I Love the Gospel of Jesus Christ and the peace it brings to my life

I am so grateful for the Gospel of Jesus Christ in my life. I am grateful for the peace it brings. I have no idea where I would be today had I not been raised with this knowledge. It is a crazy, crazy world that we live in. I am so grateful that I have somewhere I can turn for peace.

Easter Sunday

What a wonderful service we had today on this beautiful Easter morning. Michelle D. gave an amazing talk and quoted the words of one of one of  my very favorite primary songs.  

A long time ago in a beautiful place,
Children were gathered ’round Jesus.
He blessed and taught as they felt of His love.
Each saw the tears on His face.

The love that He felt for His little ones
I know He feels for me.
I did not touch Him or sit on His knee,
Yet, Jesus is real to me.

I know He lives!

I will follow faithfully.

My heart I give to Him.
I know that my Savior loves me.

 

Now I am here in a beautiful place,
Learning the teachings of Jesus.
Parents and teachers will help guide the way,
Lighting my path ev’ry day.

Wrapped in the arms of my Savior’s love,
I feel His gentle touch.
Living each day, I will follow His way,
Home to my Father above.

 

I know He lives!
I will follow faithfully.
My heart I give to Him.
I know that my Savior loves me.

 

He is real to me. No I have never seen him or touched him. But I have felt the spirit. I have felt the spirit when I have studied his words. I know that the peace I feel when I fully live the Gospel of Jesus Christ is greater than any other feeling that I have ever had.

 I am just your average mom, who sometime gets so busy with life that I am guilty of neglecting the things that are truly important. I make mistakes, I make alot of mistakes. Each day I am learning and growing. And I am so grateful that each week I can partake of the sacrament and 

get a fresh start to a new week. 

I feel as though I have always had a testimony of the Gospel of Jesus Christ. But 8 years ago when I faced the death of my first true love, my dad, I felt a warmth that is indescribable.I know that I was the only person in the room with my dad and yet I know that the room was filled with the spirits of his loved ones who had gone before. They had come to bring him home. And it felt as though they had wrapped a warm blanket around me and filled me with their love. 

And I can testify to you that I heard a voice as my dad passed from this life. 

It was real. I don't know how else to describe it. But it is the concrete that will cement my testimony until I see my dad again.

And it said "Kristan, the Plan of Salvation is real, the gospel is true, and you will be with your dad again. Families can be forever. Just hold on. It will all be worth it" 

I really cannot fully explain the feelings I had on that day. But I do know that on this Easter Sunday I am reflecting on my relationship with my Savior, my older brother Jesus Christ. I am reflecting on the things that I was taught on that day 8 years ago and the progress I have made and the progress I have lacked since.

It is like I need to be reminded daily that the atonement is for everyone. 

And each day, even many times a day, I can get a do over.

I can continue to gain peace in this life and be washed clean from those things that weigh me down.

 I can get help with my challenges. 

 Jesus Christ brings hope to our lives. Because of Him, our past does not dictate our future. We can gain strength to overcome anything. As I taught my little primary kids today, he knows and he loves each and every one of us.

He is risen, and He guides and directs His church today!

 

12 Week Study to Improve Your Relationship with Christ

I love this - just what I needed

Day 27

How grateful I am for the birth of my Savior 

Jesus Christ, His Atonement, the promise of resurrection, the 


promise to enjoy eternal life with my family, the Restoration of 


the Gospel, the blessings of the priesthood and the 


companionship of the Holy Ghost.

Grateful for the foundation of faith and the structure of gospel 

living that my parents instilled, and is reinforced through my 

own experience, which has carried me through the joys and 

challenges of this crazy little life of mine. 

My Testimony . . .

As I think of my son sharing his testimony of the Gospel of Jesus Christ with the wonderful people of Peru I want to take this opportunity to share with you that I have an unwavering testimony of the gospel of Jesus Christ. Through experiences in my life I have come to know without a shadow of a doubt that we do have a Heavenly Father that loves us and that he is watching over us. I have found that true happiness and peace come as I live the principles that I have learned by following the teachings of the gospel and the example of our Savior Jesus Christ. I find such peace and happiness in my life when I maintain a close relationship with my Heavenly Father.

I find that I am happiest when I try to pattern my life after the Savior and consistently do the things that will bring me closer to him - Daily prayer, attending church, scripture study, serving others and living the principles of the gospel.

I am grateful to my grandparents that for generation after generation continued to hold strong to the principles of the gospel so that I could have this blessing in my life. Even though I was baptized when I was 8 years old I can remember that in my teenage years I wanted my own conversion experience. I wanted to be able to say that I knew that the things that I believed where true. At the age of 17 I attended Especially For Youth at BYU in Provo Utah, and I can remember just like it was yesterday sitting in a testimony meeting and hearing that still small voice whisper to me "the things that you are hearing are true". I can remember wanting to shout from the roof tops "it's true" "the gospel of Jesus Christ is true". From that day forward I never wavered in my faith.

Once again the truthfulness of the gospel was reconfirmed to me as I sat with my father as he crossed from his mortal existence into his Heavenly estate 6 years ago. At that time I gained a testimony that everything I have learned and had been taught in my 36 years was true. I can testify with every fiber of my being that my Heavenly Father reassured me that if I lived my life in harmony with the gospel principles that I had been taught that I would be with my father again and that there is so much more than just this earthly mortal experience. I felt the warmth and comfort of peace that was so much greater than this world could ever offer me. At that moment I promised myself that I would strive to be the best I could be so that one day I could experience the same joy that I knew my father was having as he crossed through to his Heavenly home.

Let me assure you also that I know that the adversary is working overtime. And his main focus is to stop the work of the Lord and to slowly but surely disrupt families. It is a constant reminder to me to continually nourish the testimony that I have and create a home that can be a haven for my family. Not to allow myself to get B.U.S.Y (being under satans yoke) so that I don't recognize the weeds that begin to grow and infest my home.

I am grateful for the gospel and I desperately need what the Church of Jesus Christ has to offer me -- direction and purpose in my everyday life, consolation and comfort in my times of trial and sorrow, and hope for something amazingly wonderful after this life. The knowledge that families truly are FOREVER. The doctrines of the Church help me to understand that God didn't place me here on this earth by accident. He placed me here on this earth so that I might have joy! He created me because He wanted me to be able to have all the blessings He could possibly bestow on me. I am His daughter. And being his mortal daughter means that I will make mistakes, but I know He loves me in spite of my failures.

Being a loving Father, he created a plan and provided us with a Savior so that we may return to live with him again. Think about it, as parents would we ever bring a child into this world and expect them to figure it all out on their own ? We would not, and neither would our Heavenly Father. He has given us a plan and it is up to us if we choose to follow his plan. He has provided a way and I know that when I follow the path I have been given I have ALWAYS found peace and comfort. I have been given the assurance that even through any trails, pain and suffering that he is always there. And that no matter how many mistakes I make, he will always be there to love me and help me so that I may enjoy the blessings in which he has in store for me.

As a Latter-day Saint I hope that I can live my life in a way that people will want to come to know Christ because of the example that I have set. My love for my Heavenly Father is real and I hope that my actions and deeds reflect this. I strive to live Christianity every moment of my life. Not just by going to Church once a week, but making the gospel a way of life, a wonderful, fulfilling, satisfying way of life.

When I think about people who have blessed my life, I think of people who are unselfish. They are giving and caring and truly think of others before themselves. I want to be like that. The Savior lived his life this way and I desire to pattern my life after him. I know I have a long way to go, but I try each day to move in the right direction!

I am continually lifted up rather than brought down by the messages and teachings of the gospel and I can feel of my Saviors love and the love that my Heavenly Father has for me.

I know that Jesus the Christ is our Lord and Savior. And I know that Our Father in Heaven loves us and has given us living prophets on the earth today just like in the days of the Old Testament with Abraham or Moses. I know that this is His Church upon the earth today. How grateful I am to have a living Prophet, Thomas S. Monson and his apostles to lead and guide us. I am so grateful for the blessings of the gospel that I have felt in my life. I know that when I live the principles of the gospel and I place all my trust in my Heavenly Father all of my fears and doubts are replaced with faith and hope. I know that our Heavenly Father knows and loves each and everyone of us. His is a perfect love. And all He requires from us is for us each to do our best. We are each given the agency to have these blessings in our lives, all we need to do is ask in faith. The Atonement is real and is there for all of us. I testify that if we will endure to the end and are faithful, we will receive all of the blessings he has in store for us.