Testimony (October 18, 2009)

I have felt the need and desire to bear my testimony all week, yet the timing hasn't felt right until today. And who better to share my most precious possession than my good friends, whom I have been very grateful for this past week. Friends whom I know will always be there for me, whether it's letting me chill at your apartment, chatting with me over e-mail, making me laugh when I'm down, making me laugh when I'm happy, calling me up to see how I'm doing, or letting me register you for Tabernacle Choir Christmas tickets. God has put very special people in my path to lift me up and help bear my burdens, and I call those special people friends.
I know that Jesus Christ lives. He is the Way, the Light, the Living Water. He is the path to return to our Heavenly Parents and eternal life. My heart sings with joy whenever I think of spending all of eternity with those I love. What a beautiful concept.
I know that Jesus is our Lord and Savior, that he performed the infinite atonement in the Garden of Gethsemane. My soul is filled with pain whenever I think of the torment I caused him on that fateful night. But I am so very grateful for His strength and faith in the Father; without Christ, we would all be lost. I know that he died on the cross and was lifted up after three days. He was resurrected after three days and I shall be resurrected too. My body shall be made perfect, all of my many imperfections healed.
I know that knows my name. He knows my strengths, my weaknesses; my hobbies and my hates. I am his son, a prince of God and a warrior of Light. Satan can be strong, but my prayer is always to defend and stand for what I know to be true, Jesus Christ and Heavenly Father.
I know that our Savior restored His church through the prophet, Joseph Smith. I am amazed by his faith and spiritual maturity, where as a fourteen-year old boy he prayed to know which church was true; I wasn't thinking that as a boy. I know that God the Father and Jesus Christ appeared to him in a grove of trees, where Joseph was instructed to join none of the churches. Instead, he was commanded to build up the Kingdom of God on earth. He suffered unimaginable persecution and torment, eventually dying for what he knew was true. But he never once faltered in his testimony.
I know that the Church of JESUS CHRIST of Latter-day Sainst is the one and only true church on the face of the earth. I can NEVER deny it. Christ leads his church today through a prophet, Thomas Monson. He is the spokesman of the Savior for the Church and will never lead us astray.
I know that the Book of Mormon was translated by Joseph Smith through the power of God. I love it, I love reading it, and I love the peace that it brings into my life. I also know that the Bible is the word of God, along with the Doctrine and Covenants. I have such a love for the scriptures and always hope that I can learn and grow from them.
I love my family, I love my friends, I love the Gospel, but most importantly I love my Savior. For it is only because of Him that I can continue my spiritual progression, eventually becoming a God.
This is my testimony. I bear it in the name of our Lord, Savior, and God, even our older brother Jesus Christ.

Trials

"O to grace how great a debtor daily I'm constrained to be! Let thy goodness, like a fetter, bind my wandering heart to thee. Prone to wander, Lord, I feel it, prone to leave the God I love; here's my heart, O take and seal it, seal it for thy courts above!"

Oh how oft my heart has cried out these words, when my soul was filled with dispair. And oh how oft my prayers have been answered by a loving God. For it is only after we have passed through the refiner's fire and been molded by the Lord's hand that Christ will say "Well done, my good and faithful servant." "Ye cannot behold with your natural eyes, for the present time, the design of your God concerning those things which shall come hereafter, and the glory which shall follow after much tribulation. For after much tribulation come the blessings. Wherefore the day cometh that ye shall be crowned with much glory; the hour is not yet, but is nigh at hand." (D&C 58:3-5)

Who am I to demand to know the reason behind my trials? For every trial I must go through will only make me stronger and prepare me for things to come, whether it's to help others through their trials or to prepare me for even greater trials. Let it be known to all that I can and will overcome anything that is flung in my path, with my Savior at my side pulling me along and picking me up as I stumble. For it is only by accepting His help that we can obtain salvation and eternal life in the mansion of our Heavenly Parents.

But woe unto those who have been ensnared by the Deciever, who entices with gold thread and entangles with iron chains. Woe unto those who step on others for their own personal gain, for their happiness shall be but a moment. Woe unto the prideful, the hypocrites, the deniers, and the wolves; for their foundation shall crumble. For they rely on their own strength instead of the Lord's. The path of repentence is long and painful, but the joy at the end surpasses all.What joy the knowledge of the restored gospel of Jesus Christ brings to my soul. I feel like shouting Hallelujah when I think of spending all of eternity with those I love. Christ prepared the way for us; all we have to do is step onto the path and hold fast to the rod. Joseph Smith was and is a prophet of God. He translated the Book of Mormon and gave his life defending what he knew to be true. My hope and prayer is that I can do the same thing when my time comes.

May the Lord bless each of us with the strength to overcome all of our obstacles and may we in turn recognize His hand in all things.