What does faith have to do with learning to read?

Learning to read isn't as dangerous as a trip to the North Pole, but they both take great courage and faith. 

Yesterday, my granddaughter and I made a small book together. As a teacher, I recognized that even though she wasn't quite three, she wanted to learn how to read.  Also, because I knew her, I knew that she expected immediate perfection and could therefore, become discouraged very easily.  So, together, we made a small book using her name which she knew, only one new word "Look" with the o's made into eyes, and using drawings. 

Later, I told my husband about our experience together and told him that it was so hard just to get her to try. She "knew" she couldn't read and that was that!  I knew she could. I have had a lot of experience with reading and with her. I knew she could do it, but she did not. She had never done anything like this before. Finally, after more encouragement, she mustered her courage and tried.  What happened?  As she turned the last page, to my joy, she declared, "I can read now!" 


When she had gone, I explained to my husband that the hardest thing in teaching is to get the child to trust me and just try; only then can I help them learn. When I had said this -- I stopped and just looked at him for a moment.  I had suddenly realized that what I was talking about was faith. I was asking her to grow beyond what she could presently do, to take a step into the great unknown, to believe that she could really learn to read. I was asking her to have confidence in her own abilities and in mine, but I was doing more than that; I was asking her to try, to take action before she had knowledge. Why? Because I knew that she could only really know what she could do by trying to do it. I was asking her to have faith.

In this new year may we remember that, through faith in our Savior, the Master Teacher, we can do hard things. We can learn and grow far beyond our present abilities. All we need is the faith of a little child.


Here are some explanations which help us to see the marvelous power of faith.

And now as I said concerning faith—faith is not to have a perfect knowledge of things; therefore if ye have faith ye hope for things which are not seen, which are true. Alma 32:21

 Now faith is the substance of things hoped for, the evidence of things not seen. Hebrews 11:1


https://www.lds.org/media-library/video/2012-06-2060-faith-and-works?category=topics/faith&lang=eng