Excerpts from The Lecture on Faith (#1):
Quotes were taken from https://lecturesonfaith.com/1/#11
Words in bold and in brackets are my own for emphasis.
… 7 The author of the epistle to the Hebrews, in the eleventh chapter of that epistle, and first verse, gives the following definition of the word faith:
8 Now faith is the substance [assurance] of things hoped for, the evidence of things not seen.
9 From this we learn, that faith is the assurance which men have of the existence of things which they have not seen; and the principle of action in all intelligent beings.
10 If men were duly to consider themselves, and turn their thoughts and reflections to the operations of their own minds, they would readily discover that it is faith, and faith only, which is the moving cause of all action, in them; that without it, both mind and body would be in a state of inactivity, and all their exertions would cease, both physical and mental.
11 Were this class to go back and reflect upon the history of their lives, from the period of their first recollection, and ask themselves, what principle excited them to action, or what gave them energy and activity, in all their lawful avocations, callings and pursuits, what would be the answer? Would it not be that it was the assurance which we had of the existence of things which we had not seen, as yet?—Was it not the hope which you had, in consequence of your belief in the existence of unseen things, which stimulated you to action and exertion, in order to obtain them? …
Would you have ever sown if you had not believed that you would reap? Would you have ever planted if you had not believed that you would gather? Would you have ever asked unless you had believed that you would receive? Would you have ever sought unless you had believed that you would have found? Or would you have ever knocked unless you had believed that it would have been opened unto you? …
Or may we not ask, what have you, or what do you possess, which you have not obtained by reason of your faith? Your food, your raiment, your lodgings, are they not all by reason of your faith? Reflect, and ask yourselves, if these things are not so. Turn your thoughts on your own minds, and see if faith is not the moving cause of all action in yourselves; and if the moving cause in you, is it not in all other intelligent beings?
13 … But faith is not only the principle of action, but of power, also, in all intelligent beings, whether in heaven, or on earth. Thus says the author of the epistle to the Hebrews. (11:3):
14 Through faith we understand that the worlds were framed by the word of God: so that things which are seen were not made of things which do appear.
15 By this we understand that the principle of power, which existed in the bosom of God, by which the worlds were framed, was faith; and that it is by reason of this principle of power, existing in the Deity, that all created things exist—so that all things in heaven, on earth, or under the earth, exist by reason of faith, as it existed in HIM.
[Compare Moses 7:47: "... and through faith I [Enoch] am in the bosom of the Father, and behold, Zion is with me."]
16 … [Faith] is the principle by which Jehovah works, and through which he exercises power over all temporal, as well as eternal things.
In the LDS Book of Moses, Christ is described as being in the bosom of the Father, the Only Begotten (1:6), and it's through the Only Begotten that the Almighty God creates worlds (2:1). Thus, to act on faith toward action is to embody Christpower.
Lecture 1 then shifts toward empowering the Latter-day Saints by pointing out how the Bible is not merely a book of stories, but a book of practical empowerment:
17 Who cannot see, that if God framed the worlds by faith, that it is by faith that he exercises power over them, and that faith is the principle of power? And that if the principle of power, it must be so in man as well as in the Deity? This is the testimony of all the sacred writers, and the lesson which they have been endeavoring to teach to man.
18 The Savior says, (Matthew 17:19-20), … that it was because of their unbelief: "For verily, I say unto you," said he, "if ye have faith as a grain of mustard-seed, ye shall say unto this mountain, Remove hence to yonder place! and it shall remove: and nothing shall be impossible unto you."
19 … and that it was by faith that the mountain Zerin was removed, when the brother of Jared spake in the name of the Lord. See also Ether 12:30.
[Ether 12: 30-31: "For the brother of Jared said unto the mountain Zerin, Remove—and it was removed. And if he had not had faith it would not have moved; wherefore thou workest after men have faith. For thus didst thou manifest thyself unto thy disciples; for after they had faith, and did speak in thy name, thou didst show thyself unto them in great power.]
20 In addition to this we are told in Hebrews, 11:32-35, that Gideon, Barak, Samson, Jephthah, David, Samuel, and the prophets, through faith subdued kingdoms, wrought righteousness, obtained promises, stopped the mouths of lions, quenched the violence of fire, escaped the edge of the sword, out of weakness were made strong, waxed valiant in fight, turned to flight the armies of the aliens …
21 Also, Joshua, in the sight of all Israel, bade the sun and moon to stand still, and it was done. (Joshua 10:12)
22 We here understand, that the sacred writers say, that all these things were done by faith—It was by faith that the worlds were framed—God spake, chaos heard, and worlds came into order, by reason of the faith there was in HIM. So with man also—he spake by faith in the name of God, and the sun stood still, the moon obeyed, mountains removed, prisons fell, lions' mouths were closed, the human heart lost its enmity, fire its violence, armies their power, the sword its terror, and death its dominion; and all this by reason of the faith which was in them.
… 24 Faith, then, is the first great governing principle which has power, dominion, and authority over all things: by it they exist, by it they are upheld, by it they are changed, or by it they remain, agreeably to the will of God. Without it, there is no power, and without power there could be no creation, nor existence!
This was written and/or edited by Joseph Smith in the 1830s; the Christian Pragmatist Jordan Peterson said something similar in his book, 12 Rules for Life: An Antidote to Chaos:
"At the beginning of time, according to the great Western tradition, the Word of God transformed chaos into Being through the act of speech. It is axiomatic, within that tradition, that man and woman alike are made in the image of that God. We also transform chaos into Being, through speech. We transform the manifold possibilities of the future into the actualities of past and present."
“To stand up straight with your shoulders back is to accept the terrible responsibility of life, with eyes wide open. It means deciding to voluntarily transform the chaos of potential into the realities of habitable order. It means adopting the burden of self-conscious vulnerability, and accepting the end of the unconscious paradise of childhood, where finitude and mortality are only dimly comprehended. It means willingly undertaking the sacrifices necessary to generate a productive and meaningful reality (it means acting to please God, in the ancient language).”
Source: goodreads.com
Lecture 1 continues:
Question 1: What is theology?
It is that revealed science which treats of the being and attributes of God …
This fits my article on Action Theology, where I compare the practical action-oriented theo-philosophy of Joseph Smith with Nietzche's action philosophy.
… Question 4: What arrangement should be followed in presenting the subject of faith?
First, Should be shown what faith is: (1:3)
Secondly, The object upon which it rests; and (1:4)
Thirdly, The effects which flow from it. (1:5)
Question 5: What is faith?
… being the assurance which we have of the existence of unseen things, must be the principle of action in all intelligent beings.
Question 6: How do you prove that faith is the principle of action in all intelligent beings?
First, By duly considering the operations of my own mind; and secondly, by the direct declaration of scripture. Hebrews 11:7: By faith Noah, being warned of things not seen as yet, moved with fear, prepared an ark to the saving of his house; by the which he condemned the world, and became heir of the righteousness which is by faith. Hebrews 11:8: By faith Abraham, when he was called to go out into a place which he should after receive for an inheritance, obeyed; and he went out not knowing whither he went. Hebrews 11:9: By faith he sojourned in the land of promise, as in a strange country, dwelling in tabernacles with Isaac and Jacob, the heirs with him of the same promise. Hebrews 11:27: By faith Moses forsook Egypt, not fearing the wrath of the king: for he endured as seeing him who is invisible. (1:10-11)
Question 8 …
… Rom. 4:16: Therefore, it is of faith, that it might be by grace; to the end the promise might be sure to all the seed: not to that only which is of the law, but to that also which is of the faith of Abraham, who is the father of us all. (1:12-13)
Question 9: Is faith any thing else beside the principle of action?
It is.
Question 10: What is it?
It is the principle of power, also (1:13)
Question 11: How do you prove it?
First, It is the principle of power in the Deity, as well as in man …
… Question 12: How would you define faith in its most unlimited sense?
It is the first great governing principle, which has power, dominion, and authority over all things. (1:24)
From this we can see something interesting, the very first words of the Book of Mormon are, "I, Nephi, having been born of goodly parents, therefore I was taught somewhat in all the learning of my father …" In the first lecture in the Lectures on Faith which were the doctrine portion of the original Doctrine and Covenant, it is emphasized that faith is the first principle because it is the power to take action and create and build something. It just so happens that one of the number one best selling books on business success is The 7 Habits of Highly Effective People by Stephen Covey, which begins with the first principle of proactivity: which requires faith; and the principles of Interdependence is synergy which requires good parents.
So I see in Joseph Smith's Mormonism an action theology. Joseph Smith was taught early on win-win thinking and synergy through his familial upbringing; and his athletic body and a life of action led to an emphasis on faith as a principle of action in his theology. This has practical benefits to the believer or utilizer of Joseph's action-oriented theology, for to read his words and absorb his theo-philosophy is to take on that energy of the power of faith as the method for acting out the Call to Dominion.
