Qualified for the Work - D&C 4:5

... Faith, hope, charity and love, with an eye single to the glory of God, qualify him for the work.

 This passage is referring to the work of proclaiming the gospel. We see that faith is one of the requirements before we're qualified for the work.

In the Lectures on Faith, the Prophet Joseph points out that faith is a gift given to the righteous. It is when they have the "assurance that they were pursuing a course which was agreeable to the will of God", that they are secure in their exercise of faith. In other words, it is only when we are sure that the things we are doing are righteous that we have the confidence to act in faith.

Mormon Doctrine says: [Faith] is always given when righteousness is present, and the greater the measure of obedience to God's laws the greater will be the endowment of faith.

This falls in line with the topic scripture - the phrase "an eye single to the glory of God" means two things to me: 1) Purity of motive - we must have no objective other than the glory of God, otherwise our motives are misled and our faith is false. 2) Diligence - when our motives are right, and we have the assurance that our pursuits are in line with His will, an eye single to His glory means that our mind is that no other thing will derail us from that goal.

Now, supposing we have these attributes; are we now qualified to serve? As stated, apparently no other qualifications are necessary. If one has faith, it must be backed by personal righteousness. If one has hope, it must be in salvation through Jesus Christ. If one has charity and love, they must have selflessness and moral courage. And if one has an eye single to the glory of God, they must have pure motives. If these are not the qualifications to serve, I would ask what are?

Now, the qualification and the calling are two different things. But regardless of having a calling, we must be "anxiously engaged". But that is a topic for another day.

Know the Truth of All Things - Moroni 10:4-7

And when ye shall receive these things, I would exhort you that ye would ask God, the Eternal Father, in the name of Christ, if these things are not true; and if ye shall ask with a sincere heart, with real intent, having faith in Christ, he will manifest the truth of it unto you, by the power of the Holy Ghost. And by the power of the Holy Ghost ye may know the truth of all things. And whatsoever thing is good is just and true; wherefore, nothing that is good denieth the Christ, but acknowledgeth that he is. And ye may know that he is, by the power of the Holy Ghost; wherefore I would exhort you that ye deny not the power of God; for he worketh by power, according to the faith of the children of men, the same today and tomorrow, and forever.

 True faith defers to His will in all things. This is of paramount importance. Note the words used: "if ye ask with a sincere heart, with real intent..."

Ye ask, and receive not, because ye ask amiss, that ye may consume it upon your lusts. (James 4:3)

...ask not, that ye may consume it on your lusts, but ask with a firmness unshaken, that ye will yield to no temptation, but that ye will serve the true and living God. (Mormon 9:28)

...all may be benefited that seek or that ask of me, that ask and not for a sign that they may consume it upon their lusts. (D&C 46:9)

What we should not do is approach Him with a non-committal attitude. Such an attitude belies doubt. If you say: "well if I see a miracle, then I'll believe...", it's like saying to your potential fiancée: "I'll love you if you love me first...". It doesn't work like that. In the case of the fiancée, you have to have the love first, otherwise, why would you propose marriage? And yes, our relationship with God is like a marriage, and has been compared to one in scripture.

If we're really sincere, and fully intend to act on whatever knowledge He gives, He answers. As a good parent should, He only reinforces behaviors that lead us in the right direction; in the direction of faith. And when He answers, it is usually through the Holy Ghost - by the power of the Holy Ghost ye may know the truth of all things. 

Jesus said:

I will pray the Father, and he shall give you another Comforter, that he may abide with you for ever; Even the Spirit of truth; whom the world cannot receive, because it seeth him not, neither knoweth him: but ye know him; for he dwelleth with you, and shall be in you. I will not leave you comfortless: I will come to you. (John 14:16-18)

when the Comforter is come, whom I will send unto you from the Father, even the Spirit of truth, which proceedeth from the Father, he shall testify of me (John 15:26)

 The Spirit is what testifies of Him and reinforces our faith when our motives are pure.

For he is the same yesterday, today, and forever; and the way is prepared for all men from the foundation of the world, if it so be that they repent and come unto him. For he that diligently seeketh shall find; and the mysteries of God shall be unfolded unto them, by the power of the Holy Ghost, as well in these times as in times of old, and as well in times of old as in times to come; wherefore, the course of the Lord is one eternal round. (2 Nephi 10:18,19)

One last important thing: timing. It is foolish for us to assume that He will grant gifts and answers on our timetable. He does not plan things for our convenience, but for our most good. Sometimes it can be frustrating because we feel we're ready for certain knowledge and blessings now. However, in my experience, when I've insisted on my own timing, things don't go like I had expected. The principle of timing is inherent in this analogy:

The Jews ... despised the words of plainness, ... and sought for things that they could not understand. Wherefore, because of their blindness, which blindness came by looking beyond the mark, they must needs fall; for God hath taken away his plainness from them, and delivered unto them many things which they cannot understand, because they desired it. And because they desired it God hath done it, that they may stumble. (Jacob 4:14)

Sometimes, we insist on things that we're not ready for. And sometimes He gives it to us in part to teach us that His way is the best. Thus we must always defer to His will, even when we feel strongly that something must happen in a certain way or at a certain time. We have to trust Him - this is faith.

Faith, Hope and Charity - Moroni 7:40-44

How is it that ye can attain unto faith, save ye shall have hope? And what is it that ye shall hope for? Behold I say unto you that ye shall have hope through the atonement of Christ and the power of his resurrection, to be raised unto life eternal, and this because of your faith in him according to the promise. Wherefore, if a man have faith he must needs have hope; for without faith there cannot be any hope. And again, behold I say unto you that he cannot have faith and hope, save he shall be meek, and lowly of heart. If so, his faith and hope is vain, for none is acceptable before God, save the meek and lowly in heart; and if a man be meek and lowly in heart, and confesses by the power of the Holy Ghost that Jesus is the Christ, he must needs have charity; for if he have not charity he is nothing; wherefore he must needs have charity.

 Mormon gives us an interesting list of dependencies here. First, faith cannot be attained without hope:

hope → faith
It is noted that we should hope for eternal life. Mormon tells us elsewhere:

I also remember that thou hast said that thou hast prepared a house for man, yea, even among the mansions of thy Father, in which man might have a more excellent hope; wherefore man must hope, or he cannot receive an inheritance in the place which thou hast prepared. (Ether 12:31)

Alma has us imagine it:

I say unto you, can you imagine to yourselves that ye hear the voice of the Lord, saying unto you, in that day: Come unto me ye blessed, for behold, your works have been the works of righteousness upon the face of the earth? (Alma 5:16)

We should imagine it as Jesus described it:

His lord said unto him, Well done, thou good and faithful servant: thou hast been faithful over a few things, I will make thee ruler over many things: enter thou into the joy of thy lord. (Matt 25:21)

Second, hope and faith are not attainable except to the humble or "meek and lowly in heart".

humility → hope → faith

We are reminded that only the humble will be upheld and exalted:

And whosoever shall exalt himself shall be abased; and he that shall humble himself shall be exalted. (Matthew 23:12)

God resisteth the proud, but giveth grace unto the humble... Humble yourselves in the sight of the Lord, and he shall lift you up. (James 4:6,10)

Honestly, there isn't enough that can be said about humility. It seems that without it, a man is doomed. It is unfortunate that it is so difficult to attain. And once you think you have it, the fact that you had that thought is proof that you don't. But all of the most important blessings rely on the possession of humility. Perhaps the only way to get it and retain it is to continuously remind ourselves of our current state:

...in the first place, he hath created you, and granted unto you your lives, for which ye are indebted unto him. And secondly, he doth require that ye should do as he hath commanded you; for which if ye do, he doth immediately bless you; and therefore he hath paid you. And ye are still indebted unto him, and are, and will be, forever and ever; therefore, of what have ye to boast? And now I ask, can ye say aught of yourselves? I answer you, Nay. Ye cannot say that ye are even as much as the dust of the earth; yet ye were created of the dust of the earth; but behold, it belongeth to him who created you.(Mosiah 2:23-25)

Next, if we can confess by the power of the Holy Ghost that Jesus is the Christ, we will have charity.

humility → hope → faith → charity

Faith centered in Jesus Christ is essential to charity, simply because charity is defined as: "the pure love of Christ". There are two meanings for this phrase; 1) to love Christ, 2) to have His love. I believe that both are essential to charity. To love Christ, is to recognize fully what he did for us. To remember Him, and not just in a sentimental way, since sentiment references something that is past. He is alive, and so to remember Him is to keep Him in our thoughts, seek His will and to emulate Him as a disciple.
To have His love is another thing. And this may probably be the most important point of charity. Moroni, continuing his sermon tells us exactly how to get His love:

...pray unto the Father with all the energy of heart, that ye may be filled with this love, which he hath bestowed upon all who are true followers of his Son, Jesus Christ; that ye may become the sons of God... (Moroni 7:48)

It sounds simple, but we need to pray. It is revealing that this love is that "which he hath bestowed upon all who are true followers of his Son, Jesus Christ." I believe that this love is the Holy Spirit:

And hope maketh not ashamed; because the love of God is shed abroad in our hearts by the Holy Ghost which is given unto us. (Romans 5:5)

In essence, to have the Holy Ghost is to have charity. To have the love of God in our hearts is to have the Holy Ghost. It is this Spirit which causes man to be more than mere animals. Which causes us to live godly lives, which gives us hope, faith and courage.

humility → hope → faith → charity → courage

Behold, I speak with boldness, having authority from God; and I fear not what man can do; for perfect love casteth out all fear. (Moroni 8:16)

Just think of the things God can do with you when you truly have no fear! I think of the ultimate example of fearlessness; that of our Savior who said:

O my Father, if this cup may not pass away from me, except I drink it, thy will be done. (Matt. 26:42)

Truly, our Savior had no fear, because He had perfect love. Without love, how could He perform such a selfless act?

He is our ultimate example. And what gives me hope, is that we truly can receive this same love, this same courage as Him; and it is through humility and faith in Him that our journey must begin - for he is the author and finisher of our faith (Hebrews 12:2).

Yea, come unto Christ, and be perfected in him, and deny yourselves of all ungodliness; and if ye shall deny yourselves of all ungodliness, and love God with all your might, mind and strength, then is his grace sufficient for you, that by his grace ye may be perfect in Christ ... which is in the covenant of the Father unto the remission of your sins, that ye become holy, without spot. (Moroni 10:32-33)

Wherefore, my beloved brethren, pray unto the Father with all the energy of heart, that ye may be filled with this love, which he hath bestowed upon all who are true followers of his Son, Jesus Christ; that ye may become the sons of God; that when he shall appear we shall be like him, for we shall see him as he is; that we may have this hope; that we may be purified even as he is pure. Amen. (Moroni 7:48)

Power Through Faith - Moroni 7:33

And Christ hath said: If ye will have faith in me ye shall have power to do whatsoever thing is expedient in me.

In this quote we read that "... ye shall have power to do whatsoever thing ..." It was recently pointed out to me that God's miracles are often manifested in a new ability or information on a new method of doing things. He doesn't often resolve things for us directly, but shows us how they are to be accomplished.

At one time in my life I had received an answer to prayer that I was to pursue a doctorate degree. I knew where the instruction came from and I had faith that with help, I could do it. However, I couldn't see how I could pursue an advanced degree and at the same time continue to support my family. Having a high-paying job, it seemed a difficult thing to quit and pursue a task that nominally pays nothing, and also incurs high expenses.

I knew that I couldn't work full time and pursue the degree at the same time. I also knew that I had instruction from God that I should pursue this route. As I searched and prayed I felt impressed to look at graduate teaching positions. Again, this seemed impossible. Although these positions cover your tuition, plus a very small stipend, they take 20 hours per week; holding office hours, attending an extra class, and grading homework. In addition, I would be taking 2 graduate-level courses of my own, which is the requirement for the teaching position. Additionally, it would add a 30 minute commute each direction, 4 days a week... There were other details as well, such as lower quality student insurance, having less time to spend with the family, higher gas costs, etc.

After days of pondering, I could not see how I could pursue this degree as I felt I was being directed and still be able to support my family - especially when our children were so young. Eventually, it was my wife who gave the inspired answer to me. It was that I could stay part time at work, and still work as a teaching assistant. After looking into it, I found that my benefits from work would not change by going part time. After crunching the numbers, I also found that with the small stipend from the school and half my current salary, we would basically break even each month. Additionally, my schedule - somehow - would work out if I were able to wake up early enough to get my studies in in the morning. And I could still spend time with the family every evening.

So I took the leap. It was both exciting and terrifying. I had been out of the academic world for ten years at that point and I immediately found that my academic skills were rusty at best and inadequate at worst. I studied all summer beforehand, barely passed the entrance exam and barely pulled a B pity grade from a theory course in my first quarter. I was waking up at 4:30 in the morning every day and getting to bed between 11:00 and 12:00 at night. I spent several Saturdays doing assignments, and often dinner time was interrupted by homework or group study appointments. At times I felt very overwhelmed and depressed.

However, I never studied on Sunday. I still was able to keep my commitments to my family, my work, and my assignments at church. I also thoroughly enjoyed my work as a teaching assistant. After that first quarter of anguish, somehow I was blessed, and the Lord gave me new abilities. The next two quarters I continued to seek direction for my studies, and somehow, things got better. I started getting more sleep, I was able to pull A's in all of my classes and meet my academic requirements.

Against my advisor's direction, I felt compelled to take two courses in applied probability theory. One of which, I made the course change the very morning that classes started. I couldn't explain why, until 6 months later I applied to the R&D department at work. The very first question at the interview was: How is your probability theory? I was able to answer to their satisfaction.

I'm finally done with my course requirements and doing straight research, which will take 2-3 years. I still feel inadequate, but I have faith that with God's help, it can be done.

So do I have a testimony that God answers prayers? That faith produces miracles? Absolutely.

Faith and Miracles - Ether 12:12-18

For if there be no faith among the children of men God can do no miracle among them; wherefore, he showed not himself until after their faith... Yea, and even all they who wrought miracles wrought them by faith, even those who were before Christ and also those who were after.... And neither at any time hath any wrought miracles until after their faith; wherefore they first believed in the Son of God.

This is an interesting statement - "... if there be no faith ... God can do no miracle ...". This statement would seem to imply that there is actually a limit to the power and ability of God. But I don't think that is what it means. The reason that God does no miracles without faith is because of His unwavering commitment to honor our agency - our freedom to choose. So it's not that He has no ability to perform miracles, but that if He were to do so it would violate the laws of agency and accountability.

Remember that the only way to truly destroy agency is to remove consequences, because without consequences it really doesn't matter what we choose. The destruction of agency via the dissolution of accountability was Satan's plan from the beginning. So God enforces accountability in order to preserve our agency. This includes the working of miracles.

It is also my opinion that God uses this pattern in order to teach us. Suppose He were to begin granting miracles to those without faith. It would be confusing to say the least. First of all, it would be teaching us that no belief nor action on our belief is necessary. It might also reinforce slothfulness or perverse actions.

There are many who have sought healings, blessings and other miracles who have shown great faith, and yet not seen those miracles come to pass. Remember that the promise is not that those with faith will see whatsoever miracle that they desire - but the promise is:

If ye will have faith in me ye shall have power to do whatsoever thing is expedient in me. (Moroni 7:33)

We would do well to remember that faith must be established on God's will or it will never come to pass. I can say this definitively, because nothing will ever come to pass unless it is His will. So it behooves us to seek His will intently, and pay attention to the whisperings of the Spirit and the word of scripture so that our faith is not misdirected.

A final note of importance is that our faith must be placed in Jesus Christ in order to produce salvation. Now I say in passing that there are so-called miracles that are wrought by the power of the devil. He can also transform himself to appear "nigh unto an angel of light". These works are not the works of God and are to be avoided at all costs. We should be wary that unless a miracle is performed by faith in Jesus Christ, it is not of God, and will lead to ruin. The test for all such things is outlined by Moroni. (Moroni 7:10-19)