Day 31 | Only Believe

August 31, 2015 - WEEK FIVE

Paaolo Veronese, Raising of the Daughter of Jairus, [CC-BY-SA-3.0 ], via Wikimedia Commons.

DAILY READING

Matthew 9:18-38
JST-Matthew 9:18–21
Mark 5:21-43
Luke 8:40-56

For Younger Disciples

CONSIDER AS YOU READ

  • What actions of faith did the father of the child and the woman who had the issue of blood show?
  • Would the seriousness of the child’s condition have made it more difficult to believe she could be healed? Did the length of time the woman suffered make it more difficult to consider the possibility of healing?

SUPPLEMENTAL READING

I have a good friend who was recently found to have a cancerous tumor. Learning of the diagnosis was difficult for him and his family. You can imagine the anxiety and fear he would naturally feel. Shortly after difficult brain surgery, he was afraid and sick, feeling alone and melancholy. An associate visited him, stood at the foot of his hospital bed, and, sensing his feelings, called him by name and said, “This is a time for faith, not fear.”

In recent years the world has faced terrible earthquakes, devastating storms, economic turmoil, and other disasters. In addition, many of us face a variety of difficult personal challenges. As my friend was told, this is a time for faith, not fear.

During Jesus Christ’s mortal ministry, a man named Jairus pleaded that Jesus would come to his home and bless his 12-year-old daughter, who was very sick. Jairus came with faith that she could be healed. Then came the devastating news: don’t trouble the Master further; your daughter is dead. You can understand how Jairus must have felt at that moment, but the Savior’s counsel to him was the same as the counsel given to my friend in the hospital: “Be not afraid, only believe” (Mark 5:36)….
The Lord says simply and clearly, “Whosoever belongeth to my church need not fear, for such shall inherit the kingdom of heaven” (D&C 10:55). We have every reason to look forward with faith, not fear (Larry Gibbons, “A Time for Faith Not Fear,” Ensign, July 2013, 34–36).

ADDITIONAL MEDIA

Jesus Heals a
Woman of Faith

FOR YOUNGER DISCIPLES

Jairus’ Daughter is
Raised from the dead

QUESTIONS FOR YOUNGER DISCIPLES

  • This was the first reported time Jesus raised someone who had died. Do you think he was worried about whether he could do it?
  • When you are on the Lord’s mission, do you need to fear whether you have the power to complete the mission?