One Year

February 20th, 2016: I was baptized a member of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints.
February 21st, 2016: I was confirmed, and received the gift of the Holy Ghost.

Just over one year ago, I made the best decision I have made in my life. It has been a year of membership, yes, but more so it has been a year of believing Christ, and following Heavenly Father's will for me. It has been a year of true joy, even in some great trials. I learn something new every single day about this gospel and about myself, but here are twelve beautiful things I have come to know in the past twelve months.

{February} Jacob 4:13
"for the Spirit speaketh the truth and lieth not. Wherefore, it speaketh of things as they really are, and of things as they really will be"
Right after receiving the gift of the Holy Ghost, my daily task became recognizing the Spirit and what it was saying to me. It was so helpful constantly being immersed in spiritual situations, and recognizing promptings from the Spirit became second nature! I believe all of us can be better at appreciating the importance of divine promptings and divine comfort.

{March} 3 Nephi 13:21
"For where your treasure is, there will your heart be also."
This scripture is still one of my very favorites. Last March, I received my limited use temple recommend. To be inside of the House of the Lord was the most peaceful experience. I received a very new perspective on life. My priorities are now centered around the temple. The temple of the Lord is the most real treasure we are given here on this earth, and it is where I want my heart to be.

{April} Do I Believe? by Bonnie L. Oscarson
"To believe, we need to get the gospel from our heads into our hearts!"
I remember hearing this talk and it was like a lightning bolt hit me right in my heart. I was on this spiritual high, a knowledge overload! And having so much information and truth crammed into my brain, it was easy to gain and remember my testimony of everything. How important it is to know and to truly believe!

{May} 2 Nephi 2:27
"And they are free to choose liberty and eternal life, through the great Mediator of all men, or to choose captivity and power of the devil"
I lived my life for a long time thinking the idea of an all powerful God was like a giant game of Sims. What an amazing thing agency is! The power to choose is a gift, and an enormous responsibility. And most importantly, it's why we're here on Earth! We decided to be here and we make decisions that help us grow and learn.

{June} Alma 36:20
"my soul was filled with joy as exceeding as was my pain!"
Alright. Spiritual high was fading a little bit. Reality was setting in, and the adversary was working VERY hard to ensure I would not be happy. One of the beautiful things about feeling pain is that it is a reminder of the Savior and we can be because of Him. I learned that with repentance and faith, all pain, no matter how severe, is made up for in the joy of the gospel.

{July} Ether 12:6
"ye receive no witness until after the trial of your faith."
Trials strengthen our testimony, if we allow them to. When our faith feels shaken, it is when we must be the most strong and PRAY!

{August} He Will Place You on His Shoulders and Carry You Home by President Uchtdorf
"The sheep is worthy of divine rescue simply because it is loved by the Good Shepherd."
Just typing these words out brings tears to my eyes. I am worth being saved simply because I have a loving Heavenly Father and a loving Savior. If every I feel inadequate, I can remember that I am valuable! I am worthy of divine rescue.

{September} Matthew 22:37
"Jesus said unto him, Thou shalt love the Lord thy God with all thy heart, and with all thy soul, and with all thy mind."
That is a lot of love! And even then, God loves each and every one of us individually more than we can even comprehend. With every part of my being, I love my Father in Heaven. The cool thing about that is, loving God is more beneficial to us than it is to Him.

{October} Helaman 5:12
"it is upon the rock of our Redeemer, who is Christ, the Son of God, that ye must build your foundation"
I had been to many lessons with the missionaries and their new investigators at this point, and this is a common scripture they will teach of. One day, it finally clicked to me in an institute class how essential this is. My whole life I had attempted to build my foundation on fleeting things. The contrast of having a firm foundation in Christ is HUGE! With Christ, I will never [fall] again.

{November} Moroni 10:19
"He is the same yesterday, today, and forever"
At this point in my life, I felt I had been lacking consistency. Everything was changing in my life. Every ounce of stability I had come to know was fleeting before me. Everything except God. He is unchanging, and His promises are unchanging. People say they don't like religion because they can't believe what they can't see. I mean, that is what faith is. But really, I can believe because I have seen. I have seen Heavenly Father's unchanging love and promises to us if we follow His commandments. He is more real and consistent than anything!

{December} Moroni 7:33
"If ye will have faith in me ye shall have power to do whatsoever thing is expedient in me."
It blows my mind how such a simple thing as faith can be so powerful. If we have faith, and if it is a good thing, it will be given to us in due time. Faith allows us to do and be anything!

{January} At the Summit of Ages by Gordon B. Hinckley
"Given what we have and what we know, we ought to be a better people than we are."
President Hinckley truly was not sugar coating this statement. We are given EVERYTHING we need, and then some! With all of the tools we are given, we ought to be moving mountains! It is a humbling thing to know that we fall very short every day. It is motivating to know we have so much progress to be made. Now is the time to go out and DO!

And back to February. One year. Isn't it amazing how the main things that have stood out to me in this year are basic principles? Really, we live our lives being reminded of simple truths we already know because it is a constant battle taking our knowledge and living it every second of every minute of every hour of every day. We are children. Children that forget. Children than need to be reminded. Children that need to be chastised. Children that need love and reassurance. But, children of God, nonetheless. And that is a remarkable thing to be!

I hope some of you made it to the end of this novel of a blog post! I love this church. I love this gospel. I testify that we have a loving Heavenly Father who sent his only begotten Son to save us all. I testify that Jesus Christ has infinite love for each of us, and through Him, we can feel eternal joy. I testify that baptism is essential, and one of the most important decisions we can ever make. I testify of these things with my whole heart and soul in the name of Jesus Christ. Amen.




Oh look! A baptism photo! I think white is a good color for all of us. Curious about baptism? Click here! Curious about us "crazy" Mormons in general? Click here


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