Last Friday, February 24, 2023, our youth and Stake youth leaders had the pleasure of hearing from Brother Ahmad Corbitt. As a member of the General Young Men presidency, he took some time to speak directly to the youth of our stake and other stakes regarding a vital yet simple principle. In fact, he spoke to them about the first principle of the gospel: Faith in the Lord Jesus Christ (Articles of Faith 1:4).
Using Alma 5:15 as a basis for his remarks, he asked poignant questions about what it means to “look forward with an eye of faith.” He also discussed what it might mean to look backward (not letting go of the past), from side to side (comparison and misuse of social media), and even downward (depression or despair), instead of looking forward. Regardless of our circumstances or situation (to echo a few thoughts from President Russell M. Nelson), we can and should have a vibrant faith in God’s promises to His people, even before they have been fulfilled.
For example, the book of Jarom points out that the people’s ecclesiastical leaders worked to persuade them to “look forward unto the Messiah, and believe in him to come as though he already was” (Jarom 1:11; emphasis added). Abinadi testified boldly of Jesus Christ in front of an unsympathetic crowd; he declared, “if Christ had not come into the world, speaking of things to come as though they had already come, there could have been no redemption” (Mosiah 16:6; emphasis added). There are other instances in scriptures which describe a faith in Jesus Christ and His promises which are so deep and unshakeable it’s as if the promise has already been fulfilled, even if its literal fulfillment was hundreds or even thousands of years away.
We have received similar promises from our Savior, such as the gathering of Israel, resurrection, final judgment, and the glorious return of Jesus Christ. We don’t have to wonder if these astounding promises will come to pass. They will be. Indeed, we can believe in their fulfillment as if they had already occurred. It can certainly be hard to wait, but to wait patiently is one of the virtues of a disciple of Jesus Christ. Whatever anxiety we might feel, it need not be caused by worries related to whether or not God will keep His promises.
The Psalmist wrote, “Behold, as the eyes of servants look unto the hand of their masters, and as the eyes of a maiden unto the hand of her mistress; so our eyes wait upon the Lord our God, until that he have mercy upon us” (Psalms 123:2). And so we turn our eyes to our Master, looking forward with an eye of faith, having an assurance of His promises fulfilled and our faith confirmed. He will do exactly what He said He will. In fact, He already has.
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