The Simple Testimony of a Nineteen-Year-Old Latter- Day Saint Girl

BY: Rachel McCloskey

Having spent the first nineteen years of my life primarily in the largely Latter-Day Saint community of Provo, Utah, I wouldn’t seem the likely target for an incredible conversion story, and I’m not. In fact, I have spent much of my life wondering when that life changing miracle  would come and reveal all the answers to all my questions. I had lived the commandments, followed the Word of Wisdom, read my scriptures, and lived worthy to enter into the Temple, and yet I still didn’t have a knowledge of the truth of the gospel, only hope.

In some ways I consider growing up around Mormons a constant test of where I am with my testimony. I have been able to spend so much of my life relying on the testimonies of the people around me as they all seemed so strong and unwavering. My dad, who converted to the church when he was 23 years old, has one of the strongest testimonies of anyone I have ever met. As he tells and retells the powerful story of his

conversion, I often begrudgingly looked back on my life and thought to myself how easy it had been for me. I will never forget what he has said, however, on the topic of conversion. He believes that everyone, both member and non-member, goes through a“conversion” of their own. We cannot rely on the testimony of others our whole lives and we must either seek our own or fall away.

I have sought out a testimony of my own and am still on the path to receiving a knowledge of my own, but I know that Heavenly Father is real and that he listens to and answers my prayers. I know that Jesus Christ is the Son of God and that he was sent to the earth to atone for the sins and sadness of the world. I have always known of the truth of the Gospel of Jesus Christ, but somewhere inside of me it sometimes seemed like one big great idea that gave a lot of answers and made a lot of sense. But I have a testimony that everything I believe is really real and that it is the source of my true happiness. There really is no denying it and this makes the possibility of it simply being a great idea, impossible.

So this is to all of you young, nineteen-year-old girls out there who are either struggling between the idea of knowledge and hope, or simply longing for their own conversion story: do not fall away because you feel as though your knowledge is insufficient. Continue to learn and grow through the Spirit and seek to build your testimony, and the Lord has promised that “he will manifest the truth of it unto you, by the power of the Holy Ghost” (Moroni 10:4).

Those Christmas Lights

BY: Megan Armknecht

Last Christmas I was half-a-world away, in a little-known city called Kharkov, Ukraine.

Now, Kharkov isn’t the first choice for most Americans to be on Christmas day—in fact, if I had never served in Kharkov as an LDS missionary, I doubt that I would have ever heard of it. But even though Christmas was very foreign to me last year, I wouldn’t trade the experience for all of the tinsel and candy canes in the world.

 

The first Christmas abroad is one you never forget. In Ukraine, the differences between my traditional American Christmas and Christmas in the former USSR are stark. For starters, Christmas isn’t celebrated on the 25^th of December in Eastern Europe . . . it’s not even the biggest holiday there (that prize goes to Easter and New Year’s Day). There are no Christmas jingles on the radio, no carolers wassailing from door-to-door, and hardly any Christmas lights (in fact, I distinctly remember my companion and I seeing an apartment balcony brightly covered in Christmas lights, and the deciding to go and tract that dom [apartment complex] just to compliment that family for their festivity).

The only thing that made it feel like Christmas was the snow—and it was everywhere—and the cold—and boy, was I cold! For so many reasons, it didn’t really feel like Christmas at all . . . but at the same time, it was one of the sweetest Christmas seasons of my life.

Christmas was sweet to me that year because Christ was with me—and I was with Him. The joy and love of His presence warmed my heart as I joined the angels in spreading the good news: “Peace on earth, good will towards men” (Luke 2:14). And even though Christmas light displays were few and far between, I found that the True Light—the Light of the World—would lead me on and give me cheer in a world both figuratively and literally very dark at times.

You Are Never Alone

BY: Tashara Carnahan

I grew up always hearing the saying, "You are never alone, the Lord is always there to comfort you," and I just took it for what it was. I didn't ever have an experience that made me question that saying or really make me ponder it more in depth. It was just...there. Until I got to college.

Now, don't get me wrong. College was a blast and a half! I had tons of things to do, tons of people to meet, I had Ryan, my boyfriend (almost fiance), to start out my Winter semester, my best friend from childhood was my roommate, and I never suffered from homesickness. Life was good. Correction: Life should have been good. But, I still struggled.

Along with college came new roommates. They were so awesome. I mean, I honestly could not have asked for a better set of girls to room with. We all got along great and we never fought. We had a few disagreements here and there with our different personalities, but other than that, we loved each other. However, with the new roommates also came hardships and heart break for me. I spent time with Ryan because it was sparse and random whenever he'd be available, so I wanted to see him as much as I could, which left me kind of the outcast from my roommates. I spent time with them and did some things they did, but I still felt like I was shunned a lot of the time. They all became super close and had experiences and inside jokes that I couldn't relate to or even begin to understand. I would ask them about it, but after a couple of poor attempts to try to include me in the joke, clearly knowing I didn't belong, I stopped asking.

I became reclusive, depressed. My best friend suddenly became best buds with one of our roommates she'd only known a few months. We'd been friends for years. What was going on? It hurt me to see them having so much fun without even a second glance my way. By this time, it was the next semester and I was engaged. I should have been happy, right? I couldn't have been more wrong. I kept spiraling down and down, losing myself in a despairing pit. The stresses of planning a wedding from home, my best friend seeming to not care one bit about it, helping, or even giving me positive support for it, and not seeing my fiance for sometimes days at a time, even though he lived right across the parking lot, was enough to make me go crazy. I confronted my friend about not feeling included, and she promised to do better. I confronted Ryan about wanting to see him more, and he promised to do better. For the first time I felt like things were finally going to go better. They didn't.

I Love You

Designed and created by: Lindsey Rogers

Thanksgiving is around the corner! How do you plan on showing those you are grateful for that you love them?

Read the rest of Elder Bednar's talk HERE.

My Greatest Wish

BY: Hannah Nielson

If someone were to come up to you and ask you: "What is the most important thing to you? What do you fear to lose the most?" for me, it would be my family.

Family has always been important to me. I love each and ever one of my siblings and my wonderful parents (Yes, even on the days when I get so mad at some of them). Whenever I go home to visit my parents, it feels like home. Not because of the familiar house or the old toys and memories the old building brings to me, but because my family is there. Family is what makes a home. To me, heaven would not be heaven without my family together. Heaven would not feel like home.

We have temples. For Mormons, temples are the world’s most sacred spaces, places where heaven and earth meet.

What do temples have to do with family? In these temples, we have sealings. You see, when you get married, the husband and wife are sealed in earth as in heaven (Thus, one reason why we think that temples are the place where heaven and earth meet). This is not "'Till death do you part.” You're married for time and all eternity. You can be together forever. We have sealings for families. Children are sealed to their parents. From that, they will be together with them forever. Families will be together even in heaven.

What of those who have died before they are sealed? Death cannot stop it. You can still be sealed. You see, some people see death as the end. But really, death is not an end at all. It can be thought of as a new beginning. And since death is not an end, these sealings can be performed on behalf for that person and their family so they can be together forever.

How grateful am I to know that I can be with my family. How grateful am I for God's plan and for temples that keep my family intact in this life and the next life to come.

I have arranged my own version of a song that is popular in the Mormon community called: “I Love to See the Temple." I would like to share the second verse of it:

I love to see the temple.

I'll go inside someday.

I'll cov'nant with my Father;

I'll promise to obey.

For the temple is a holy place

Where we are sealed together.

As a child of God, I've learned this truth:

A fam'ly is forever.

Tender Mercies

BY: Susan Plessinger

"...The tender mercies of the Lord are over all those whom he hath chosen, because of their faith, to make them mighty even unto the power of deliverance."-1 Nephi 1:20  

                    

Ever since I heard this address by Elder David A. Bednar at the April 2005 General Conference of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, this scripture has passed through my mind often and the tender mercies the Lord has bestowed upon me and my family.  Two events in particular stand out in my life that remind me how very aware the Lord is of me personally.  One is my experience of being lost in Paris France after my passport was stolen in August 1980 and the other when our oldest daughter Claire came down with Bacterial Meningitis in May 1990.

When Claire was 4 we were living in Alpharetta, Georgia.  Kayla was 16 months old and I had just found out I was pregnant again.  Everything seemed to be going wonderful in our lives. As Mother's Day approached I was excited to call and surprise my parents with the news they would be grandparents again AND to discuss the details of my mother and sister Leann's upcoming trip to see me in June!  Leann had served her mission in Atlanta and was returning to tour her mission with mom and see us too.  When I called on Sunday May 13th, mom told me Leann had been rethinking their trip and decided they couldn’t wait 4 weeks to come and felt impressed to change their tickets. I was a little dismayed to learn they were not coming in 4 weeks, but in 3 days! I wasn't ready for them!  All I could think about was everything on the calendar between Sunday and Wednesday. How was I going to fit in cleaning the house and making up beds for them along with everything else?  Little did I know our world was about to turn upside down, with Claire's life hanging in the balance and the tender mercies of the Lord revealed.

On Monday, May 14th I spent the day cleaning the house while Claire was at Pre-school with Jeri Briem and all her friends.  That night for Family Home Evening we were invited over to Mike and Joyce Haynie's home to celebrate a birthday and have cake and ice cream.  On Tuesday I had my first official doctor appointment to confirm my pregnancy and Joyce offered to watch the girls for me.  Claire woke up in the middle of the night complaining that she did not feel good and told me, "Mommy, I don't like cake anymore." I called Joyce the morning of May 15th and told her Claire didn't feel good, but she told me to bring them over anyway and Claire could rest on her couch.  At the doctor's office they confirmed I was in fact truly pregnant and they started me on massive hormones so I wouldn't miscarry again.  I was thrilled!  I was due December 30, 1990.  My husband, Randy, was thrilled--Tax Deduction!!  Life was good!

An Attitude of Gratitude

Designed and created by: Lindsey Rogers

Exciting news, everyone! Starting this week, we will have a weekly quote posted to the blog, free for you to download, use, and share!

This week's quote is about gratitude. Many people use the month of November as an opportunity to count their blessings. Have you been counting yours?

Comment below to share what YOU are grateful for. Then, share this quote with your friends!