Faith is no harder to understand than is doubt. Faith is believing, and
doubt is not believing. One is the opposite of the other, just as heaven
and hell are opposites. Considering doubters more closely, we find that
doubters believe; but they believe the opposite of what they should
believe. Doubters believe the wrong thing. A doubter is one who could
and ought to believe facts, but for some reason or other can not bring
himself to do it. Instead, he believes another set of things, which
appear to be facts but are not.

Let us illustrate faith and doubt. You pick up a newspaper this morning
and read that a fire destroyed a hotel in Chicago and four persons were
burned, that a train ran off the track in Iowa and no one was hurt, and
that a Congressman from Florida died. Do you doubt these facts or believe
them! If you believe them, that is proof that you have faith. You look
at the almanac and find it says that tomorrow there will be an eclipse.
If you prepare to look at the sun through smoked glass, it is proof that
you have faith. If you receive a letter stating that your uncle John
died and feel sad at the thought of his leaving his family in destitute
circumstances, it is proof that you have faith. If someone in your place
of business brings you a report that fire has destroyed your warehouse
and you feel at once the loss, it is proof that you have faith.

Then, of course, there are things which you doubt. You are told that
some one has discovered perpetual motion. You smile, and do not believe
it. You doubt. Doubt is simply the opposite of faith.

Now to show or illustrate how faith works instantaneously always, let
us suppose you are a parent and one of your children is lost. It is your
youngest child but one. You have hunted until you are exhausted, and
find no trace of the child. Your heart is sick; a load as heavy as lead