"And (Jesus) said, Come. And when Peter was come down out of the ship, he walked on the water, to go to Jesus. But when he saw the wind boisterous, he was afraid; and beginning to sink, he cried, saying, Lord save me. And immediately Jesus stretched forth His hand, and caught him, and said unto him, O thou of little faith, wherefore didst thou doubt?" At another time, we are told, "there came to (Jesus) a certain man, kneeling down to Him, and saying, Lord, have mercy on my son: for he is lunatick and sore vexed: for ofttimes he falleth into the fire, and oft into the water. And I brought him to Thy disciples and they could not cure him. "Then Jesus answered and said, O faithless and perverse generation, how long shall I be with you? how long shall I suffer you? bring him hither to me. And Jesus rebuked the devil; and he departed out of him: and the child was cured from that very hour. "Then came the disciples to Jesus apart and said. Why could not we cast him out? And Jesus said unto them. Because of your unbelief: for verily I say unto you, 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." Such examples as these might be cited indefinitely. These are enough, however, to show how profoundly Jesus impressed upon the minds of His disciples the necessity of cultivating the gift of unfaltering {109} faith--faith, the one great principle of power, without which, as the learned Paul later said, it is impossible to please God. [Sidenote: The dispensation of the fulness of times, the wonderful example.] But perhaps the greatest wonder that has ever been accomplished, in all the history of the world, through the invincible power of unhesitating faith, is that which we ourselves experience every day of our lives. Continuing the doctrine he had learned from Jesus, "James, a servant of God and of the Lord Jesus Christ," wrote thus to the scattered twelve tribes: "If any of you lack wisdom, let him ask of God, that giveth to all men liberally, and upbraideth not; and it shall be given him. But let him ask in faith, nothing wavering." When he was perturbed in spirit, not knowing whither to go to find God, Joseph Smith heard these words, and pondered them. He had implicit faith in God. He did not waver. He prayed earnestly. In response to his simple, faith-provoked prayer, God revealed Himself to Joseph Smith, and through him, established the Church of Christ anew. Are not the things that have been accomplished through faith, wonderful? Must it not be a joy, a comfort, to possess the gift of unlimited faith? Like the apostles of old, we feel to pray, "Lord, increase our faith." THE REFERENCES Luke 17:5, 6. Doc. and Cov. 103:36. Mark 11:21-26. Matt. 14:24-31. Matt. 21:21, 22. Matt. 17:14-21. James 1:5, 6. {110} THE QUESTIONS 1. What principle did Jesus teach in the incident of the fig tree? 2. What is faith?