Today is what we call Fast Sunday, for the wonderful opportunity we have to fast (at least) once a month for the blessings of God to be more abundantly poured out upon us for the improvement of our lives.
Today we have what we call Testimony Meeting along with our Sacrament Meeting this first Sunday of the month (and each month) where the pulpit is opened to any member of the congregation to come up and bear testimony of the Savior Jesus Christ and the true-ness of His Gospel which has been restored to the earth.
I know that Jesus Christ came to the earth, son of Mary and our Heavenly Father, and lived a perfect life so He could atone for our sins,
that we may be able to repent so we can become clean and perfected through Him and His blood so we could be able and worthy to return to live with our Father in Heaven again.
I know we (all of us who have ever been or ever will be here on the earth) lived with our Heavenly Father, who created our spirits, and Jesus also, who is our older brother as one of Heavenly Father's spirit children.
I know that our Heavenly Father presented a plan to us, which
we rejoiced to be able to take part in, which was for us to come to earth and receive bodies and to overcome trials and struggles that we might know and understand happiness by also knowing sadness and pain, so we could
gain knowledge of good and evil and
become like our Heavenly Father in all of these ways, so that we could
return to live with Him for eternity and that He would grant us all the blessings and power that He has if we lived righteously on earth.
I know that the
Bible is the word of God, as long as it is translated correctly.
I know the
Book of Mormon is also the word of God and completes the Gospel of Jesus Christ alongside the Bible and modern revelation from our prophets today in this last dispensation.
I know that
Joseph Smith saw God, our Heavenly Father, and also Jesus Christ when he was just 14 years old, and that
through him They restored the Gospel to the earth once more, with the power of the priesthood being restored.
I know that Christ established His church on the earth when he walked with men, and that
the priesthood was gone from the earth as He and all of His apostles faced death. There was
a time of apostasy when the fullness of Christ's Gospel was not found on the earth, as was prophisied by prophets in the Bible. But with Joseph Smith,
there has been a restoring of the very fullness of the Gospel that was on the earth when Jesus was also here.
I know that because of Joseph Smith and his
dilligence and
trust in the Lord, Jesus was able to restore His church on the earth once more. And from that restoration
we again have living prophets on the earth
who converse with God and
lead His people as He would if He were here.
I know that we can receive light and truth if we
truly seek it and
desire to act on the answers we receive.
I know that God is an almighty and powerful God, and
He is also a loving God, who loves us so dearly and desires for us to be happy and to return to live with Him after our life here on the earth.
I know that
prayer is a sacred opportunity to
converse with our Heavenly Father, and
I know that
He listens and answers. The
scriptures, which are teachings and writings of the prophets, are for us in our day to
guide us to the path of righteousness to be able
to be granted exhaltation with Heavenly Father. The words of
modern day prophets are just as important to heed as those found in the scriptures. How blessed we are that
God has not ceased to reveal things to His people! We live in a time of turmoil, but
peace can be found all around us if we receive the greater light we are offered with the fullness of the Gospel. I am so grateful for
temples and for the
priesthood so we can be
sealed to our familes forever and so we can take the necessary steps and to pass through each gate necessary
to be granted that eternal happiness we seek.
I know all these things to be truth because the
Holy Ghost has witnessed it to me. And
you can have that same witness if you desire.
