Faith

Faith. We've all heard the word used countless times. "Have a little faith" As sung by many performing artists-originally John Hiatt. Most of us have probably had faith in our daily routines, but have gone unnoticed by this vastly used word because of how often faith crosses our paths.

What does it actually mean though? Im sure everyone has a different definition, but it all comes down to the same thing. LDS.org has 19,197 results about faith. Wikipedia.com says, "Faith is confidence or trust in a person or entity." There is a section in the very back of the Book of Mormon dedicated to the 13 articles of faith alone. A good friend once told me , "Faith is leaping into the darkness and knowing God will either give you something to land on or he will give you wings to fly."

The word faith/faithful are mentioned 7 different times in my patriarchal blessing. Matter of fact, one line states; "You are faithful. God is pleased you are so faithful." Well, I must be good then right?! Having my faith be considered a great blessing, one would surely think, I must KNOW what faith is then. Well, I don't. I can't tell you exactly how faith works. I can't wave a wand around and tell a person they now have faith. However, I can tell them how i use my experiences to help me have faith in times of trials and tribulation.

When I was a young teenager, I was given a project to work on for my personal progress. I was given a seed along with a pot full of soil. For an activity we planted our seed and were told how to properly take care of our plants so they could grow and become strong beautiful flowers. We were then instructed that in a few weeks we would have to talk about how our plants are doing and our experience while growing this flower.

As a few days went by I noticed a tiny little green leaf-like plant starting to show through the soil. Of course, this excited me and made me feel proud. I wanted my flower to be the best. About a week 1/2 after planting my seed, a small sprout had grown about 2" above the soil. It was at this time i decided my plant could grow better if i put it on the patio table. So I did. Then I left to go somewhere with my mother. When i arrived home I ran to go check on my plant. To my devastation, my pot had been blown over and the soil had fallen out and was all over the place. My little sprout was definitely amongst the soil spread about the table. I thought it was hopeless, I was angry at the wind and a little at myself for not stabilizing the area around the plant.

I then decided to say a prayer. I asked Heavenly Father to help my plant make a recovery. Then I quickly and gently put the soil and sprout back into the pot. Then I set it on the ground and put a few rocks around the pot to make sure it had stability around it. After carefully monitoring my plant for a few more weeks, a beautiful white flower emerged. At this time I transported it to the flower bed in my parents yard and enjoyed it for its time.

I don't know if my flower would have been saved had i not said a prayer, but because I trusted in the Lord that through his power my flower would make full recovery, my faith was strengthened. Not only did I witness my patience through waiting for this seed to grow, but i also learned that a stable ground is a safe place to put your faith.

I cannot say my faith is perfect all of the time. Some days are better than others. Sometimes it has to be broken down in order to be built stronger. What I can say is that faith is the seed we plans and know that through time and perseverance, a beautiful soul will emerge. A testimony is made and it is used as the many building blocks on what our Gospel is made of.

Faith. Such a simple word, but so complicated to many who hear it. Only through the Lord and time can it be tested to its full capacity and born into the souls of many who will then develop their own definition of faith.