Former Vice President Pence speaks to campus on faith values. Jack Cote | Collegian

Faith is the most important virtue for young students — faith in the American people, founding principles, and most importantly, in the Lord — former Vice President Mike Pence said in a speech at Hillsdale College on March 1. 

“Faith remains the antidote to the decline of America,” Pence said.

Hillsdale College invited Pence to speak as part of the Drummond Lectures in Christ Chapel series. 

Pence said we live in a freedom-loving country full of hardworking and generous people who see the world clearly and value common sense. 

“Our challenge is to make the American government as good as the American people,” Pence said. 

Pence told students to resist the temptation to put what is popular before timeless values. To students interested in becoming public servants, he told them to always hold true to conservative values. 

“If you hold the banner of freedom, limited government, and traditional values, the American people will rally to your cause,” Pence said. 

Dale Jones, a supporter of Hillsdale College from Illinois, attended the talk.

“It was a reminder of the things that we all have been taught, at least in my generation,” Jones said. “My dad was a World War II veteran, and I grew up knowing many WWII veterans, and we really had faith in this country and faith in the Constitution.”

Pence said if America is not leading the free world, the free world is not being led. History teaches that weakness arouses evil, he said. 

“At a time when Russia is on the move in Eastern Europe, and China is menacing across the Asian Pacific, be a voice of your generation,” Pence said. 

We must work and pray to restore the sanctity of life in America, Pence said. Our nation was founded on the belief that all people are endowed by the Creator with inalienable rights, the first being the right to life, he said. 

“Speak without apology about the institution of traditional marriage,” Pence said. “Above all else, never give up on the right to life.” 

Senior Sam Quinones said it was inspiring to hear Pence encourage students to have faith in America. 

“It meant a lot coming from someone who’s been in the belly of the beast,” Quinones said. 

Pence said Americans need to have faith in the principles of the American founding. 

“Like many of the founding generation, I believe our founding documents were founded on the notion that all rights come from a higher authority,” Pence said. “The United States Constitution is the greatest charge for freedom in American history.” 

Pence said there was once a time when all Americans understood and appreciated the Constitution, but now the left is trying to rewrite it and take away the First and Second Amendments. 

“I encourage each one of you in this rising generation to take this time in your life to wrap your heart and your mind around the founding documents,” Pence said. “The Declaration of Independence and the Constitution are not just your heritage, they’re the cornerstone of the greatest nation in the history of the world.”

Pence challenged students to become men and women of integrity. Despite a common misconception in the young generation that claims adversity creates character, Pence said adversity reveals character. 

“I liked his emphasis on having faith in the American people and God,” sophomore Caleb Bigler said. “Faith is a hard thing to have right now, given the political climate, but he was really encouraging.”

According to Pence, it is easy to lose sight of faith in challenging times. He said the most important thing for Americans to remember is Proverbs 9:10: “the fear of the Lord is the beginning of wisdom.” 

“Even when it doesn’t look like it, God is working in your life and mine and in the nation.”