Narrator: Ever wondered what other people of faith believe, what their faith means to them, how they live it?  That’s what this podcast is all about.  It’s called “All Faith Counts” because, well, all faith does count.  The more each of us know about other people’s faith, the more we understand, accept, and respect them for their belief.  Hopefully this is a reminder of all the good faith brings to our world.

Kolby Lacy: My name is Kolby Lacy, I’m from Sacramento, California. I go to school at Howard University and I’m also interning with D.C.’s Department of Transportation.

Narrator: Kolby is a Mormon living in Washington, D.C.  He sat down with us to talk about his unique journey.

Kolby Lacy: There was a recruiter from Howard who came out to talk to us down in my high school, and talked a lot about, you know, this school, why it was started, the culture of the school.  And actually, I fell in love with the school, and then I also realized that I could get scholarships at this school.  And so it was like the perfect storm.

Narrator: Howard University, where Kolby attends, emphasizes educational opportunities for black students.

Kolby Lacy: It’s pretty great because I’m still getting ‑‑ because of the scholarship, I’m still at a point where I’m getting free education.  But I’m also here somewhere in D.C., where not only are there a lot of opportunities for work, there’s a lot of opportunities to experience people with like different backgrounds, not just like… across the U.S., but like across the globe.  There’s a lot of international people here in D.C.  It’s a big hub.

Narrator: Washington, D.C. is a hub of diversity.  But through its unique diversity, Kolby found a common thread.

Kolby Lacy: I learned that everyone loves to be listened to, which is great because I’m not a big talker.  But it’s good because I mean people love to teach you, to tell you things.  People love sharing food too, which I’m all about.  Like if I could get you to make me something from like home wherever that is, then we’re going to be good friends.

Narrator: A major turning point in Kolby’s life came when faith became important to him.

Kolby Lacy: Faith hasn’t always been a large part of my life.  I’m from California, so you know, I went to high school out there, and I played football for four years and I just was ‑‑ you know, just hung out with other people, you know, I had a decent bit of friends, mostly people that I played with, my teammates.  Faith kind of found me around junior year as in my sister started going back to church with some of her friends.  And so after she went back to church, like, I guess that I just kept thinking about that.  And I kept trying to figure out… what that means, where that comes from.  And so I had a friend, actually, it seems like I had more and more friends that were Mormon.  And I had that time to go to church, and to learn more about being Christian, about that community, about, you know, serving.  And that is where my faith kind of started to pick up.  And the more that I learned, the more faith that I had.

Narrator: When asked how faith changed his life, Kolby had this to say:

Kolby Lacy: Since then, or since I joined the Church, I realized that faith is something that… I needed.  I needed to find my faith, and I needed it because it brings me a lot of happiness, and a lot of hope.  And I know that hopes seems like something that’s very cliché, but I think that there’s a lot of people who wake up in the morning and they have nothing to look forward to.  My faith gives me a purpose.  And so having a purpose, and being able to work towards something also brings you a lot of happiness, a lot of a sense of like accomplishment when you feel that you are in line with your faith, you know, when you’re doing things you feel that you’re supposed to do.

Narrator: Kolby credits his faith in helping him shift his focus beyond himself, and towards others.

Kolby Lacy: I think I felt like I was doing a lot of things just for me.  But there’s a lot more happiness that comes with doing things for other people.  Honestly, when it comes to my faith, it’s taught me a lot about myself and about other people.  It’s taught me that the value of a person is so much more than people realize.  And that knowledge that I have helps me every day.  And so I am very, very happy to call myself a Mormon.

Narrator: Finally, as someone who has found faith, Kolby shared how he wants to use it.

Kolby Lacy: What I hope to accomplish in life is to be known as someone who is selfless, and who puts others before himself, and who always does the right thing, regardless of, you know, who is watching me or whether or not it’s something that everyone else does, or that my peers do.  My name is Kolby Lacy.  I’m a Mormon.  I’m a millennial.  And my faith counts.

Narrator: Thank you, Kolby for sharing how your faith counts.  And thanks to you, our audience for listening.  We invite you to visit Faithcounts.com to be inspired by remarkable people living their faith, because our world is a better place when all faith counts.