Faith: anchor to reality

Faith helps us to spiritually see, and hold onto, what we can’t see more obviously but which is real. What appears to us on earth as ‘real’ are those things limited to the scope of our mortal lives – except where we perceive or interact with eternal laws such as physical laws – but even those often only apply here. What our spirits can see as real is what exists outside of this world-realm, and those are what is eternally real. Faith involves believing in and acting according to those things, even (perhaps especially) when they contradict what appears real to our mortal senses. By this, we lay hold on eternal things and our spiritual senses become stronger and clearer, and what they tell us becomes easier to grasp with our mortal minds. Our faith is an anchor (Ether 12:4) which holds us in place – to the things that matter – so we can learn this.

That’s why it’s vital to remember the right things – to have the accounts of faithful people past; God’s dealings with them; to wash away the dust and encumbrances of this world in prayer, fasting , temples, and Sunday church services (however you’re doing those right now). To receive and remember, always, the ordinances which bind us to eternal things – those real things we can’t see, but our faith links us to. And like the ancients whom Paul describes, it’s very likely that we won’t receive the fulfillment of our covenants here; but we cannot let that dismay us or break our links of faith. We, like Abraham and those other ancient saints, look for a heavenly home, whose architect and builder is God.