Testimony

Hey everyone, our Zone leader wanted us to send him our testimonies, so I thought I would send it to all of you also! :)

Over these past few months while being on my mission I have realized just how amazing the gospel is, and that I have been so blessed to have it in my life.  While at the MTC I was amazed to see that my whole perspective of the gospel was completely changed and before I thought that I had already known why/how it was so important.  A mission really does change your life and my has already been changed over these past few months and I am so excited to see how it will change in the rest.

This gospel is a gospel of change and everything is based around us is to help us change.  We are in a current fallen state and our purpose is to try the best we can and change our hearts toward God and become like him, but I know that we can't make it alone, and our Heavenly Father has sent so much to help us along the way.  The gospel is evidence of this, and then we have the scriptures, and prophets, apostles.  With these testimonies we can develop the faith/hope necessary that we can accomplish this change. (Jacob 4:6)  But we still need more, and our Heavenly Father knows this and has given all of us everything that we need to make this possible.  One of these things is the opportunity to have a constant companion that will help us along the way as long as we are honestly and sincerely striving to obey and have our hearts constantly turned to God.  This marvelous and miraculous gift is the Holy Ghost, and I have seen him bless my life so many times.  I can testify that he is real and that he can lead and direct us to know what is right.  He can protect us from danger and he can comfort us when we are sad.  He is one of the best friends we have and is also the humblest, because a lot of the times he is unnoticed.  I know and have seen miracles happen, because of him these past few months and they are what I like to call "little-miracles".  There are miracles all around us and so many times they go unnoticed.  If you look in the scriptures it says that "by small and simple means can great things come to pass".  

This is where I have greatly appreciated keeping a journal, because that is how you catch these "little-miracles" and one of my favorite scriptures for this month is 1 Nephi 16:29.  The scriptures are journals of ancient prophets and that is how they have so many amazing stories and miracles in them, because they recorded them!  Everything that happened, whether it was small or big they recorded them little by little..  And now people look back at all of these events and are amazed at "what the Lord hath done".  And becuase of the scriptures or these spiritual experiences, we can understand the ways of the Lord.

And now there is the other side of the spectrum and that is in Alma 37:41.  And this talks about how because people thought that because these "works" (miracles) were done by small means, they didn't perceive them to be much and they eventually just forgot about them.  It then tells us that these "marvelous works" ceased and that they stopped, and that happend because people stopped looking for the small miracles of this life.  Miracles don't have to be big and surprising - which do happen - but it is by the spirit that we feel that determines what a miracle is.  I want to say that I have a testimony of the Holy Ghost and that miracles happen and they are still happening in this day and age.  Like I said, he is our most humble friend, because he can be hard to be noticed, but he is only noticed by those that are looking.  But you have to be quick about it, because he doesn't want to be TOO obvious, because we are on this Earth to "walk by faith and not by sight".  But I can testify of the importance of journals (like the scriptures), that when you write down every spiritual experience or "little-miracle" - you can catch him in the act. :)

 

Now with all of this we still need more help to make it back to our Heavenly Father and then He sent us the ultimate gift of his son, Jesus Christ, to perform the Atonement.  It is because of him that we can change, and that we can become better, and become - God Like.  It's because of him that we can change our hearts and change from our fallen state, and be born again through repentance and become again the righteous sons and daughters of God.  (Mosiah 27:25)  This is our purpose in life and our purpose is possible through Christ, that we can climb that ladder up from our fall, step by step, and return to live with our Father once again.

I know that this church is true and that Jesus Christ is our savior and that this gospel blesses each and everyone of us, in ways that we sometimes don't even know.  Miracles still happen, and this church being restored through Jospeh Smith, was a miracle. 

And I say these things, in the name of Jesus Christ, amen.