James E. Faust on sustaining faith in today's challenging world

President James E. Faust (1920 - 2007) was called as a Seventy in 1976, then as a member of the Quorum of Twelve in 1978. He served as a counselor to President Hinckley from 1995 until his death in 2007 at age 87.

"Never before in the history of the world has the need for faith in God been greater. Although science and technology open up boundless opportunities, they also present great perils because Satan employs these marvelous discoveries to his great advantage. The communication highway that spans the globe is overloaded with information for which no one bears responsibility for its truth or its source. Crime has become much more sophisticated and life more perilous. In war, killing has become far more efficient. Great challenges lie ahead unless the power of faith, judgment, honesty, decency, self-control, and character increases proportionately to compensate for this expansion of secular knowledge. Without moral progress, stimulated by faith in God, immorality in all its forms will proliferate and strangle goodness and human decency. Mankind will not be able to fully express the potential nobility of the human soul unless faith in God is strengthened....

"To sustain faith, each of us must be humble and compassionate, kind and generous to the poor and the needy. Faith is further sustained by daily doses of spirituality that come to us as we kneel in prayer. It begins with us as individuals and extends to our families, who need to be solidified in righteousness. Honesty, decency, integrity, and morality are all necessary ingredients of our faith and will provide sanctuary for our souls."

- James E. Faust, "The Shield of Faith," Ensign, May 2000, pp. 17-19
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The need for "faith in God" continues to grow in our world. President Faust said it was one of the great needs of the world, and now 16 more years have passed. We are challenged by our technology and the modern developments that bring new challenges and decisions to our lives. President Faust pleads for "the power of faith, judgment, honesty, decency, self-control, and character" to grow in proportion to the immorality and wickedness around us.

That has to begin as an individual effort.  Each one of us fights that battle alone, in our personal life and in our home, family, and environment. We find strength in good brothers and sisters who fight alongside us. And we find strength in God who desires for us to win each battle and come out triumphant.

President Faust described some of the steps we should be taking to strengthen our faith and be better equipped to deal with our challenges:

That's a good summary for a personal evaluation. Am I doing all I can to sustain and enhance my personal faith and strength?