All You Need is Faith, Trust, and a Little Bit of Pixie Dust

Recently I have been reading my scriptures with a very specific purpose: to find what I need in order to succeed in my studies. The one common conclusion that I always seem to come to is faith. I think that I was too blind to see it until now, but that is all we need.

Today I started back at the very beginning of the Book of Mormon. At the end of the first chapter it says, "But behold, I, Nephi, will show unto you that the tender mercies of the Lord are over all those whom he hath chosen, because of their faith, to make them mighty even unto the power of deliverance". In Ether it says, "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 faith in me, then will I make weak things become strong unto them." These scriptures, and many more all have the same promise. If we are faithful, we will become strong.

Over the years, my definition of faith has changed. Here are excerpts from my quote book about my thoughts on faith, in chronological order:

• "I think that faith is a greater understanding of God; knowing that if we work hard and do our part the Lord will bless us and help us. Faith is actually trying to be better". 
• "To me, faith is trust. Trust, and all of the actions that come because of your trust in the Lord". 
• "Patience and faith in God go hand in hand. If you are being impatient with your situation or with God, you are saying that you know better, your time table is better, and that you don't trust God's plan". 
• "How do you demonstrate faith? You keep the commandments. You do what you think Heavenly Father would want you to do. That is all you need to do to have faith." 
• "Faith is knowing and doing. It takes faith to overcome habits". 
• "Fear is the opposite of faith. They cannot coexist." 
• "Be flexible in your goals and have faith in what the Lord has in store for you." 
• "Proclaiming a declaration of doubt is not more honorable than an honest declaration of faith." 
• "I think that faith is believing that with God, all things are possible; That God has the desire and ability to help us, while hope is believing that He will help us. We cannot have one without the other". 

I think that I have only struck the tip of the iceberg on faith, and I am determined to figure out the rest. It seems to be the key to my journey right now.