What is Faith? And How Does it Help You Build a Centered Life?

I feel like a Sunday school teacher asking a rhetorical question, but ‘What is faith?’ To paraphrase many scriptures on the topic, Faith is the belief or hope that something or someone you cannot see is true.
Faith is having confidence or trust without being able to show proof that the thing you believe in exists.

Faith is Difficult.

Sometimes, Faith feels impossible.

Strengthening and growing our Faith means listening to those good thoughts and leaving the doubts behind. Dieter F. Uchtdorf said it best, “…first, doubt your doubts before you doubt your Faith. We must never allow doubt to hold us prisoner...” (Dieter F. Uchtdorf, Come, Join with Us.) Act on your inspiration, believe your Faith is strong enough, and doubt your doubt. Once you can get past your doubts, you strengthen your Faith for the next time you are unsure about something.

To clarify, this does not mean having questions is a bad thing! I have constant questions and many of them do not have answers yet, I feel that deep down everything will be made clear to me one day but for now, I keep studying, asking, praying, and hoping. I have childlike Faith – the kind of Faith that reminds me of the Pevensie children in The Chronicles of Narnia – they had enough Faith to be whisked away to another fantastical, magical world. Or the kind of Faith and imagination that gave us stories like Neverland and fairies.

I have Faith that there is more besides our limited view of this world. I believe there is magic in this world – the magic of beautiful red sunsets, majestic green mountains, thunderous azure waves, and so much more we have yet to discover beyond this world and this life.

Remember, Faith is a personal and evolving journey, and everyone’s experiences are unique. It is normal to meet challenges along the way, and these challenges can ultimately contribute to the strengthening of your Faith.

Stay patient, open-minded, and committed to learning and to your Faith and it will grow and deepen over time.
In order to grow a centered life we have to start with Faith. Faith is the beginning of everything – our testimonies, our belief, our hopes and our dreams. It all begins with Faith.

What does it mean to you to have Faith?