Faith as a Grain of Mustard Seed

Book of Abraham 1:1-2 manuscript in handwriting of William W. Phelps, Summer 1835
courtesy of the Joseph Smith Papers Project Website

During my scripture study this past week, I ended up revisiting a familiar story in Luke 17.  Having been instructed by the Lord that they were to learn more about how to forgive those who trespassed against them, the Savior's disciples made an interesting request of the Master.  They pled, "Lord, Increase our faith" (Luke 17:5).  At one time or another, and in some way or another, I believe that each of us has uttered this same request.  Like the disciples, we realize how weak our faith can often be and how subject to unbelief we often are.  As Elder Bruce R. McConkie once said, I believe we all wish that we had "faith like Enoch and Elijah" or Joseph Smith, or Brigham Young, or Thomas S. Monson, or our faithful forebears.  And the list goes on and on.  Because "faith has a short shelf life," we all have times when we find ourselves in short supply, pleading with the Lord as did the disciples, "Lord, Increase our faith!"

Given the sincerity with which we make such pleadings, then, the Lord's response to the disciples' request is interesting.  He said, "If ye had faith as a grain of mustard seed, ye might say unto this sycamine tree, Be thou plucked up by the root, and be thou planted in the sea; and it should obey you" (Luke 17:6).  The word "as" is a very important word in this verse, and its meaning is critical to grasping what the Lord was saying here.  Generally whenever I have read this verse, I have unwittingly read "faith the size of a grain of mustard seed," interpreting the Lord's statement to speak of quantity.  And certainly this is a valid and valuable reading of the verse.  Sometimes, we are lacking faith in sufficient quantities and thus struggle to accomplish the great works of faith.  But I believe this phrase can be read in another way as well.  Perhaps the Lord was also meaning for us to read, "faith like a grain of mustard seed," suggesting not only the quantity of one's faith, but also the quality of that faith.

This meaning generally escapes us because we are not prone to think of mustard seeds having and exercising faith.  And in most senses of the word, they most likely do not.  But as I considered this idea, I remembered Mormon's words recorded in Helaman 12.  There he spoke of man's frequent slowness and unwillingness to hearken to the words of the Lord, and he concluded that men are "less than the dust of the earth" (Hel. 12:7).  Explaining this statement, Mormon wrote, "For behold, the dust of the earth moveth hither and thither, to the dividing asunder, at the command of our great and everlasting God" (Hel. 12:8).  Abraham even spoke of the elements obeying the Creator (see Abraham 4:18).  Considering all of this, it hit me that to have "faith as a grain of mustard seed" can also mean to have the kind of faith that is always obedient to the will of God; that is always seeking to learn and comply with His commandments.

For the Lord to increase the faith of His disciples (and for Him to increase our faith) required effort, commitment, and obedience on their parts.  If we would commit to obeying the words of the Lord with the same dedication as a tiny mustard seed or a speck of dust, our faith would increase and become powerful.  But no divine gift of additional faith can ever change us without our corresponding willingness to seek out and obey the will of the Lord.

In our quest for greater faith, we ought to be like our faithful father Abraham, who, "finding there was greater happiness and peace and rest for [himself]..., sought for the blessings of the fathers, and the right whereunto [he] should be ordained to administer the same; and having been [himself] a follower of righteousness, desiring also to be one who possessed great knowledge, and to be a greater follower of righteousness, and to possess a greater knowledge, and to be a father of many nations, a prince of peace, and desiring to receive instructions, and to keep the commandments of God, [he] became a rightful heir, a High Priest, holding the right belonging to the fathers" (Abraham 1:2).  Abraham knew that his quest for greater faith, peace, happiness, and rest, was not something the Lord could simply give Him.  It was something he had to become through faith and righteousness, as well as from the transformative gifts of Heaven.  "If we are to have faith like Enoch and Elijah [and Abraham] we must believe what they believed, know what they knew, and live as they lived."  These men had faith like unto a grain of mustard seed.  They were firmly committed to learning and doing the will of the Lord, and striving to obey every commandment that He gave unto them.  If we would be like them, we must manifest this same kind of faith.

Brett