Is There A Better Way To Spend November 6th??....

Today is President Uchtdorf's birthday and someone has started a Facebook group to challenge people to bear their testimony on the internet in celebration - see here.

I don't usually bear my testimony to anyone, let alone in a public forum, so I thought now is as good a time as any. :) 


I was raised in the gospel - but have spent the last ten years half going to church or not at all. Enough time to realise I am not happy or at peace with myself without the gospel being a central part of my life. Growing up, even though sometimes life felt hard, and through the tumultuous emotional ride that was my teenage years - the spiritual aspect was the only part of my life I was completely sure about. I can't help occasionally wishing for that kind of spiritual assurance again....

Although my testimony/faith is nowhere near as strong as it once was, I can't deny its existence - I cannot deny the whisperings of the holy ghost and the feeling of absolute awesomeness whenever I hear the prophet, President Thomas S Monson, or any of the apostles speak. They truly are men of God called to guide us in our day. The Book of Mormon is the word of God, every time I read from it I am blown away - I have never read a book so powerful and perfect in its teachings. 


Joseph Smith was an amazing man, I believe all that he said he saw, that he was a prophet of God, and under His direction brought the fullness of the gospel back onto the earth once again.  I am grateful for his faith, determination, example and sacrifice for what he knew to be true, right up until his martyrdom. 


I am grateful for the Atonement of Jesus Christ, and for the love that my Father in Heaven has for me - and I know that he knows me, really knows me, and that my life has a unique purpose. I know that He has prepared a way for me to return again to live with him. On many occasions I have recognised his hand in my life - and I know that I am never completely alone. 


This is my testimony, I hope that you feel the spirit of it. In the name of Jesus Christ, Amen.