Strengthening A Testimony

That question came up a couple weeks ago in Sunday school and so I started thinking about it. Why is it so important? The creation of the Earth was not the beginning. We were Spirits living with Heavenly Father before the Earth was created. The creation of the Earth was the beginning of how Heavenly Father's plan started. He gave us a beautiful world so we could come and gain bodies and live a life. It is very important for us to know where we came from and how we got here. Everyone questions that sometime in his or her life. So Heavenly Father has given us the knowledge of where we came from and how we got here and it all started with Adam and Eve.

I absolutely KNOW that Heavenly Father is aware of me. He knows about my worries and fears and what stresses me out everyday. He knows that I am trying. That knowledge gives me tremendous comfort. What else gives me so much comfort is knowing that Jesus Christ experienced those horrible feelings too, and can understand and help me through it. The same is true about you. I am so grateful.

I just finished Elder Holland's talk from conference in October. It was a very straight forward and powerful talk about his testimony of the Book of Mormon. It made me think of all the proof that it is a true book written by prophets who were directed by the Lord. One of the points that brought me a lot of comfort is that the Book of Mormon is a gift to us during the times when the mist of darkness can fall upon us. If we listen to the council of the scriptures we can stay on the path. What a wonderful gift Heavenly Father has given us. The last thing Elder Holland said was this: My witness echoes that of Nephi, who wrote part of the book in his “last days”: “Hearken unto these words and believe in Christ; and if ye believe not in these words believe in Christ. And if ye shall believe in Christ ye will believe in these words, for they are the words of Christ, . . . and they teach all men that they should do good. “And if they are not the words of Christ, judge ye—for Christ will sh...

This evening I listened to the General Conference talk by Jeffrey R. Holland and it made me realize that I need to share my testimony more often. His testimony was so bold of the Book of Mormon and of the prophets, I felt the spirit very strong. I really do believe that by sharing our testimonies with others, our testimonies are then strengthened. PRAYER: Ever since I was a young girl I believed that God heard and answered my prayers. I remember particular times in my childhood that I would pray for safety and I didn't always receive safety at that time but I never felt sad, thinking that God didn't answer my prayer. I always knew that He did or would in some way or another. I remember particular times when I was a young adult and lost my license or school ID and would pray for help finding them and my prayers were answered. I also realize now that my prayers aren't always answered the way that I expect but I still have a strong belief that they are being heard and that God...

I have listened and read Elder Scott's talk called To Acquire Spiritual Guidance . I really liked it a lot. It was the first talk of the conference and totally inspiring. It really made me want to practice listening to promptings I recieve and write them down, pray about them and follow through. I have wondered if thoughts that come to my head are just my own thoughts or if they are the Holy Ghost. One thing Elder Scott said was: " I witness that as you gain experience and success in being guided by the Spirit, your confidence in the impressions you feel can become more certain than your dependence on what you see or hear."

I'm trying to understand more of how much influence the Holy Ghost has on us when we are blessed to have that gift. We are able to communicate with God through the Holy Ghost. We get this gift after we are baptized. It is such a powerful influence that is important in so many ways. I have thought of how my son will be turning 8 next year and I want him to know for himself that this is what he wants to do. How do I know that he is doing it because he honestly wants to and not just because it is tradition? So then I thought, why would I push him to get baptized when he doesn't fully understand? That's what made me think of the Holy Ghost. I want him to have that gift. It will help him understand what to stay away from and will help him in so many ways. At the age of 8 we are able to know what is right and wrong. We are then accountable for our choices. So it is best to have the gift of the Holy Ghost to help us along. To feel the Spirit more in our lives. I know that the chur...

I have been reading about the Anti-Nephi-Lehies with my kids and today I was lucky to teach the 4 year olds in church about them. This chapter is one of my favorites. I was thinking of the swords and how they are symbols for our countenances. These evil people repented and made their "swords bright" when they were baptized. They promised Heavenly Father they would never raise their sword to another person. So now, the bad men are coming to get them and their lives are in jeopardy. Isn't it right to defend yourselves and your family? That's the logical thing to do. They made a promise to Heavenly Father. They could have easily justified it and tried to protect themselves but they stayed faithful to those promises. They had a knowledge of the atonement and did not want to jeopardize their salvation. They cared more for their salvation than their lives. They buried those swords to show Heavenly Father they were faithful to their promises. Even when one thousand people w...