Ever since I was 18, I’ve been active than went inactive and went active again, back and forth. When I was 21 and stopped going to church, I started drinking. Not excessively, but once or twice on the weekend. I started hanging out with the wrong crowd. It wasn’t until I moved away from Utah and moved to Florida, I started attending church again and started reading the New Testament. I was doing an online New Testament class and challenged myself to start reading it for class until I finished the whole book. I finished the whole book and learned a lot about Jesus Christ and him dying on the cross. Growing up, I already knew about this, but reading about what happened made me think, did this guy really die for my sins? Was he forgiving me for drinking and choosing friends who weren’t into good stuff where I started falling away from the church? I’ve read the Book of Mormon before and didn’t really feel the spirit, but it wasn’t until I read the New Testament where I realized God loved me for me and forgave me for my sins. It didn’t matter about my past, I am forgiven. It didn’t matter how members looked at me because I used to drink. I was going for my testimony of the Lord and not to impress anyone at church. I was going for myself. It didn’t matter if I had friends in the ward, I was going and acting on my testimony. I’ve been sober for almost a year and changed my life around. I can say I’m happier now than I’ve been in five years. I also learned about the power of miracles when my dad almost died, I was inactive then, but I’ve never prayed so hard that my dad would be released from the hospital and live another day. I blamed my lack of testimony that my father stayed longer in the hospital. I prayed every day for almost a month he’d be released. I finally prayed to have my dad go home before Christmas. He was released one week before my birthday. I believe in the power of pray and the gospel. Don’t go to impress people, go for yourself and your testimony.
Noelle
Oro Valley, Arizona