Faith: Through the Eyes of A College Student

Have you ever had one of those moments when you were listening to a talk and you just knew that the speaker was speaking directly to you?  The message was perfectly just what you needed to hear and it hit you to the very core where you needed it most. Well, this past General Conference it was President Uchtdorfs recent talk titled Fourth Floor, Last Door.

This talk beautifully descibes Faith and what Faith is and what it is not.

Faith IS "a strong conviction about something we believe- a conviction so strong that it moves us to do things that we otherwise might not do."  "Faith is being sure of what we hope for and certain of what we do not see."

Faith CANNOT violate another persons agency.  As hard as this may seem, I know from experience that this is true.  Additionally, Faith CANNOT force our will upon God.

So what does faith look like through the eyes of a college student?  Speaking from personal experience, faith has helped me with many many things.  Faith has helped me to be healthy.  Faith has helped me to find a major. Faith has helped me to have the courage to ask for help in difficult classes.  Faith has helped me to meet many new and wonderful people.  Faith has helped me to overcome fear, knowing that faith and fear cannot coexist. Faith has helped me to be sure that I have a Savior who loves and understand me perfectly in a world that is oh so very crazy.

And as a college student I am also learning that no matter how hard it may be, faith will never be able to force my will upon God nor violate another persons agency.  This has caused some reflection within myself lately that has allowed me to stop and think about my prayers and desires of my heart specifically. College is a time where so many dreams come true and there is possibly never another time where I will have more to look forward to.   College is also a time with so many disappointments.  Switching majors, occasionally loneliness, and heartaches are common occurrences.  And I think that it is even easier to be disappointed when what you have been praying for does not turn out the way that you would like because you feel that if you just had more faith then the outcome would be different.  I am learning that sometimes no matter how much faith you have, even if you have perfect faith, God's will always prevails.

And that is for the best because Gods will is always better than what we think we want for ourselves.

These words sum up pretty well what I am learning through experience:  

"You can have what you want, or you can have something better."

-Elder Jeffery R. Holland