My Testimony (or at least a portion of it)

Be it known unto all nations, kindreds, tongues, and people, unto whom these words shall come: I know that God lives. He is literally the Father of our spirits and knows and loves me. He knows and loves every person who has ever lived with a perfect love that we do not fully comprehend. However, I know that God desires us to do everything we can to comprehend it. "And this is life eternal, that they might know thee the only true God, and Jesus Christ, whom thou hast sent" (John 17:3). He wants us to know everything about Him! I know that Heavenly Father, Jesus Christ, and the Holy Ghost are distinct people with specific roles that they play in our lives. I know that Heavenly Father desires for us to become like Him. This is why Jesus Christ taught "Be ye therefore perfect, even as your Father which is in heaven is perfect" (Matthew 5:48).

I also know that as Christ's apostles and prophets foresaw, there was a falling away from the teachings of Christ after His crucifixion. "Now we beseech you, brethren, by the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ, and by our gathering together unto him, That ye be not soon shaken in mind, or be troubled, neither by spirit, nor by word, nor by letter as from us, as that the day of Christ is at hand. Let no man deceive you by any means: for that day shall not come, except there come a falling away first" (2 Thes. 2:1-3).

As terrible as it is that there was a falling away, I know that a restoration of the church and gospel that Christ established was also prophesied. "And I saw another angel fly in the midst of heaven, having the everlasting gospel to preach unto them that dwell on the earth, and to every nation, and kindred, and tongue, and people, Saying with a loud voice, Fear God, and give glory to him; for the hour of his judgment is come: and worship him that made heaven, and earth, and the sea, and the fountains of waters" (Rev. 14:6-7). I know that this restoration has taken place. God calls prophets in our day as He has from the beginning. He restored the church and gospel of Jesus Christ through the prophet Joseph Smith, and the power and authority given to him has been passed on to each prophet since then, including our current prophet Thomas S. Monson.

"In the genius of the gospel plan, there ultimately only has to be one witness, but that witness must be you. The testimony of others may initiate and nourish the desire for faith and testimony, but eventually every individual must find out for himself. None can permanently endure on borrowed light." -Elder Douglas L. Callister, "Knowing That We Know" (October 2007 General Conference)

This is my testimony. It has been revealed to me through a witness of the Holy Ghost to my spirit, and I cannot and will not deny it. I know that I know, and it is a sweet, sublime feeling. The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints is the true church of God on the earth, and no unhallowed hand can stop the work of the Lord from progressing. God will lead me as I put my trust in Him and follow the promptings of the Spirit and the counsel of God's living prophets. He will give you a witness that the things I have written are true if you study them out and sincerely seek a witness of the Spirit from Him.

Happy Independence Day!

It is an amazing blessing to be a citizen of The United States of America. I am so happy to have been born here and to have the freedom that I do. Thank you so much to all who have given their lives defending that freedom, and to those who are fighting to defend it right now.

I often wonder how many citizens of the USA remember that this country was founded on faith in God, and that it will only continue to be free as long as we put our trust in Him. The founding fathers of our country knew this very well, and it is even reflected in our national anthem. We all know the first verse of Francis Scott Key's poem, but read through the whole thing and pay special attention to the last verse:

O! say can you see by the dawn’s early light,
What so proudly we hailed at the twilight’s last gleaming,
Whose broad stripes and bright stars through the perilous fight,
O’er the ramparts we watched, were so gallantly streaming?
And the rockets’ red glare, the bombs bursting in air,
Gave proof through the night that our flag was still there;
O! say does that star-spangled banner yet wave,
O’er the land of the free and the home of the brave?

On the shore dimly seen through the mists of the deep,
Where the foe’s haughty host in dread silence reposes,
What is that which the breeze, o’er the towering steep,
As it fitfully blows, half conceals, half discloses?
Now it catches the gleam of the morning’s first beam,
In full glory reflected now shines in the stream:
’Tis the star-spangled banner, O! long may it wave
O’er the land of the free and the home of the brave.

And where is that band who so vauntingly swore
That the havoc of war and the battle’s confusion,
A home and a country, should leave us no more?
Their blood has washed out their foul footsteps’ pollution.
No refuge could save the hireling and slave
From the terror of flight, or the gloom of the grave:
And the star-spangled banner in triumph doth wave,
O’er the land of the free and the home of the brave.

O! thus be it ever, when freemen shall stand
Between their loved home and the war’s desolation.
Blest with vict’ry and peace, may the Heav’n rescued land
Praise the Power that hath made and preserved us a nation!
Then conquer we must, when our cause it is just,
And this be our motto: “In God is our trust;”
And the star-spangled banner in triumph shall wave
O’er the land of the free and the home of the brave!

We are truly a Heaven-rescued land, and it is God's power that has made and preserved us a nation. May we always fight for those causes that are just and forever keep as our motto: In God is our trust. Happy Independence Day everyone and remember who has made it possible to have this blessed nation exist! :)