Ether 12-15 | November 23-29 Lesson 46—November 22 “By Faith All Things Are Fulfilled” #faith #ether12:27 #gratitude #Zion What is faith to you? If you could pick a few synonyms for faith, what would they be? After being plunged into the wickedness and dissensions of the Jaredite people in previous chapters, it’s nice to have a little break and a little pause that Ether 12 and 13 give us. Ether 12 has the word “faith” written in it 35 times, which adds to the fact that this is a serious sermon on faith. Faith can be an ambiguous, abstract word, especially since it’s used so frequently in our religion. That’s why it can be helpful to pick a synonym for faith, such as trust, dependence, and patience, and substitute it for faith as you read Ether 12. Remember as you study this topic that any faith is honorable faith. It is “gritty and resilient” and messy, and it’s more about the offering than the actual definition of it. In Ether 12:27, we learn so much about what it means to have weakness. Doctrinally, here it means “the fall” and Christ’s grace is going to save us. But outside of that doctrinal definition, we can read between the lines and discover that Christ is okay with weakness. It’s your weakness that serves a purpose in building the kingdom of God because it helps you have compassion for others. Your brokenness and your woundedness is not “the gross thing that [you] need to hide from.” It’s the thing that you need the Savior to wrap and embrace. It’s not about removing your weakness; it’s about sitting in it and watching Christ emerge “beauty from the ashes [you’re] sitting.” “What you’re struggling with is beautiful—it’s not something that’s wrong with you. It’s a connection point between you and the Savior where you will know what it’s like to be found. The broken part is the beautiful part.” This Thanksgiving week, we invite you to see how you can implement more gratitude in your life. How can you learn to be grateful for the broken parts?

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