What is faith?

Read the previous post in this series here.

How many times have we heard Hebrews 11:1 recited as the definition of faith? "Faith is the substance of things hoped for, the evidence of things not seen." And how many times have our eyes glazed over as we heard it? No, it doesn't really make any sense to me either.

I highly recomment using Webster's 1828 Dictionary as a study help for the scriptures in English, and for anything from Joseph's time. It is a wonderful dictionary, and a valuable resource to figuring out language and phrasing that is now foreign to us. 

A Useful Definition of Faith

So when I started studying the Lectures on Faith earlier this year, I spent sometime looking up several of the words used in Hebrews 11:1, and came up with my own rendition of this idea: Faith is the conviction we have that things we hope for actually exist or will happen. It is the witness or testimony we can give about things we know or suspect, even though we don't currently see them.

"A Zeciui"

Am descoperit in ultimele zile o greseala in traducerea lui Doctrina si Legamintele cu privire la zeciuiala. Traducatori au presupus ca "a zeciui" este echivalent cu "a plati zeciuiala," dar au gresit. "A zeciui" inseamna numai a face zece parti, si a scoate o parte. Inseamna sa imparti, sau sa alegi numai o parte, sa alegi o "zeciuala." Nu neaparat este vorba de donatii la biserica. Sa fi "zeciuit" inseamna ca Dumnezeu actioneaza, nu tu, si El face ceva cu tine. Sa platesti zeciuiala este fix invers, de fapt, pentru cu tu actionezi, si platesti zeciuiala la biserica. In versetele care scriu mai jos, Dumnezeu explica ca El va alege o "zecime" de noi. De fapt, El alege zeciuiala din noi, si nu cred ca are legatura cu donatii financiare.

Lectures on Faith

I recently downloaded all the page images for the 1835 Doctrine and Covenants, and had them printed and spiral bound so I could study them. Why? First, because they contain the Lectures on Faith, and second, because I wanted to read the modern revelations in their original format, without all the formatting, footnotes, and distractions that have been added in recent editions. I would like to study the teachings and revelations of Joseph Smith in a format that is closer to how he received them and passed them on to us.

Alma cel varstnic, p. 3: Invataturi despre conducere si conducatori

Citeste aici partea 1, 2 si 4

Alma cel Varstnic a avut o viata foarte interesant si plina de invataturi pentru noi. A fost un om bogat si a avut o viata de succes, dar dupa ce s-a pocait, a pierdut tot. A fondat o biserica noua, si a condus poporul lui prin incercari foarte grave, si cand a ajuns inapoi in siguranta, a primit o chemare sa mai intareasca biserica si sa boteaza toti, care au dorit. Din cauza dreptatii si credintei lui, a primit cel mai mare binecuvantare, care exista pe pamant. (Mai vorbim despre asta mai tarziu.)

Prin experienta, a invatat mult despre conducere, pentru ca el a fost un conducator rau si pacatos, si a avut mult de spus despre conducere buna.

In primul rand, am zis mai devreme ca Alma nu a fost "profet", cum zicem noi de obicei--nu a fost "presedinte al bisericii" in ziua lui, in ciuda faptului ca el a fondat biserica. A fost ceva mai similar cu episcop sau presedinte a tarusului. De ce zic asta?