I wish I had the words to eloquently express how grateful I am for the Gospel of Jesus Christ. There have been times in my life when I have felt, there was nowhere else to turn but to God. In return, I have felt the Savior right by my side, through the comfort and peace of the Holy Ghost. It all comes from the simplicity of each principle. I know that Joseph Smith was a prophet of God. I know that there is priesthood power on the earth today. I know that commandments are here for us to help guide us. I know that baptism is a covenant that must be done in order for us to return to our Heavenly Father. I know covenants within the Temple are to help bless us and again help us return to the Savior. I am eternally grateful for the Plan of Salvation and know I will be able to see loved ones that have passed away. I know that we have a latter-day prophet who is named President Russel M. Nelson. But above all my testimony relies on two simple truths. God is our loving Heavenly Father and Jesus Christ is my Redeemer.
These two principles are the foundation of truly EVERYTHING to me. I'd like to tell a brief story of how these principles, tie into my testimony of the Book of Mormon. I've always known the church was true. But it wasn't until my mission (2017-2019) that I feel like I was truly able to be a witness and gain experiences that better helped me understand the complete and pure love the Lord has for each one of us.
I was in my first area on my mission and I was still happy had a wonderful trainer, but she was facing a hard time and I was hurting. I felt inadequate for the job in not only taking care of my trainer but in partaking of the greatest work on earth. After personal study one day, I kneeled in prayer almost chastising the Lord, (which I must say I don't really recommend) pleading saying, "Heavenly Father I'm grateful for you, but I need to know. I know the Book of Mormon is a good book, I felt it's comfort but I NEED TO KNOW, is it true? If I'm going to tell people this, please I need to know." There were some things out of control in the particular situation that I was in at the moment and I just wanted one piece of absolute truth that I could control.
These were just a few words that I expressed to my Heavenly Father that day. Upon initial reflection after the prayer, I felt as if God was saying "you know it's true now get to work."
It wasn't actually the confirmation I was looking for, but went out that day to work. Near the end of the day, my companion and I were at an appointment. We were discussing the Book of Mormon, and in that moment I felt the Spirit whisper "You don't deny your Savior Jesus Christ." Confused, I wondered if we needed to be talking about the Atonement of Jesus Christ. I looked down at the Book of Mormon in my hands and felt the same prompting again. Still confused, I just looked at the cover. I saw the words "Another Testament of Jesus Christ." I felt the Holy Ghost again more boldly and almost happily shout "Sister Walker, YOU don't deny YOUR SAVIOR JESUS CHRIST." It is in that moment that I realized truly that these were the words of God and that they were irrevocably entwined with the knowledge and power to more fully understand the Savior. If read it would more fully help me access the infinite power of the Atonement of Jesus Christ in my life.
I am forever grateful for that moment, and that Heavenly Father was loving enough to not only say "move on, get to work," but confirmed to me that I knew my Savior and could not deny His words.
Everything that is important to me is connected to those two simple truths. God is our loving Heavenly Father and Jesus Christ is our Redeemer. If you've taken the time to get this far, I invite you truly talk with the Lord. He is always there with His guiding hand. It's up to you if you're willing to take it. With that, He will begin to change your heart. He will always love you as He knows repentance is apart of the plan. I hope you may have your own experiences such as this and come to feel His pure love, coming to know Christ as your personal Savior.
Tiffany
Cheyenne, Wyoming