My Testimony

To begin, perhaps the best thing to do is share exactly what it is I believe. So here is my testimony: my own open declaration of my faith.

(This is taken from a post on another blog of mine from over a year ago. For the full post, click here.)

I know that God the Father is a living god with a body of flesh and bone, that He is a being of personality, parts, and passions. I know that He sent His Beloved Son, Jesus Christ here to earth to show us how to live and who then atoned for our sins. I know that God created the heavens and the earth and all things that in them are. I know that we are created in the image and likeness of our Heavenly parents. I know that we have a Heavenly Mother as well... I long to know her again. I know that after this life, if we live true to ourselves and our beliefs, if we keep the covenants that we make with our Father, that we can live again with Him in the celestial kingdom. I know that in this afterlife, we can attain exaltation and be linked eternally with our families and all those dear to us. I know that through the grace of God and our own repentance and faith, we can eventually become like Him, gods and goddesses to create our own worlds.

I know that Joseph Smith was a Prophet of God. That God the Father and His Son appeared to Joseph when he sought them in prayer and that through him, the gospel of Jesus Christ was restored upon the earth in its fullness. I know that Joseph Smith translated the Book of Mormon by the gift and power of God and that it, along with the Old and New, is also a Testament of Jesus Christ.

I know that we have a living prophet, who today receives revelation from our God and leads this Church as God would have him do. I know that while our leaders are men, and as such are fallen, corrupt creatures with a disposition to sin, the same as any other man, that they are still led by God and taught by him and that God has found them worthy to lead His Church here on earth. They are men who have worked and repented and been sanctified by Our Lord, and still repent daily in faith, striving to become better, to be worthy of their callings. If God has found them worthy in spite of whatever flaws they might have, then they are worthy.

Finally, I testify of the eternal nature of the family and the saving power of the ordinances and covenants that are available to the worthy within the temples of God. I know that there is one path to God the Father and that path is through His Son, Jesus Christ. I love Him and I love His Son. I long to return to them, to behold their faces and to know that I am worthy to do so. I love attending church and singing praises to the name of my God. For me, singing is the purest testimony and the most beautiful worship and gift that I can offer.

I have bared my soul in this post. I seek to offend no one, only to establish what I have been stifling these several months. I beg that you take it at its worth-- to me, it is more precious than anything on this earth.