Many people have stumbled because of this forceful saying of Jesus. How can a man by the exercise alone of faith remove mountains? But such people have failed to understand Jesus's method of teaching. Whenever He could, Jesus emphasized His doctrine with concrete example. Because Jesus did not teach abstractly, even little children may understand Him. And the people whom He taught during His earthly life, were almost like little children. He had to make everything very clear to them. So, now, He wanted to impress them with the unlimited power of faith. He used, therefore, the vigorous and startling figure of moving a mountain into the sea: or as St. Luke has worded it, "If ye had faith as a grain of mustard seed, ye might say unto this sycamine tree (mulberry tree), Be thou plucked up by the root, and be thou planted in the sea; and it should obey you." {107} [Sidenote: The interpretation.] You will remember, however, that nowhere did Jesus ever teach His disciples to pray for material things, except to supply their daily needs. Neither did He ever teach them to ask for things impossible or impracticable for God to give. It is to be understood, then, that Jesus did not intend to encourage men to try to move mountains by the mere exercise of faith. He intended a larger, a spiritual meaning. Faith is so powerful a principle, that, through the exercise of it, one may remove obstacles to sublime spiritual blessings, as difficult to be moved as a mountain. By such a striking figure did Jesus impress upon His disciples that nothing is impossible to faith. [Sidenote: Jesus's own interpretation.] That this was what Jesus wanted to impart, is apparent from His own application of the concrete illustration. "What things soever ye desire, when ye pray, believe that ye receive them, and ye shall have them." Or, as the statement is worded in a modern translation, "Believe that you shall receive all things for which you pray and ask and you shall have them." And this invincible power of faith in prayer is supported by the words of Jesus to the Prophet, Joseph Smith. "All victory and glory is brought to pass unto you through your diligence, faithfulness, and prayers of faith." [Sidenote: Examples of the power of faith.] In the story of the ministry of Jesus, there are many examples of the necessity of cultivating unlimited faith. Do you remember what happened when Jesus walked to the boat one evening on the sea of Galilee? Most of the disciples became afraid when they saw Him, and cried {108} out, "It is a spirit." But when they became assured that it was really Jesus, Peter said, "Lord, if it be Thou, bid me come unto Thee on the water."