“Faith,” Friend, Feb. 2011, 20
Faith
The scriptures are laid before thee, yea, and all things denote there is a God (Alma 30:44).
Faith lay on her bed and stared at the afternoon sunlight on her ceiling.
“Is there really a God?” she wondered. She wanted to believe her parents and Primary teachers when they said God was her Heavenly Father and He loved her. But she wasn’t sure.
She rolled over and saw her scriptures on her nightstand.
“That’s the perfect place to look for the answer,” she thought.
Faith knelt down and prayed. “Heavenly Father, I need to know if Thou art really there. Please help me find the answer.”
Then she climbed back on her bed and opened her scriptures. They opened to 2 Nephi 2. She read in verse 13: “If ye shall say there is no sin, ye shall also say there is no righteousness.”
Faith paused. “I know sin exists because I’ve done things that are wrong,” she thought. “And I know righteousness exists because I’ve done good things too.”
She continued reading: “And if there be no righteousness there be no happiness. And if there be no righteousness nor happiness there be no punishment nor misery.”
“I know happiness exists,” Faith thought. “I felt happy just this afternoon when Mom and I watched a butterfly in the backyard. And I’ve felt miserable sometimes too.”
Faith read, “And if these things are not there is no God. And if there is no God we are not, neither the earth; for there could have been no creation of things.”
Faith looked up and said, “I exist. The earth exists. So if all these things are real, God has to be real too.”
As Faith said these words, she didn’t feel worried anymore. She felt like she wanted to run around the whole world and look at everything that existed. And she felt like she wanted to sit very still and feel close to Heavenly Father.
So she prayed again. “I know that Thou art real. I thank Thee for teaching me with the scriptures and with a peaceful feeling in my heart.”
Illustration by Brad Teare