These are farmers, and they understand the next step. Alma gives it to us briefly. The shoot is nourished “with great care.” Why should we nourish our incipient faith? Because it is a tender shoot, and any farmer will understand the difference in the new shoot and the mature plant in the ability of each to withstand the vicissitudes of weather. The young shoot requires care, and so we too nourish our incipient faith so that it will take firm root, and eventually bring forth fruit.
How is this done?
“Faith may be nurtured and renewed through scripture study, prayer, and works consistent with the commandments of the gospel. Because those who act on faith, repent, and are baptized receive a remission of sins, they have reason to hope for eternal life (Moro. 7:41). With this hope, their faith in Jesus Christ further inspires individuals to minister to each other in charity, even as Christ would have done (Moro. 7:44), for the “end of the commandment is charity out of…faith unfeigned” (1 Tim. 1:5). “Charity is the pure love of Christ, and it endureth forever” (Moro. 7:47). Thus, faith, or “steadfastness in Christ,” enables people to endure to the end, continuing in faith and charity (2 Ne. 31:20; 1 Tim. 2:15; D&C 20:29). True faith is enduring and leads to an assurance that one‘s efforts have not gone unnoticed and that God is pleased with one’s attitude and effort to implement the principles of the gospel of Jesus Christ in one’s personal life.” (Encyclopedia of Mormonism, 1-4 vols., edited by Daniel H. Ludlow (New York: Macmillan, 1992), 484.)
In the gospel, developing faith requires a continuation of the principle of action. We attend meetings, we continue to meet with missionaries, we continue to learn and to place ourselves in a position where we might learn. While it is possible that some seeds grow without much tending, the good farmer will give the seed the care of actions that are designed to nourish the seed. The story of faith is always a story of action, of movement along the continuum.