Starting- Just Do It!

As a looked through motivational quotes this week on the internet in an effort to inspire me amidst this week of midterms and assignments, I came across the old adage, “the beginning is always the hardest part.” I can certainly attest of this when it comes to getting ready for a test! However, I have found myself pondering upon this adage in the context of faith as well this week and would like to share with ya’ll my thoughts on this.

I have found that when it comes to the struggle of faith, (whether it be beginning to believe, trying again to believe, or just building upon existing faith) this adage seems to hold true. Contemplating the vastness of faith and God’s infiniteness can leave one’s head swirling. For the person who decides much like a determined student to succeed in their quest for faith, I feel certain that the most difficult question to be answered along the path remain will always be “where do I start?”.

This week as I read through King Benjamin’s words found within Mosiah 4:9, though, I was reminded of what I believe the answer to this difficult question is. King Benjamin teaches, “Believe in God; believe that he is, and that he created all things, both in heaven and in earth.” I believe the answer of where to start with faith begins with finding a belief in God.

I can remember heading into school one morning years ago while at BYU and pondering this very verse. At this point in my life all those years ago, I had begun to truly question the origins of my beliefs—had I come to espouse certain beliefs because of my upbringing or did I in fact, of myself believe in my faith along with its many tenets. This was truly upsetting to me, though, and despite a lot of introspection, I wasn’t really quite sure I could even answer the basic question with full conviction that I knew that God lived.

As I looked out across the Utah valley that morning, though, I saw the majesty of Mount Timpanogas just the sun began to break behind its peak. I saw the trees lining the rivers I passed. I saw all sorts of life—birds, humans, small pets—out and about enjoying the scenery. It was beautiful.

After taking in the nature for a little while, my attention was then drawn to something else—I saw a tall building.

For the first time it hit me how feeble our manmade creations are. As grand as that building looked, it had nothing on the mountains, trees, or life I saw all around me. It struck me as odd as I marveled at this skyscraper’s insignificance, though, how caught up and proud we are as a species despite obviously not being in contention for the best developers of beauty.

It was then that I recalled these words of King Benjamin. As I pondered upon his words, I began to desperately give all I had in that moment to believe in God and that it was He who had overseen the creation of all the beauty around me. As I did so, I felt a calm, reassuring peace settle over me, almost like a gentle voice telling me, “I’m glad to see you can see me.”

This scripture has come to mean to me that we begin our faith by believing in God. While this first step seems daunting, He is certainly not hard to see if we but look around. I believe that King Benjamin hoped that his words, while seemingly simplistic, would lead those sincere in their efforts to find faith to find Him. King Benjamin had seen evidences of God in all creation and I am grateful that I stopped to look as well.

I don’t know that everyone is as touched or inspired by seeing nature’s unrivaled majesty as I am but I know that God knows each one of us and can find a way for each of us to know Him personally if we will look for Him. I would just invite you all as my friends, no matter where you are at on your search for faith, to try to see Him today and believe.