Perhaps the finest doctrinal explanation of faith in any of the scriptures is found in Alma 32, said Elder Robert E. Wells of the Seventy, speaking at the 1991 Sidney B. Sperry Symposium at BYU.
"It is an all-time classic," Elder Wells remarked, reading the scripture: "Faith is not to have a perfect knowledge of things; therefore if ye have faith ye hope for things which are not seen, which are true." (Alma 32:21.)The main test of life on earth is to see if a person - not remembering the premortal existence with Heavenly Father and not being able to prove His existence by material evidence - will still have faith in God, trust Him, and obey His commandments, no matter the hazard or sacrifice that may be required, Elder Wells continued.
Referring to Alma 32, verses 27-28 and 37-38, he said: "There is no more clear, more powerful, more faith-developing explanation of this vital process in all the world's books than is found here in Alma's masterful discourse."
A question frequently thought of but seldom asked is how much faith does a person need to receive salvation? Elder Wells continued. "In the book of Alma and nowhere else, we find the answer. The prophet Amulek taught this simple but grand principle: `The son of God, . . . bringeth about means unto men that they may have faith unto repentance.' (Alma 34:14-15.)
"Please note those three words: faith unto repentance," Elder Wells advised. "That is the clue. Four times in three verses he uses that expression.
"So the combination of faith in Christ plus faith unto repentance is vitally important. That concept is one of the greatest insights we have into the importance of simple, clear faith - faith sufficient to repent," he said.
"Apparently faith great enough to move mountains is not required; faith enough to speak in tongues or to heal the sick is not needed; all that we need is just enough faith to recognize that we have sinned and to repent of our sins, to feel remorse for them, and to desire to sin no more but to please Christ the Lord. The greatest miracle of all, the Atonement, whereby Christ rescues us from our deserved punishment, is in effect in our behalf."