Testimony

I’ve never really talked about this on here before, but I am a proud member of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints. My church, however, is more commonly known as ‘Mormon’ or ‘LDS’ but we are trying to get away from these nicknames. Besides, why not celebrate that we were given the name of the Savior?

For those of you who know nothing about this church, The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints is ‘run’ by the prophet who receives revelations from Heavenly Father about how He wants the church to be organized and etc. The prophet today is President Russell M. Nelson. He and his wife, as well as his counselor, President Dallin H. Oaks, and his wife came to speak at the State Farm stadium and I had the privilege to go with my niece. It was such an amazing and spiritual experience! I think that the feeling of being in the same room as President Nelson for me is about equivalent to most people getting to meet Barrack Obama. There was an incredible peace that just swept over my entire body the minute I saw his tiny body walking up onto the stage. The talks from all four speakers were more than incredible!

Sister Oaks’ talk was my personal favorite. The thing that she said that stood out to me the most was that being a member isn’t easy, because salvation isn’t easy. She also mentioned that it was never easy for Jesus Christ, so why should it be easy for us? Especially since he felt everything that we feel. This stood out to me because it’s not easy! It’s hard to be a member of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints. It’s hard to pray every day and pay ten percent of every paycheck and study my scriptures on a daily basis and everything that comes along with being a member. I’m nowhere perfect and it’s a struggle every day to do everything that I’m supposed to do, but I love this church with all my heart. One of my favorite ‘mormon’ speakers, Al Carraway, once said, “Faith is not something you just have; it is something you constantly have to work forward. Faith is not a feeling; it’s a decision you have to make every day”. However, you would think that for people like President Nelson and Sister Oaks that it would be as easy as breathing and it’s not. It’s so refreshing to hear that it’s even hard for them! Life is hard and that’s okay! It’s okay to struggle and it’s to feel like you have to give up. What’s not okay is when you give up on yourself or you sacrifice your faith because it’s ‘too hard’. What’s most important is the we remember that we are not alone! We have a Father in Heaven who loves us and wants us to return to Him and we have a Savior who loves us all SO much that he gave His life for us and suffered so much so that we could be saved.

“For God so loved the world, that he gave his only begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in him should not perish, but have everlasting life. For God sent not his Son into the world to condemn the world; but that the world through him might be saved.” -John 3:16-17

If not even the leaders of the church are perfect, and even they have trials, then why should I be perfect and why should I be exempt from trials?

This is something that I have to learn to except and I ams glad that Sister Oaks taught that it’s not all going to be rainbows and butterflies. It’s going to be hard and it’s only going to get harder, especially as the world gets more and more wicked. I hear too often that you have to be perfect to be a member or you have to be perfect to go to Heaven and what not. If that was the case, however, hell would probably run out of room!

I also, all too often, I hear that God does not exist because he doesn’t perform miracles or that he’s given up on us or that he doesn’t care about our prayers. Heavenly Father is the same God today, tomorrow, and forever. He is not all of a sudden going to stop answering prayers because he doesn’t have time. As President Nelson said in his talk this weekend, ‘God gives us exactly the miracles needed to fulfill God’s work on Earth’ and he will never give us anything that we cannot handle with his help. Life is never going to get so hard that the absolute only option is just to give up, even if it feels that way sometimes. Heavenly Father and Jesus Christ are always there to lift our burdens off our shoulders and give us a light in the darkness. He’s not the ‘dead beat dad’ that the media too often portrays him as. He is the most loving and perfect father that any one of us could ever hope for. All we have to do is kneel down and pray.

I know without a doubt that this church is true and it has brought so much light into my life. This church is the greatest blessing I have ever had in my life and I am so grateful to have the parents that I did and that they taught me the gospel. There is so much truth in this gospel and it is truly a beacon of light in this dark world.