At General Conference, President Nelson made reference to the notion taught by Alma to “exercise a particle of faith (Alma 32:27)”. As a scientist I teach classes about subatomic particles, or the smaller parts of which an atom is comprised. I submit therefore for your consideration the following particles of which Faith is comprised. This is only an initial list, and it is not to be construed that it I speak in any way for the Church or the Prophet. This list comes from personal revelation following that presentation. For inspiration for each of these particles I include a reference verse from Alma 32.
Particles of Faith Version 1 4 April 2021
1. Desire (verse 27) People make time for the things that match their true desires. If you can honestly no nothing more than desire to believe, to exercise faith, you will make time for the things that feed faith and for the fruits of faith to form. This is often the first particle of faith.
2. Decide (verse 28) Often the only option available in any situation is to decide what response you propose to propagate from here on out. The second particle of faith is to choose, to decide to have faith. Life is full of tough choices, and if we can choose the choicest things, we can enjoy the choicest consequences.
3. Trust (verse 31) With our limited perspective, faith is difficult to keep. Trusting in the Lord however is one of the essential elements to help faith grow and blossom. Without trust, people do not keep faith. So, one particle of faith asks us to trust in the grace, wisdom and timing of the Lord.
4. Effort and Action (verse 37) Faith is a principle of activity. We talk of “exercising faith” which means that movement and activity are essential. Nephi said he would Go and do, not sit and stew. We find that if we start exercising faith, it grows, just as if we exercise a muscle it does too.
5. Study (verse 12) It is almost impossible to maintain faith in something we do not really understand or know. Study is however twopart. In the first part, we must learn about that in which we have faith. In the second, we must come to know Him in whom we place our faith. You cannot love or trust someone you do not actually know, and that knowledge comes from study.
6. Prayer (verse 5) Given that faith is a belief in things we cannot actually empirically define, it belongs to the realm of philosophy. Prayer has always accompanied worship, and prayer affords us an opportunity to seek answers and clarity. On the road to salvation, let questions arise, but never doubts. If something is wrong, God will give you clarity. Doubts come from the devil.
7. Repentance (verse 13) Faith is killed by wickedness. So, in order for faith to grow, repentance is required. In terms of exercising faith, this is often the easiest particle of faith for people to exercise, and it is exercised by people of many faiths, including those beyond and tangential to Christianity. Repentance involves a reformation and a resolve to be a better person, and since that exalted state is part of our Faith, repentance is a particle of faith. As we trust Christ’s mercy and repent, we qualify to once again participate in ordinances once worthy, and these holy ordinances set up circumstances in which the Spirit can come and witness that our faith is real.
8. Commitment/Endurance (verse 13) Far too many people think that faith is an event. It is not only a process but a life-long journey. Faith is not attained all at once or in a single instant. That is knowledge. So, in order to press forward along the covenant path and continue in faith, we must commit ourselves to the principles and ordinances of the gospel. We must commit to keeping the commandments to show our faith and gratitude are real. Just as when you plant a vegetable seed, you must commit to water, weed, and nurture those seeds, you must commit to nurture the seed of faith.
9. Submissiveness (verse 16) It takes a great deal of faith to move mountains, but it takes a great deal more faith to not allow your mountains to move you. In your life there have to be challenges. You can break down or you can break through, and we break through by submitting our will to the Lord. It takes great faith to accept a disappointing answer or outcome, to acknowledge that His ways and thoughts and purposes are higher than ours, and that sometimes an unanswered prayer or a rejected request are actually for our benefit.
10. Humility (verse 6) Many people reject faith and religion generally, and many people use disappointments in the growing of their spiritual garden as rational to abandon the garden completely. Here in Vegas where the desert threatens to constantly destroy all life, it takes humility to do the work, to get on your hands and knees to dig and plant and dung and weed and nurture and, if necessary, to invoke the blessings of heaven on your feeble efforts. The proud do not plant the seed of faith, and the haughty do not persist long enough for it to grow. It takes a great deal of humility to make a man of faith, time and patience and practice, and for those who are too proud to do the work, their seeds will never grow.
11. Patience (verse 41) Sometimes the seed does not sprout as quickly as we like, and often there is no fruit in the first season. Every seed that grows in a garden, every little spark or new leaf or tiny node of growth is an increase that rewards our faith. Even fruits, if removed too hastily, may not be ripe and yield the rewards. Just because it has not happened yet does not mean it never will.
12. Respect for agency (verse 39) Some of the seeds of faith that we plant involve the agency of other people. We can have faith that others will accept our invitations, but we must respect their ability to govern themselves. If as part of our faith the outcome relies on the agency of another, it may not happen, not because our faith failed, but because their seeds have not grown yet if they ever will. God does not mess with free will, and all the faith in the world will not allow us to do so either.
13. Service (verse 1) How knoweth the man the master whom he has not served, who is a stanger to him? If you want your faith to grow, then you must follow the first admonition of the master to his disciples, the first and great responsibility we have to each other. In service, you get to know the master and the family of man. As you get to know others as they really are, your faith in the goodness of man increases. As your understanding in the goodness of man increases, you become more open to the goodness of God, and the fruit that service bears will blossom in you and cause your faith to increase.
As Alma taught, if you can only exercise one of these particles, do so. It will be enough. Part of faith is some faith, and it is exponentially superior to no faith at all. Some of these particles, like the subatomic particles whose existence inspires this list, will attract other particles due to their magnetic, electric, prophetic, or philosophical nature. All life has balance, and so, when one of these arrives, it will attract others that are like it. One major principle of chemistry is that like attracts like, and so once you have one particle of faith you can only get more. When or how many, I cannot say, but if you can only exercise and maintain one, others eventually will follow.
Of course this is only an initial list, but these individual ideas, which are particles of what Faith in Christ requires of us, will help us establish, nurture, grow and reap from our Faith. If you want to have faith you must have faith, but we learn that it takes only a little part to get more. From small things proceedeth that which is great. As the living Messiah, Christ compared faith to a mustard seed because it is a tiny particle that springs forth to a mighty tree. From any of these tiny particles of faith your faith can grow, and the more you spread the more likely you will have a mighty harvest, a healthy vineyard and the satisfaction of soul that comes only to people of faith. No matter your circumstances, if you can manage even one of these particles of faith, God will be able to magnify your blessings.
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