Exercising Our Spiritual Muscles

Understanding the Need to Exercise Spiritual Muscles

Just as physical muscles require exercise to grow, so do spiritual gifts. Elder Villar emphasizes that spiritual gifts like faith are not just feelings or moods, but principles of action that need to be exercised to grow. Merely reading and learning about faith without action is insufficient to build faith.

Our muscles grow only when we use them.

I have come to realize that spiritual gifts behave in the same way. They also need to be exercised to grow.

• What does Elder Villar mean when he says that spiritual gifts need to be exercised to grow?
• How does the concept of faith as a principle of action relate to the need to exercise it?
• How can you put your faith into action in your daily life?
• What spiritual gifts do you feel you need to exercise more and how can you do so?

Learning through Personal Experiences

Elder Villar shares a personal experience of visiting his missionary brother, which helped him to exercise his faith and witness its growth. He learned valuable lessons about service, self-denial, and sharing the gospel, which contributed to his spiritual growth.

Looking back, I realize that my faith grew that day because my brother gave me the opportunity to put it in action.

I did not see even one small grain of sand at the beach, but I felt my faith grow like a small grain of mustard seed.

• How did Elder Villar's experience with his brother help him to exercise his faith?
• What lessons did Elder Villar learn from his experience?
• Can you recall a personal experience where you had the opportunity to exercise your faith? How did it impact your spiritual growth?
• How can you create opportunities to exercise your faith in your daily life?

Identifying Opportunities to Strengthen Spiritual Muscles

Elder Villar explains that Heavenly Father often provides opportunities to develop spiritual gifts rather than granting them without effort. Recognizing and acting upon these opportunities helps in exercising and strengthening spiritual muscles.

It is more likely that He will give us opportunities to develop those gifts rather than just granting them to us without spiritual and physical effort.

If we are in tune with His Spirit, we will learn to identify those opportunities and then act upon them.

• What does Elder Villar mean by "opportunities to develop spiritual gifts"?
• How can being in tune with the Spirit help in identifying these opportunities?
• Can you identify any recent opportunities you had to exercise your spiritual muscles?
• What steps can you take to be more in tune with the Spirit to recognize these opportunities?

Exercising Faith through Action

Elder Villar encourages us to do things that require faith in order to increase it. He emphasizes the importance of small but consistent spiritual activities in strengthening spiritual muscles.

Let’s accept the invitation of President Russell M. Nelson and intently come unto the Savior by identifying those muscles that need more spiritual activity and starting to exercise them.

This is a long-distance race, a marathon, rather than a sprint, so do not forget those small but constant spiritual activities that will strengthen those important spiritual muscles.

• What does Elder Villar mean when he says "let’s do things that require faith"?
• Why does Elder Villar emphasize the importance of small, consistent spiritual activities?
• What small, consistent spiritual activities can you engage in to exercise your faith?
• Can you think of an instance where you exercised your faith and saw it grow?

Embracing Weaknesses and Relying on Grace

Elder Villar refers to Moroni's words to explain that acknowledging our weaknesses and humbling ourselves before God allows His grace to strengthen us. By exercising faith, even our weaknesses can become sources of strength.

The words of the Lord, through the prophet Moroni, apply to us today: "And if men come unto me I will show unto them their weakness. I give unto men weakness that they may be humble; and my grace is sufficient for all men that humble themselves before me; for if they humble themselves before me, and have [or exercise] faith in me, then will I make weak things become strong unto them."

• How does acknowledging our weaknesses and humbling ourselves before God lead to our strengthening?
• What role does faith play in turning our weaknesses into strengths?
• Can you identify a weakness that you can turn into a strength through faith?
• How can you exercise your faith to rely more on God's grace in your life?