Faith=Choice

I was reading in 1 Nephi 17 today, and read this verse:

45 Ye are swift to do iniquity but slow to remember the Lord your God. Ye have seen an angel, and he spake unto you; yea, ye have heard his voice from time to time; and he hath spoken unto you in a still small voice, but ye were past feeling, that ye could not feel his words; wherefore, he has spoken unto you like unto the voice of thunder, which did cause the earth to shake as if it were to divide asunder.

This verse got me thinking about how faith is a choice. Laman and Lemuel had signs and wonders performed before their eyes. They saw an angel! They felt the Spirit, heard voices of thunder. Yet they still did not have faith. They believed their father was crazy and Nephi equally mad.

Faith is a choice.

It's not an easy one, like "salad or soup," not at all. It's a lifestyle choice. Kinda like eating right or exercising every day- it's hard. But it gets easier the more that you do it. Choosing faith is like that.

I have had conversations in the past with someone who didn't really believe faith was a choice. I guess they thought it just showed up magically or something. Or that you were born with it. I mean, sure you can be born with a more faithful predisposition, I believe that, but anyone can be faithful, and gain faith. That conversation was a weird one, because of the differing beliefs. Because I believe faith is chosen.

What if it wasn't a choice? What if certain people were born to be faithful and others weren't? There would be no converts then because no one would be able to choose- they'd just be faithful. Nobody would ever lose their faith- but nobody would gain it either. It would hurt our free agency, a lot. That would make God a partial God and a respecter of persons, which he is not. God accepts all that choose to come to him.

We choose to come unto him. We choose our faith and then gain a confirmation through our actions. We know from the Book of Mormon that God does not show signs to whoever asks. He shows them to the faithful though, to those who have chosen Him.

I guess my whole point is that we choose to believe. And we have to choose every day to not give up, to hold on to that faith. And it can be hard, so hard. But it can also be beautiful. Don't give up.