VT Question #6

Describe your conversion to the gospel or how you gained your testimony.


I chose this question just because I got my Ensign Magazine yesterday and there was a whole article about sharing the gospel on the Internet. So, I thought I'd share my testimony on my blog.

I'm a member of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, better known as the Mormons. I've been a member all my life. There isn't any one moment when I went from not believing to believing. There were lots of moments through the years. I think that the Lord has blessed people with different talents, some really evident and others not so much. I think I've been blessed with a gift of testimony. I can only think of one time that I questioned and it came more out of frustration, than anything else.

I was serving an LDS mission in Vienna, Austria. I had been in the country for about 1 to 2 months. I was struggling with the language and dealing with a companion, who had problems of her own. I think I had this vision of how a mission would be and it was a LOT harder than I had ever imagined. On morning, we were studying and my companion was drilling me on the German language and how to properly pronounce certain words and I just couldn't get it! She was getting mad and I was frustrated and I just thought, "Why am I doing this?" Winter was coming and I'm a So Cal girl, so snow and I didn't agree. Which is funny, cause I love it now. I was away from my friends and family, trying to talk to strangers in a language I didn't know, about religion. Not easy. So that morning it all came to a head and I just started to cry. I was ready to give up and go home. My companion finally just stopped and asked me a few questions that I really thought about. She said, "Do you believe in God?" Yes. I really believe in God. "Do you believe that Jesus is the Son of God?" Yes. I do. "Do you believe that a boy named Joseph Smith was visited by God, the Father, and His Son, Jesus Christ to restore the gospel on the earth?" Yes. I do believe that Joseph Smith was chosen by God to restore His church on the earth. I was really grounded in that moment. I was reminded that I was there because God wanted me to be there to share my beliefs with the people in Austria. And if God thought that I could do it, then I needed to put my faith in Him. Later that day, I got a letter from my dad. It's took two weeks at the time for letters to get from the U.S. to Austria. (This was before email became so normal.) I don't remember exactly what it said, but I remember that it was so full of encouragement and seemed to be precisely what I needed to hear from home. Thanks dad!

I had so many great experiences in Austria. I learned so much about myself and my relationship with God. It was such a unique time, when everything I did had a spiritual meaning. I haven't been able to duplicate it since.

I believe in God. I know that He loves me. I know that He thinks that I'm an important person, and He cares what I do in my life. He wants me to be happy and He's disappointed when I make a poor decisions.

I really could make this go on forever. I think that lately I haven't been devoting as much as I should to my personal testimony. Just like anything, you have to continually work on it. Life just gets busy. But the belief will always be there. I've had too many experiences in my life to ever doubt again.

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