Faith Is a Choice

"My dear friends, your faith did not begin at birth, and it will not end at death. Faith is a choice. Strengthen your faith, and live to be deserving of the Savior’s approving words: “Great is thy faith.” As you do, I promise you that your faith, through the grace of Jesus Christ, will one day allow you to stand with those you love, clean and pure in the presence of God."

—Neil L. Andersen, "Faith is Not by Chance, but by Choice"

Isn't that beautiful promise given by one of the Lords twelve apostles?  I want to add a couple more quotes to the daily message above from Elder Andersen's talk given in October 2015 General conference.

"Faith in the Lord Jesus Christ is not something ethereal, floating loosely in the air. Faith does not fall upon us by chance or stay with us by birthright. ...Faith emits a spiritual light, and that light is discernible. Faith in Jesus Christ is a gift from heaven that comes as we choose to believe and as we seek it and hold on to it. Your faith is either growing stronger or becoming weaker. Faith is a principle of power, important not only in this life but also in our progression beyond the veil. By the grace of Christ, we will one day be saved through faith on His name. The future of your faith is not by chance, but by choice." 

"How we live our lives increases or diminishes our faith. Prayer, obedience, honesty, purity of thought and deed, and unselfishness increase faith. Without these, faith diminishes. Why did the Savior say to Peter, “I have prayed for thee, that thy faith fail not”?  Because there is an adversary who delights in destroying our faith! Be relentless in protecting your faith." -- Elder Neil L. Andersen, October 2015 

I love these quotes by Elder Andersen because they clarify a misconception that a lot of people have.  That is --a lot of people think that faith is something you either have or you don't-- by chance. But as Elder Andersen so eloquently stated, faith is not by chance, but by choice. Our level of faith is something that we developed before birth and continue to develop or lose here on earth in mortality-- depending on our choices.  To develop and strengthen our faith requires daily effort, work.

You've heard the expression use it or lose it.  That certainly applies to faith.  We must choose to work on developing our faith daily through obedience, prayer, service, etc. because if we don't, we will gradually lose it.

Faith is most certainly a choice.  We must constantly work on developing our faith.  Faith is not something acquired by chance. Thanks for the quotes Elder Andersen.

That's my two cents.