How I Know the Church is True.

I have set some goals that I am shooting to accomplish by the end of the year. They are typical spiritual goals such as temple attendance, scripture reading, listening to conference talks, etc. Well today while I was listening to Elder Holland's testimony of the Book of Mormon, it got me thinking about my testimony of the gospel and how I received actual knowledge of the truthfulness of the gospel.

In order to set the scene for how I got my testimony, I will need to give you some background info about who I was and what was going on in my life at the time. As a 19-year-old kid, an experience that I hated, but am now way grateful for, had just occurred. I was out walking it off in the middle of the night trying to shake off the reality of what had just happened. My world was very dark. I felt as if I had lost my friends, my family and all those who I was close to. I felt so lost.

While out on my midnight walk, I went over to a bridge that stretched over a canal that was nearby. I went there for the purpose of being alone with my thoughts and as far away from others as I could have been during that moment. I needed direction. It was there were I knelt and opened up my heart to my Father in Heaven.

I asked if he was there. I asked if the church was true. I asked for forgiveness. I asked and asked and asked for answers. Throughout the prayer, I was fully expecting a glorious moment. I was expecting to feel a feeling that I would be sure would give me an answer and that immediately all my problems would go away. Oddly enough, I received no answer.

I was upset. I stormed home in a frustrated manner, climbed into bed, cursed the world, and then went to sleep.

The following morning was filled with thoughts. My mind raced all day. When nightfall came, I went for a walk again. I couldn't handle things. I thought the gospel was false, I felt like I had wasted my whole life on a lie. It was then I had a friend call me and check up on me. It was completely random.

She asked if everything was okay. I responded with my answer cursing the church and saying that it wasn't true. Telling her that I had prayed and my prayer wasn't answered. She was silent.

She then simply told me that the Lord answers prayers when they are needed to be answered.

But I wanted my answer now!

She told me to go home, settle down, and throw in the film The Testaments. I reluctantly agreed to do so if I even had a copy of the film. To my shock and awe, it was sitting right on top of the DVD rack when I got home. I threw it in. Throughout the film I had mixed feelings. I wasn't sure if it would change my mind. But then one scene sparked an inferno inside of me.

There is a scene in this film where Christ appears before the Nephite's who were here in the America's before the Native Americans. In this scene, as soon as Christ appeared, I had that incredible feeling that I was asking for the night before.

I knew there was a Christ. I knew that He died for me. I knew that the Church was true.

This feeling came over me so fast that I could not contain my emotions. Yes, I the mighty Brach cried.

It encouraged me to finish the Book of Mormon.

I got to the end and read Moroni's challenge (Moroni 10:4): "And when ye shall receive these things, I would exhort you that ye would ask God, the Eternal Father, in the name of Christ, if these things are not true; and if ye shall ask with a sincere heart, with real intent, having faith in Christ, he will manifest the truth of it unto you, by the power of the Holy Ghost."

I accepted his challenge. I prayed again asking if the feelings I had felt earlier were in fact true. They were. I promise you my friends, they were.

I now am able to stand up and bear to you with all my heart that Christ lives. That his teachings are in the Book of Mormon and come to His living prophets today. I can stand and tell you that He loves each and everyone of us. I can stand and tell you that we have a purpose here on Earth. We are our Heavenly Father's  children. All of us. I know that our Savior Jesus Christ payed the price of sin. I know that through his infinite atonement we are able to be clean from any errors we have succumbed to. I KNOW THESE TO BE TRUE!

For anyone who is in darkness, please humble yourself and turn to the Lord. Doing so was the greatest decision of my life. I was lost but now am found. He loves you and will accept you and show you His love.

I challenge you to read the Book of Mormon. If you don't have one, message me and I will get you one (yes it will be free for you). This book is more than a book. The teachings in it will better your life. I promise.

The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints is true.

Sorry that today's post was long. I don't try to do that on purpose. I just kept typing what I felt needed to be said. As usual, if you know anyone who can use this message, please share this message with them if you feel it can help.

Thanks everyone.

The Temple. How it blesses families.

Okay so here goes my second post.
I had alot more people read the first post than I thought would, so that was a nice bonus. Well enough about that. So today's blog topic is about temples. This post is going to be written as a basic refresher for those who are members of my faith or a basic learning experience for those of you who are not.

This topic is a tough one for me to write about. There is alot that I don't know, and tons of things we hold very sacred and cannot speak about outside of the Temple. But I will do my best to tell you a little about them as much as I can.

Mormon's build Temples to be closure to God. We dedicate these buildings to Him. Temples contain a unique Spirit in them, one unlike any other. We feel closure to our Heavenly Father and his son Jesus Christ when we are within it's walls. Often times, one can feel the Spirit even when walking on the grounds of the Temple or even seeing it from a distance. I know that before I was able to fully go through the Temple I had the Spirit tell me many times that those buildings truely are the house of God. Maybe you have felt the same while walking around Temple Square or simply driving by a Temple while on the freeway.

We go to the Temple to feel closure to our Father in Heaven and to feel His love. We also go to conduct service for people who have passed on. In the temple, we conduct ordinances and learn more about our Father's plan. Each person does this one time in their life. Every time after that, they go and do so in proxy for a person who has passed away. The person who has passed on will then have the opportunity to accept or decline that work which was done for them.

The Temple is also a place where members of the LDS faith can be married for time and all eternity. Because we believe in an after-life, the purpose of being married in the Temple is to be sealed to your spouse for eternity. All children born to you after this ordinance will be born into the covenant and will automatically be sealed to you as a result. This means if a loved one passes away, you will still be able to love them and have them by your side. This is an amazing blessing.

Two years ago my family was in a bad accident at Lake Powell. Two of my brothers needed to be air lifted to hospitals. I did not go due to Summer classes, but when I got the call from my uncle telling me about it, my heart sunk. He told me my youngest brother was not doing well and that they didn't expect him to make it. He was on his way to come get me and we would go meet the helicopter at the hospital.

I was scared. I was emotional. I did not know what was going to happen and the thought of losing my little brother was among the darkest feelings I have ever felt. I immediately dropped to the floor and prayed, begging Heavenly Father not to take my brother from us at that time. The response I got was not one I was expecting.

The Spirit came to me and comforted me. He gave me an answer to my prayer. He told me that my family had been sealed in the Temple. We will always have each other for eternity. Everything would be fine and go along as God had intended. After that answer, I was fully expecting to lose my brother. I prepared myself for the news, but I was comforted all the while.

Upon arriving at the Hospital we learned that we had beaten the helicopter. When it finally arrived, we learned that my brother would be fine. In the long run, my family has turned out fine. But what I learned will forever be a very strong point in my testimony:

Families are forever.

Even though I was prepared to lose my brother, he did not pass. But I learned a lesson that no one should ever take for granted. The sealing powers found in the Temple are incredible. Though our loved ones will pass on, we will still have them as our own. We will still be able to be with them. We will still continue to love them.

The church is true. The teachings of it are also true. The Temple is a house of God. There we can feel his love, receive direction, and build our families. The Temple brings us blessings that equal none other. Temple work is needed. If you are not worthy, get worthy. If you are scared to go, pray for the faith to be comforted. If you are not a member, I promise you that this church is true. I promise you that the blessings received in the Temple will benefit you and your family drastically. I encourage you to read the Book of Mormon to find that this church is the true gospel of Jesus Christ. It is true. This I promise you.

For those who are interested in seeing what a Temple looks like on the inside, the Brigham City Temple is completed and will host an Open House. You need not be a member nor be worthy of a temple recommend to attend. At these, you will be able to walk through out the Temple and see what it is like on the inside. They recommend getting reservations in order for them to accomidate the correct number of people. Please view the link below to reserve tickets and to learn more about the upcoming event.

http://www.ldschurchtemples.com/brighamcity/

If anyone is interested in sharing anything such as comments, suggestions, testimonies or anything in the like please feel free to do so. Contact me if you have a longer message that you wish to share so we can make a blog post about it.

Thanks for taking the time to read this long message. Remember to share this to anyone you feel may need it.

Here goes... Never Give Up.

Well as the description clearly points out at the top of the blog, I am not one for blogs. I don't ever read them, never really had any interest in them and really didn't understand the popularity behind them. I always thought that it was just people typing random stuff up to brag about their lives (I still think that). But yesterday I had a really spiritual experience. One that I won't share, but just know it has had an impact on me in a way that I hope will benefit others and help them come closer to our Savior Jesus Christ.

I'm still not sure how exactly I want to run this blog, but for now this is my rough idea. I am basically just going to share my testimony of things as I feel impressed to do so. Easy enough. I know that I am probably just writing to myself, which is okay, but I really hope that this blog will have an effect on someone else other than me.

You see, I had the opportunity of attending my Grandpa and Grandma's Mission Farewell on Sunday. They are leaving next week for Alaska (coolest mission ever!). It got me thinking. I regret not serving a mission. I regret not doing my part to spread the word about our Savior's love. I have been given so much and had so many witnesses that He lives, but what have I done to share it?

Grandpa Tom, left, Great-Grandma Waldron, center, and Grandma Diane, right.

My wife Ashley and I plan on serving a mission or seven when we are retired and billionaires. We plan to give back to our Heavenly Father and His son. But that is forever away. So yesterday, I had a spiritual experience and felt that I needed to take Elder M. Russell Ballard's advice of "every member a missionary," and start this blog sharing my testimonies to the world. It's a small step, but by many short steps, we travel far distances (I learned this personally on backpacking trips as a scout). I'm not a religious scholar or anything by that means. I don't know much, but like I said, small steps. Hopefully I will be able to have the assistance from the Spirit to say the words which need to be said.

So here goes...

Never give up. Life comes at us fast and in ways we don't ever expect. I have learned this first hand. I have made mistakes in my life that have caused vast amounts of sorrow. I regret these greatly. But through those mistakes I learned a lesson. No matter what we do, the Lord loves us and will forgive us. He wants us to come back to him. He welcomes us with open arms. He loves us.

Christ will NEVER abandon you.

When I was in some of my darkest times, turning to the Lord seemed hard to do. Please remember these words: "Never Give Up." Just as D&C 18:10-14 says, "Remember the worth of souls is great in the sight of God; For, behold, the Lord your Redeemer suffered death in the flesh; wherefore he suffered the pain of all men, that all men might repent and come unto him. And he hath risen again from the dead, that he might bring all men unto him, on conditions of repentance. and how great is his joy in the soul that repenteth. Wherefore, you are called to cry repentance unto this people."

My message today is not long, but I hope that it will have an effect. I know that our Savior forgives us for our transgressions. I know that He died for us so that we may walk with him again. He is our brother and friend. I know he lives. I have witnessed his mercy in my own life and know that he brings happiness and peace to all those who seek Him. He is my Lord, my Redeemer, and my friend. He will NEVER abandon you. Turn to him. Feel his love. I know these things to be true. These things I say in the name of Jesus Christ, Amen.


Am I supposed to type that last sentence, or is that for more of when you are bearing it in person? Some feedback on that would be greatly appreciated.

If you know anyone else that could use this message feel free to share it to them. This blog is open to the public and available for the world to see.

One post down. That wasn't so bad.