Allow Your Faith to Mature

When I attended Snow College, I also attended the Ephraim LDS Institute of Religion. While there, the Institute provided the students with little booklets to take notes in. On the front cover it had a picture of Christ and the words "Things of My Soul" taken from 2 Nephi 4:15 which reads "And upon these I write the things of my soul, and many of the scriptures which are engraven upon the plates of brass...."

I read this verse this morning and I began to reflect. Here is what I wrote paraphrased:

When I attended my second year at Snow, I feel as if I was in a state of ecstasy, purity, and innocence. Nothing could crush me. I was so happy and cheerful, on top of the world. And then the fire nation attacked. 
Ok, so I don't know what happened, but I feel like my innocence, naive-ness, and faith was squelched, drowned, and suppressed. I feel as if I haven't ever returned to that childlike state when I was writing in my TOMS booklets. [note to reader: I still keep a journal just like a TOMS]. Maybe that's a good thing? I don't know. I feel as if now I see the world through different eyes. More logically, critical, and realistic instead of rose colored glasses. I know what is out there now and I know how hard it can be. I got at least a minuscule taste of Gethsemane on my mission. Life isn't always happy valley. It's full of trenches and mountains too. Yet, there is always light ahead. There is a way to overcome. We will get stronger as we journey through and rely on Him and His strength. Alone, we are not strong enough, but with Him, everything is possible.

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In short, I believe that my faith isn't so pure and simple anymore. There are experiences that won't allow it to be what it used to be. I don't want to say that it is crushed, but that it has matured. There is a deepness and more knowledge to it now than there was before. And that new understanding came because I lived in, saw, and experienced the world. I have a greater appreciation now for the faith I have. Yes, there are times when I miss how "simple" life use to be, but I am also grateful for the elaborate, intricate, and profound vision and perception I now have. The zone of proximal development (the growing zone or the stretching zone) truly helps us become better. Let's climb some mountains!