i am a member of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints

Lately, more then ever, so many things keep happening that make my testimony grow.



A few examples:

1: News lately

2: Church today

The news.

Ooh. I am sooooooo bugged.

1:Well, we aren't "mormon". We are members of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints.

2: It's not mormonism. It reminds me of islamism. No.

3: WE ARE NOT A CULT.

4: WE ARE NOT A CULT.

I mean really? Some people!

I know I shouldn't get angry about it, so I'm doing my best not to.

But it's my church.

My life.

What I believe in.

I mean, I can't help but get angry about it.

But I'm trying not to. It's helped me realized how blessed I am to have grown in the church and to have a testimony of it. I would hate to be one of the people watching the news and look at my husband and say, "Oh them mormons. Belong to a cult. A cult of mormonism. They don't even believe in Christ!"

Instead,

I KNOW that the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints is true. I KNOW that God lives and he is watching over us at all times. I KNOW that Jesus Christ is my Redeemer. And I am so grateful for the atonement so I can make it back to him. I am so grateful for the plan of salvation so I can see my family members again. So I can be reunited with Tyler, and all of my loved ones that have passed on. I KNOW that the Book of Mormon is true and that it was translated by Joseph Smith, who is a true prophet. I am so grateful for the Thomas S. Monson, the First Presidency, the Quorum of the Twelve, and all the other church leaders that hold us together. That give us council, guidance, and peace. I am so grateful to be a member of the church.

In church today. Oh my. Most amazing thing on the planet. I haven't felt the spirit like that in a long time. It was SO great.

In Relief Society (totally weird to go there) we talked about the signs of the 2nd coming. It can be a really touchy subject, but something we all need to know to prepare for. The sister teaching the class read us fifty signs of the times. (I know there is more, but she just listed 50.) 40 of them scared the freakin crap out of me. I got super nervous. The other 10 on the other hand gave me peace and happiness, even though they've already come. After she read us them and everyone was panicked on the inside, she read us some things that, I don't know about everyone else, but it brought me peace. And then the discussion after was FANTASTIC.

Some of the 10: the restoration of the gospel, restoration of the priesthood, a land of freeness(?), etc.

Some of the 40: The moon will turn red, no rainbows): , tornados(spelling?) and other natural disasters, earthquakes like none other on the earth before, prophets dying in Jerusalem, etc.

The discussion after was the best though. I was super touched.

The sister teaching told us about a young man that traveled to China. After the business meeting the chinese man gave him a gift worth a whole month of his wages. The business man felt bad because he didn't know that he was supposed to bring a gift. Then he remembered that his scriptures were in his bag. He handed them to the chinese man and told him that they were very sacred and meant a lot to him. The chinese man felt very blessed that he would give him such a special gift. Later on, the american got a letter saying that the chinese man had gotten baptized. We then talked about how even though we don't have missionaries in certain countries, the church is still traveling all over the world and the Lord is preparing those people for when the gospel really can come.

Then, Erin, one of the most beautiful, amazing girls I've ever met spoke up. She is married to Tylers best friend, Broc. She said that if something does happen, like one of us died, we have the blessing to be able to be sealed to our family. So while we should be worried and preparing, we are blessed enough to have the keys restored so we could be sealed. That hit home just cause I recently got sealed and I don't know what I would do if I thought I could never see Ty again.

THE BEST IN THE WHOLE WORLD was a comment another sister made. She said that when she was younger, she was told how great her generation was and how strong they were. And she said now she looks at the high school and middle school students and how different it is now. Not only do they have to put up with so much temptation, but they have to be uber righteous so that they can fight it. But then she said the part that hit home. We get to be the mothers of the righteous spirits coming down. We get to be the ones to raise them and to teach them. We get to be blessed from their testimonies and watching them grow. Those weren't her exact words....they made more sense then mine. But I was like, holy smokes! She's right! I get to raise some of the most righteous people in the pre-existance. I get to raise kids that are going to go through so much, but I get to learn from them and let my testimony grow from their testimonies. It made me super happy inside.

We also talked about some other blessings that have already come. Such as, the restoration of the gospel and the priesthood. Living in a free country where we can go to whatever religion we want to. If we still had people reigning over us, we probably wouldn't be able to have the gospel and it is ESSENTIAL to the second coming. The Book of Mormon. The book that teaches the right. It's translated correctly.

I am so grateful to be a member of the church! Words cannot describe how blessed I feel that I could be a part of it and to learn and grow. I am so grateful for others testimonies so that I could help mine to grow and develop. I am just so grateful. Today has been so amazing. I learned so much and my testimony grew.

Hope all is well with you!

XOXOXO

Ash