Wow! what a day today has been. I went to 2 Sacrament meetings, one in our home ward and one in the Singles ward. I bore my testimony in both wards to thank everyone for their prayers and fasting. The whole day has been very emotional. A couple of the Single sisters brought me Sunflowers and I got the sweetest notes from several different people today that brought me to tears. Different people have stopped by and spent time with me today. I am going to publish my Testimony. And then I got e-cards from some of my old genealogy buddies.
My Dear Brothers and Sisters,
I am humbled and thankful for your prayers and fasting. I feel the strength that comes from on high from sincere prayer and humble fasting. I love you all. You have always been supportive examples to me.
Of course I come to bear my testimony today expressly because I am going through the last trial of my life. I couldn't do this without knowing a real relationship with our Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ.
We do not know what trials we will be called to walk through in this life, only that no person is exempt from trials, that’s what we came here for, not to live in a place where we are rested and life goes along as if we were already living in Heaven, as I was doing before ALS hit me. Somehow I knew that was too good to last, seriously, remember how happy I was? Throughout my life I have had many trials, it started in childhood with a dysfunctional family that I was born into, but I conquered that with constant faith that the Lord was always in charge. The secret to getting through this life is to never lose faith. If you have true faith, you will never walk alone. And the only way to develop faith is through trials.
Faith is not a passive word either. Joseph Smith said that “Faith is the 1st principal in revealed Religion, and the foundation of all righteousness and that it is also the principal of action in all intelligent beings”.
Elder Bednar said that you can boil Faith down into 3 words: Assurance of things hoped for (plant the seed and try to believe), evidence of things not seen (look for ways that your prayers are answered, even if it wasn’t the answer you expected or wanted) and action (pray as if you had no talents or bodies, turn everything over to the Lord and live to receive personal revelation). I have and that is why I will be happy through this trial and try to keep a sense of humor.
I KNOW God lives, I know He loves me, I know I must be a special Spirit to have gone through a lifetime of trials and finish that way. I pray you will all be especially blessed for the love and service you have given me and that you will strengthen your faith for the trials you will someday face.
I say these thing in the name of my Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ,
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