Tuesday, November 23, 2010

Giving Thanks Day 3: My testimony and my faith

I’m pretty sure everyone who reads my blog knows me personally, but just in case you don’t, I’m happy to tell you that I am a deeply religious person. I’ve been raised as a member of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, and it’s an integral part of who I am.

I’m incredibly grateful that my parents raised me in a religious background because it’s taught me to have faith in something outside myself, something that I can’t see with my own eyes. This faith has given me something to hold onto during times of sorrow or distress and something that brings me hope, peace and happiness.

I felt my faith wasn’t strong enough a couple years ago, so I set a goal to strengthen it over the course of that year. I learned to be careful what you desire because you just might get it. What’s the best way to strengthen your faith? To have it tried of course. That shows you what you’re really made of. I felt so blessed to discover just how strong and deep my faith is. And it helped prepare me for events that followed. I am more grateful for this than words can even express.

Along with my faith has come a strong testimony of the Gospel of Jesus Christ. I can honestly say that I know with all my heart that it’s true. I know it without a shadow of a doubt. This testimony has sustained me through thick and thin and has given me knowledge that I couldn’t have gained in any other way. It’s encouraged me to become a better person, the person I have the potential to become.

The great thing about a testimony is that it’s always growing and changing. As I learn new things and have new experiences they enlarge my ability to believe and add to the testimony I’ve already developed.

But I know that a testimony comes with a caveat. I can never be complacent because that’s when I put myself at risk of losing it. There are also many forces and people out there who would break my testimony or try to take it away from me, so I must be aware and careful of these influences too.

Both my faith and my testimony are a vital part of who I am, and I hope to continue developing them no matter what happens.

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