Testimony

I was going to post a letter that accompanied a DVD slated for distribution in the state if Utah. I was then going to defend my faith. Instead I decided to just post a link to the letter, found on FAIRLDS. org, and then if you chose to read the letter which explains how distributors of the DVD are to keep it a secret from “Mormons” until after March 25,2007, it would be your choice and not mine.

And instead of rebutting the letter, and DVD with my limited wit, I will instead share with you my testimony of the Gospel of Jesus Christ. I pray that the Spirit will accompany my words, and bear witness to whoever reads them that I know that Jesus lives today and stands at the head of His church, even the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints. And that I know that Joseph Smith is indeed a true prophet, and that he was chosen in the pre-existence to come here and open the Dispensation of the Fullness of Times, that Joseph prophesied of him over 3500 years ago, and that he organized the Church on this Earth under the direction of Jesus Christ. I testify that from Joseph Smith to Gordon B. Hinkley, there has been and will continue to be a true prophet on this Earth. I testify that the Book of Mormon is a true book of scripture, written and preserved for our time by the power of our Heavenly Father. I testify that the only way we are able return to our Heavenly Father is through the Atonement of out Savior Jesus Christ. I will also expound on my own testimony of the importance of testimony.

All of us must struggle every day to maintain or testimony. Ever since the pre-existence, man has struggled against the adversary. Satan has long been using tools of deception, and subterfuge to entice us to move away from the light we all receive from our Savior Jesus Christ. When we learn of the Atonement and the Plan of Salvation, we are given an additional witness. When we covenant with our Heavenly Father to first, have faith in the Lord Jesus Christ, and second, repent of our sins, and third, promise to always follow him and keep his commandments, we are given the decree to “Receive the Holy Ghost.” This is not the end. Satan now has even more reason to try and drag us down into the depth of agony of despair. As we read in Mathew 12:45

45 Then goeth he and taketh with himself seven other spirits more wicked than himself, and they enter in and dwell there: and the last state of that man is worse than the first. Even so shall it be also unto this wicked generation.

This scripture illustrates the fact that it is better for man to have never known, than to have known the truth and then deny it. Anyone who believes that this is not a battle, is sadly mistaken. I do not mean a literal battle. And I do not mean a battle between “us and them.” In fact it is a very personal battle for each of us to overcome our very nature, to overcome the “natural man.” In 1 Corinthians 2:14 we read,

14 But the natural man receiveth not the things of the Spirit of God: for they are foolishness unto him: neither can he know them, because they are spiritually discerned.

The struggle to overcome the “natural man” CANNOT be won by “intellectually” examining the truths contained in the scriptures, and forming opinions based on our own very limited paradigm.
For us to say that we have studied the scriptures and have discerned our own conclusions is indeed “foolishness.” Only through communion with the spirit can we gain a true testimony of all things. “Line upon line, precept upon precept.” It is not for us to know and understand all things, but only to have a “perfect” knowledge of the things that we are taught through our life's trials, and adversities. As I attended the funeral of a loved one's little, 17 day old angel, and watched them, as so many people looked to them for strength, I realized that they had a testimony of the plan of salvation. I do not wish to trivialize the horrible pain that they are obviously feeling over the loss of, not one, but two little daughters. However, I know that a testimony has been given to them through much prayer and fasting, that if they but live their lives in harmony with the teachings of our Savior that they can one day be re-united with their beloved daughters. Not only reunited but be able to raise them, free from the worries we as parents today face today.

We must all strive to gain testimonies of the trials in our lives. Testimonies of the love our Father in Heaven has for us. With the help of our Savior we can overcome our trials, and grow closer to our goal. The entire reason we are here on this Earth, to prove to our Heavenly Father that we are obedient, and worthy of returning to be with Him again. Psalms 119:129-135 echoes my feelings on the subject of testimonies.

129 Thy testimonies are wonderful: therefore doth my soul keep them.
130 The entrance of thy words giveth light; it giveth understanding unto the simple.
131 I opened my mouth, and panted: for I longed for thy commandments.
132 Look thou upon me, and be merciful unto me, as thou usest to do unto those that love thy name.
133 Order my steps in thy word: and let not any iniquity have dominion over me.
134 Deliver me from the oppression of man: so will I keep thy precepts.
135 Make thy face to shine upon thy servant; and teach me thy statutes.

Only by growing closer to our Heavenly Father through continually searching for greater Testimony, will we be able to feel His love so strongly that when face with those around us that will try to “test” our faith, will we be able to share that same love with them. We cannot become arrogant and think that we have the power to change the hearts of men. We must first have the Spirit, and then bear witness of it through sharing our testimonies. Then the spirit teaches of the truth and Divinity of the gospel.

During his ministry to the America’s Jesus instructed us on what we must do in 3 Nephi 9:22,

22 Therefore, whoso repenteth and cometh unto me as a little child, him will I receive, for of such is the kingdom of God. Behold, for such I have laid down my life, and have taken it up again; therefore repent, and come unto me ye ends of the earth, and be saved.

The faith of a child is “perfect.”

Let us not be angry and spiteful towards those who feel that they must “save” us from ourselves. Instead let us be open about who we are, and the testimonies we have received. Our missionaries throughout the world wear name tags, introduce themselves as such that they are, and declare that they have a message to share. The light of Christ can be our name tags, people will notice something different about us, and wonder why.

One experience I had in my sheltered youth, a girl from a large city outside of Utah, came into my sphere of influence. When she learned that my friend and I were “Mormons”, we were immediately admonished to keep all of our crazy ideas away from her. We obliged, after all we were young and really didn’t care too much about missionary work at that time anyway. We did however continue to live our lives with the morals and standards that we are fortunate enough to be taught at such a young age. Long story short, by the time she had left, we had had several good conversations on faith and testimony. And she left with a copy of the Book of Mormon, with the testimonies of my friend and I, written inside the cover.

Our testimonies are the message our Savior wants us to share. We know him, and love him and because of this, our lives are filled with a joy that is almost indescribable. In Alma 36, Alma shares his joy in his testimony to his son,

15 Oh, thought I, that I could be banished and become extinct both soul and body, that I might not be brought to stand in the presence of my God, to be judged of my deeds.
16 And now, for three days and for three nights was I racked, even with the pains of a damned soul.
17 And it came to pass that as I was thus racked with torment, while I was harrowed up by the memory of my many sins, behold, I remembered also to have heard my father prophesy unto the people concerning the coming of one Jesus Christ, a Son of God, to atone for the sins of the world.
18 Now, as my mind caught hold upon this thought, I cried within my heart: O Jesus, thou Son of God, have mercy on me, who am in the gall of bitterness, and am encircled about by the everlasting chains of death.
19 And now, behold, when I thought this, I could remember my pains no more; yea, I was harrowed up by the memory of my sins no more.
20 And oh, what joy, and what marvelous light I did behold; yea, my soul was filled with joy as exceeding as was my pain!
21 Yea, I say unto you, my son, that there could be nothing so exquisite and so bitter as were my pains. Yea, and again I say unto you, my son, that on the other hand, there can be

I again want to share with you my testimony of the truthfulness of the Gospel of Jesus Christ and hope that my simple words may encourage you to seek testimony from our Heavenly Father. And test the promise given in James 1:5 that.

5 If any of you lack wisdom, let him ask of God, that giveth to all men liberally, and upbraideth not; and it shall be given him.

I am just a simple man who is trying to do the right thing and raise my family in harmony with the teachings of my Savior. These words are my testimony. I share them with faith hoping that the spirit will touch you heart. And that you may be able to feel the joy that accompanies the knowledge that Christ lives, and loves all.

This testimony I share with you in the name of Jesus Christ, amen.

Note:
GJMcKBLog is not owned, controlled by or affiliated with the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints. All opinions provided in this blog are the sole responsibility of GJMcKBLog, and should not be interpreted as official statements of LDS doctrine, belief or practice.

Say, aren't you new here?

I didn't really think that I would want to become a blogger. But when my wife started doing it, I decided it could be beneficial. (Mostly to dispel any lies she may post on her blog of course.) I used many excuses as to why I would not blog. The number one reason being "TIME", but there are worse things I could do with my time.

For the time being, I am usually alone in my office, so I often work straight through lunch. With that in mind, I decided it would be a good idea to take some time and blog. So as I sit here waiting for my $8.00 DI microwave to heat up my leftover ham and bean soup, I am becoming a blogger.

Many people's mercury read lower than mine this morning, but not that many. Today I was grateful I had a block heater installed in my big blue beast, because even with the thermometer reading in the high? negative twenties, she fired up and hummed as well as any car with 200K miles. And on the way to work we (My car and I) passed brand new, giant diesel trucks with frozen fuel lines. And at the sight of those shiny new trucks, dead on the side of the road she(my car) seemed to go even better.


*NOTE: This next paragraph may not make sense at first but as you read on I hope you will understand my meaning.*

As I sit here eating my ham and bean soup, I feel blessed. Strange? Why would ham and bean soup make me feel blessed? Well my grandmother made this soup for my Dad when he was a kid, and he would explain to us that you were lucky to get one piece of ham in your whole bowl.
I would always exclaim that the soup would be much more palatable if it had a piece of ham in every bite. I don't know if you are familiar with how the soup was made then, (and now by my mother.) the soup was started by boiling beans, and a ham hock together until the beans were cooked and then adding other ingredients to taste. A ham hock is a very in-expensive small piece of meat clinging to a large bone. The ham hock was affordable during lean times. Any way, this Christmas we had a spiral sliced ham. "Had" being the key word here, someone dropped a dish on top of the ham. The dish didn't just break, it exploded into a million small shards, which then lodged themselves deep into the glaze on the ham and proved impossible to remove. We then had something else for Christmas dinner. Anyway, Last week April, my wife, began feeling a bit despondent about the fact that we did not get our ham for Christmas. So while at the grocery store she purchased another. Sunday dinner was great. What to do with the left overs? I decided that I wanted to make ham and bean soup. I made the soup not only with the ham hock, but with all the left over ham. And wouldn't you know it, I was right!

So back to the feeling blessed part, I am grateful that I am able to go to the store and buy a spiral sliced ham just so I can have ham in every bite.