become and how much strength I had lost just from not using it daily.
I think this is a good analogy to faith. Faith is a gift from God, but we must nurture our faith to keep it strong, just like we do with our muscles and physical bodies. If one continually exercises faith, it will grow stronger and stronger. However, if one neglects exercising faith, I believe one’s faith will become weaker and weaker.
There are many things we can do to strengthen and increase our faith. For example, we can pray earnestly and with real intent to our Heavenly Father. We can also strengthen our faith by keeping the commandments. Like all blessings from God, faith is obtained and increased through individual obedience and righteous action. We can also develop our faith by studying the scriptures and the words of ancient and modern day prophets.
One Additional Faith Story
As I think about faith, one additional story immediately comes to mind. This one is from the Book of Mormon and it is one of my favorites. It is the story of the two thousand stripling warriors. I found a song in the October Ensign that tells the story of these young warriors (the Ensign is a monthly church magazine). The lyrics are as follows:
1. Two thousand stripling warriors, young men of pow’r and might
Responded to the battle cry: O who will stand and fight?
Behold, our God is with us! We serve at His command.
They did not fear to give their lives but boldly took a stand.
2. This willing band of brothers were by their mothers taught
To trust in God continually, be true in deed and thought,
For God would then protect them; their faith He would reward.
They did not doubt their mothers knew; they trusted in the Lord.
3. With Helaman, their leader, this valiant brotherhood
United in exceeding faith, and fearlessly they stood.
With no desire for bloodshed but wanting to be free,
They fought for life and liberty, for God and family.
4. Two thousand stripling warriors, courageous for their cause,
Went forth as with the strength of God, and not one soul was lost.
Their faith had made them mighty; their strength was multiplied.
They fought with pow’r beyond their own, for God was on their side.
Reading in the Book of Mormon, we learn more about the faith of these young soldiers. It says: “And now, their preservation was astonishing to our whole army, yea, that they should be spared while there was a thousand of our brethren who were slain. And we do justly ascribe it to the miraculous power of God, because of their exceeding faith in that which they had been taught to believe that there was a just God, and whosoever did not doubt, that they should be preserved by his marvelous power. Now this was the faith of these of whom I have spoken; they are young, and their minds are firm, and they do put their trust in God continually.” (Alma 57: 26-27). The Two Thousand Stripling Warriors were strong because of their faith. And because of their strong faith in the Lord they were delivered from battle and their lives spared because they put their trust in the Lord. This story inspires me to further develop my own faith so that I can become a better missionary and servant of the Lord.
Another reason why I really like the story of the two thousand stripling warriors is that it reminds me of certain experiences on my high school football team. My last couple years of high school sports were an amazing experience for me. In sports, you learn a lot about yourself. You learn about dedication, discipline, hard work, and patience. However, during my senior year on the football team, I learned about my faith in Jesus Christ. Right before the start of my senior season, a friend, teammate, and a brother passed away in an automobile accident right after football practice. Words can’t express how tragic and devastating it was. I don’t know why it had to happen, but I did find that the following scripture really helped me during that hard time. “My son, peace be unto thy soul; thine adversity and thine afflictions shall be but a small moment; And then, if thou endure it well, God shall exalt thee on high; though shalt triumph over all thy foes. Thy friends do stand by thee, and they shall hail thee again with warm hearts and friendly hands.” (D&C 121:7-9).
Through this whole experience I felt like my teammates and I drew closer to our Heavenly Father and that we could feel His love. In watching the Curtis family I also found strength in seeing their faith in Christ. Diane and Jesse Curtis would attend every football game and school activity and would give us hugs. Although tragic at the time, this whole experience has brought me closer to Christ and has increased my faith. I know that by putting my faith and trust in Lord, He will provide peace to my soul.
I want to thank the members of this ward, my teachers, my coaches, and my friends for your love and for being such great examples to me. You have all been such a great influence in my life. I also want my family to know how much I love them. Many of my entire extended family has traveled great distances to be here today and I can’t express how much that means to me. I love each of you. I am blessed to come from a wonderful family. Tyler and Cade, although I am the oldest brother, I have looked up to each of you. Dad, thank you for being a great father and for making me laugh and feel better about myself even in hard situations. Even though my dad’s jokes are really dumb, somehow I can’t help but smile or laugh at them. And to my momma, I don’t know what I would do without you. You are always there for me. You have a great mother’s instinct. You teach me so much every day. Seeing your faith in Christ on a daily basis really strengthens my own faith. My mom is the most amazing person I know and I love her so much.
I want each of you to know, that I know with all my heart that there is a Heavenly Father who loves me and knows me personally, and that knows and loves each and every one of you. I know that the power of prayer is real. We can talk to our Heavenly Father through prayer, and he hears and answers these prayers. I know that Jesus Christ atoned for all of our sins and he is our Savior and Redeemer. Although we may make mistakes, we can be cleansed of our sins through the sincere repentance. I am grateful for the Bible and believe it to be the word of God. I also know the Book of Mormon to be another testament of Jesus Christ and also the word of God. I can’t wait to share this testimony with the people of Uruguay. I say these things in the name of Jesus Christ, Amen.
Zach with cousins
Zach with cousins
Zach with friends
