Amy Gordon by staff
-
on April 19, 2008 |
I know that Jesus Christ lives and is my Savior. He died for everyone’s sins, including mine. Through the Holy Ghost, who testifies of Jesus Christ and of truth, I know that The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints is the only completely true church on the Earth. Through the Spirit I have realized that Joseph Smith really did restore the gospel of Jesus Christ and His Church upon the earth.
Prayer
I know that Heavenly Father hears our prayers. He has answered mine so many times. He does not always give us answers immediately, and his answers often come through scriptures, lessons in Church, or even the helping hand of a friend, family member, or stranger. Everyone on Earth has the sublime privilege of speaking to and being heard by the Almighty. He does not ignore us when we sin; he does not even ignore us when we ignore him. Heavenly Father is a true and steady and eternal friend if we will build a relationship with him through prayer. He is the best listener we could ever spill our hearts to, and he will always answer with what will work out the best for us – even if it doesn’t work out in this life.Jesus Christ is our advocate with the Father. Through him and in his name we speak to God. Only through Jesus Christ can we be forgiven of our sins, and God does forgive us. We can receive immense blessings from Heavenly Father, but we have to ask for them. He can do amazing things in our lives, but we have to believe his answers to our prayers. Sometimes they don’t make sense right away.
My experience with prayer in choosing a mate
After having a very rough breakup with a man I’d been engaged to, I thought long and hard about the kind of guy I really did want to end up with. I didn’t think I deserved him. I prayed fervently to my Father in Heaven to ask if he would help me do several things: decide what I really wanted, deserve that kind of man, be the kind of girl that that kind of guy wants to date, and find and date that kind of man. After praying, my mind was clear, and I made a list of qualities. They were things that were missing from some of the people I’d dated, things that I loved in people I’d dated, qualities I wanted to develop, good traits I’d seen in my father and brother and friends, and other things that the Spirit inspired me to write. Like Oliver Cowdery, I needed to study the problem out in my mind.
Once I had studied and appended my list repeatedly, I knelt again to pray. I felt the Lord’s approval of my efforts, and his gladness at my desire to develop the traits I had listed. Prayer has the power to match up our will with the will of God, and I knew after that prayer that God would help me find the type of man that both he and I wanted me to have. I knew it might take a very long time, but I was willing to wait however long it took to receive the blessings the Lord had promised according to my diligence.
As I dated other men, I continually added to my list traits that I liked or would have liked. Four months after I made my list, a young man from one of my classes (one I hadn’t noticed in particular) asked me on a date. After our date, I went home and added five more traits to my list (which ended up being about 75 items long). I found him in line with all of my list items, and continued to be impressed with him as we dated.
After a few months of dating, I started to feel impressed that something was wrong with me continuing to date him. I couldn’t understand why the Lord wouldn’t want me to date someone so wonderfully in accord with what we had agreed on before. I talked to this special young man about it, and realized that there was no problem with him except that he needed to date other people to find out if he really wanted to date me. Normally I would scoff at such a proposal and break up immediately, but the Lord’s warnings in answer to my prayers helped me to understand that this was necessary. More prayer confirmed to me in definite terms what I needed to do, but only little about why. It was painful and very difficult to break up with this incredible young man, but I did it because I knew that following the Lord’s counsel would bring me happiness, and not following it would bring me misery. It was a trial of my faith in God’s answers to prayers, and a test of my obedience, but I did obey in faith, and my reward was not long in coming. I learned crucial lessons about the power of prayer and the correctness of God’s counsel to me. I would never give up what I learned in exchange for relief from the pain of the experience, because I finally really knew that God would answer me, and that I would follow him.
A matter of days after our breakup, this special young man came to me and told me he wanted to continue dating me. As I continued in prayer over the relationship, I received blessed guidance from the Lord and, one night, a confirmation that I would be most happy if I married him. In June, about five months after we broke up, we married in the Temple. The Lord has kept every promise he made to me during my struggles, from helping me develop the good traits I wanted and finding them in a mate to the utter joy of my marriage. The Lord answers prayers, and those answers have infinite power to bless our lives if we obey. As I have obeyed the Lord, he has made it easier and easier to understand his answers to my prayers, and it has become easier for me to obey them – not because he asks me to do easier things, but because I know that I can glorify God and be blessed immensely by doing them.
Atonement
Jesus Christ truly suffered every pain of the world, and died and was resurrected so that we could be resurrected, too. These blessings sometimes seem simple, but they are most poignant when we are in pain. I never knew how much the Lord could help until I became ill with a painful stomach problem. It hindered my job, my schoolwork, my housework, and my performance in all other areas. My dear husband never lost patience, but cleaned the house, cared for me, and worked hard in my place to keep my life moving. He never complained to me or anyone else when I was dependent on him for so many things, and he could depend on me for so little. His Christlike example helped me realize the depth of the mercy of Christ. While my husband is imperfect, he made up for what I couldn’t do. How much more does Christ make up for what we cannot do? When we are tired or sick or weighed down by the pains of life, if we will rely on him and have faith in his atonement, we can be lifted up. He carries our lives on when we are too weak or weary, and he suffers our pains with us. I learned from the depth of mercy unexpected from one imperfect man, how Christ, being perfect, can succor me. The Son of God’s mercy is infinite if we repent and come to him. His forgiveness is eternal. When we cannot, he can, no matter how much we cannot do.
Priesthood
The priesthood truly is the power of God on Earth, and holders of the priesthood can do the work of God with the same power as if God were on the Earth doing that work, but God wills that they do it. Men are inspired in their priesthood stewardships to give advice and help that will help those they are in charge of. The advice does not come from their own knowledge, but from God, through the priesthood they have. Bishops have authority to receive guidance for their ward members and give it to them. I know this because I have received advice, blessings, and encouragement from God through priesthood blessings and counsel.It is an immense blessing to have the priesthood in the home. Husbands and fathers have authority to bring blessings from God to their families. The priesthood has so many wonderful purposes on Earth, but the most wonderful is the missionary work young men can do by the priesthood, and the saving priesthood ordinances that follow. The priesthood gives men power to teach the gospel to the world, delivering a message from God that changes lives and brings people so much Joy. In baptism and in the temple, the priesthood allows people to make covenants with God that are binding forever, with eternal blessings attached.
Service
God gives each of us special talents and abilities. We have gifts of the Spirit and other gifts from God that let us do amazing things. Some people are blessed with good public speaking abilities, exceptional faith, knowledge, the ability to listen. Others still are blessed with different gifts. These gifts can help individuals grow, but they way people grow from their gifts is by using them to serve others. If we use everything we have to give to serve our fellow man, and through them, God, then God will bless us. In times when I have lost myself in difficult service, I have forgotten my own problems. When I was looking away from my own life toward the service of others, Heavenly Father healed parts of my life that needed healing.
Service of others is service to God, and service to God is also service to others. As I listen to the Holy Ghost and obey God in my own life, I can be an example to others. If I try to be like Jesus Christ, and if I love all people as God has commanded, I will naturally reach out to others in kindness. By obeying God and being a missionary, anyone can help others find joy and happiness in the Church. Service always blesses those who serve, and often, when our best efforts are not enough, the Lord can make up the difference, and use our service to bless others.
As we serve God, he gives us the gifts and blessings we need to give the right kind of service. Things that may seem like small acts to me have sometimes been magnified by the Lord to assist someone in ways I hadn’t expected. If we are willing to do the Lord’s work, we can open a door for the Lord’s hand to work in someone else’s life.
Visiting Teaching
One of my favorite forms of service is visiting teaching. It is a simple thing to visit another woman in the ward and deliver a message, but what that visit can mean can be sweet and complex. For me, visiting teaching has saved me from utter loneliness or given an answer to a really tough problem. My visiting teachers have helped me to not feel alone in my worries or problems. When I have visit taught, I have always been blessed with spiritual experiences and a feeling that I really do belong to the Church and to the Relief Society. My prayers have been answered even when I have been the one teaching the lesson.
Conclusion
My testimony grows as I study scriptures and the words of modern prophets. God has placed on the earth all that is needed for the salvation of all people, but we have to be willing to see it and take advantage of it. We can assume all of the amazing blessings we have on Earth are chance or luck, or we can choose to see the signs the Lord has given us: that he lives, that he loves us, that he has never and will never forsake us! We can choose to see the beauty around us as more than ambience, as a tool to teach us of Christ, of God, and of our nature and destiny. Prophets, scriptures, and missionaries are not the only things saying the God exists, and that he has a plan for us. Every tree, every human life, every star in the Heavens testifies: Jesus Christ is the Savior, the Gospel is restored, truth is here! No moment in time is void of God’s love for his children and willingness to help them.
God does not take away the agency of humankind, even to stop others from pain or destruction. We always have choices, and we can make good or bad ones. But God can always take our pain and suffering, our loss, or our sorrow and turn it into growth. He can let each of our heartaches bless us, and each of our trials teach us. We need not despair, for the Lord can change all of our pain into joy, and he will, whether in this life or in the next.
This is my testimony, in the name of Jesus Christ, amen.
