Testimony
May 8th, 2013
As
I have reflected on my life experiences that have anchored my testimony of
Jesus Christ, the Hymn I Need Thee Every
Hour plays through my mind and reaches my soul and I can feel humility in
my heart because of the despair I’ve felt and the healing that has taken place
there.
At
the tender ages of 3-6 I went through some major health problems that should
have taken my life. I frequently look back at that time and thank my Heavenly
Father for sparing my life. Because of the words of a faithful mother growing
up, I knew my survival meant I have a purpose to accomplish.
There
are other times when I’ve asked “Why was my life spared”- mostly when I see
others suffering to death, I have remorse for surviving. Today, I think of my
young naive self and remember that not once did I feel helpless like I was
going to die- but I know through many prayers and especially the ones offered by
my faithful mother as she was in His need my mortal body was able to over come
what held it in bondage for so long.
This was life altering experience number one.
My
second life experience came about 13 years later. I grew up in the church and
taught by my dad for many years in Sunday School about the basic principles of
the Gospel and about the Restoration. He eventually left the church.
My
father and I have a strange relationship in that we have a bond that is
unexplainable but not close at the same time. I’ve felt a strong inclination
ever since he left the church that I needed to bring him back. At the age of 19
I was reading, desperately searching the scriptures for the first time in my
life. I was on a hunt to find the answer to some questions that my father had
about the church. Day after day I pleaded in such a high need of my Heavenly
Father’s help. It was through this plea that I gained my first witness of the
Restoration of the Gospel of Jesus Christ and who Joseph Smith truly was. The
witness came so powerfully, it was as if I was physically lifted off my knees
and taken to a higher place. This experience has become my concrete foundation
to my testimony and for my love for Heavenly Father.
My
third and most recent experience came as I sought for healing to a broken
heart. One night when I didn’t have the strength to bow down before my Heavenly
Father, I muttered through sobs the words to I Need Thee Every Hour, and it was through this and the past 2
shared experiences and many other experiences of other natures that have shaped
me and given strength to my testimony and helped me recognize my daily need for
my Heavenly Father and the healing power, in all its forms, of the Atonement of
Jesus Christ. The Atonement has healed my physical being, given me a testimony
and healed my heart. I love my Heavenly and His Son Jesus Christ. I testify of
them in the name of Jesus Christ, amen.
No comments:
Post a Comment