My Testimony

My Testimony

By Tammy Stone

January 3, 2024

 

I have written many religious posts on my blog over the years.  But I've never actually written my testimony out and posted it.  Until now.  This is my testimony and witness as of January 3, 2024.

 

God, our Heavenly Father, lives and loves us all.  We are His children. We are created in His image. He loves us so much that He created a plan that would allow us to become more like Him, and be able to return to live with Him again for eternity.  Part of that plan included the need for a Savior.

 

Our eldest brother, Jesus Christ, volunteered to fulfill that role of Savior and Redeemer.  Jesus atoned for us by suffering on the cross and in the Garden of Gethsemane.  He was resurrected, that someday, all of us will be resurrected and receive our perfected bodies for eternity.

 

Having lived over 21 years in a broken body that doesn't work, I am truly, eternally grateful for my Savior's resurrection that makes it possible for me to be resurrected with a perfect body someday.  I am eagerly looking forward to my own resurrection with a body that is no longer broken, but perfected.  What a glorious day that will be for all of us.

 

Our Savior, Jesus Christ, overcame sin and death that, through Him, we may also overcome sin and death through repentance and resurrection.  I'm eternally grateful and forever indebted to my Savior for His sacrifice for me.

 

Another part of Heavenly Father's plan is that we got to choose to come to Earth to gain a body and experience mortality.  We were given agency to make our own choices as to which path we will follow.  Moral agency is key to Heavenly Father's plan for us.  We decide our eternal destiny.

 

When life gets really hard, sometimes I wonder what I was thinking when I chose to experience mortality.  But I know that these hard times are for my experience and for my good.  The hard times are like the refiners fire in purifying us and honing, in us, the qualities and characteristics that our Heavenly Father and Jesus Christ have.  This is how we become more like Them.  So, even though our mortal experience here on Earth is hard, and sometimes unbearable, I am still eternally grateful for the opportunity to come to Earth to experience mortality, so that I can progress to becoming more like my Heavenly Father, and my Savior, Jesus Christ.  And remember, though seemingly long, our life in mortality here on Earth is merely a nanosecond compared to eternity.

 

I am so grateful for our Heavenly Father's plan of happiness.  I am so grateful for the gospel of Jesus Christ.  I'm so thankful for The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints.  Without which I would be lost.  My knowledge of the gospel plan is what keeps me going, especially in hard times.

 

I'm so thankful for the prophet, Joseph Smith.  Who, as a young 14-year-old boy, prayed in a grove of trees seeking for truth.  Despite all the fierce persecution he faced, he persevered and through him, the fullness of the gospel of Jesus Christ was restored to the Earth, including God’s priesthood power.  Because of Joseph Smith, the ancient Church of Jesus Christ was restored on April 6, 1830, in Fayette, New York, as The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints.  Through the prophet Joseph Smith, we were also given The Book of Mormon which is another Testament of Jesus Christ. 

 

The ancient record was translated by the prophet, Joseph Smith, from golden plates buried in the Hill Cumorah.  The Book of Mormon, a record of ancient prophets covering a thousand years of ancient American history (from 600 B.C.-421 A.D.), is a book of scripture similar to the Bible, the ancient Jewish record.

 

I have been listening to the Book of Mormon every morning, now, for over 21 years.  And I must say, it really sets a positive tone with which to start the day.  I really do notice a difference in days when I don't listen to the Book of Mormon.  My day just seems off, and doesn’t go as well. 

 

I had always heard that The Book of Mormon was written for our day.  I never really thought much of it, until recently.  Every day, as the world becomes more and more wicked, it gets increasingly apparent how much The Book of Mormon was written for us in these last days.  It's uncanny how everything written in The Book of Mormon is so similar and pertinent to what's presently going on in our world.  It truly was written specifically for us in these last days before the Second Coming of our Savior, to help us navigate the difficulties we face in these trying times.

 

I'm so thankful to Joseph Smith for sacrificing so much to bring us The Book of Mormon and the restored gospel of Jesus Christ.  Both of which have been a tremendous blessing in my life.

 

I am also grateful for the institution of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, and for modern prophets and continuing revelation.  I'm thankful for our current prophet, President Russell M. Nelson, for his guidance and revelations from the Lord.  I’m filled with gratitude for all of the latter-day prophets who have helped further the work of the Lord.  I'm so blessed to be a member of the Lord's true church, restored in its fullness.  I'm so thankful for the happiness, peace, and joy that it brings me.

 

I'm sure many people look at me with sorrow and pity, seeing my broken body in a wheelchair.  But, little do they know, that I am probably a lot happier than they are, because I know the truth and have the gospel of Jesus Christ in my life.  Joy can be found in any circumstance in life if we are striving to follow Christ.  Pure peace and joy can only be found in living the gospel of Jesus Christ.

 

I feel extremely blessed to have been born into a family where gospel truths were taught.  I'm so grateful for goodly parents who raised me in the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints and for the truths I was taught.

 

I'm eternally grateful for my Savior, Jesus Christ and for His atoning sacrifice for me, and for all of us.  I'm thankful for the doctrine of repentance, that I may be cleansed from unrighteousness, through our Savior’s atonement.  Words cannot express my gratitude for my Savior for taking upon Himself my sins, and for His redeeming power, made possible through His atoning sacrifice for me, and for all of us.  

 

The doctrine of repentance is real, and available to everyone.  Regardless of how far you think you've fallen, or how far off the covenant path you think you've gone.  No one is beyond the Savior's redeeming power.  There is always hope. 

 

I'm so thankful for a loving Heavenly Father who sent His Only Begotten Son, Jesus Christ, to save me through grace.  I'm full of gratitude for His redemptive power of repentance, that all may overcome sin.  I'm thankful for His resurrection, that all will overcome death.

 

I'm thankful for the guidance and comfort of the third member of the Godhead, the Holy Ghost.  I'm so blessed to have been given The Gift of the Holy Ghost, after my baptism.  The constant companionship of the Holy Ghost, throughout my entire life, is my most treasured gift.  My life has been blessed immeasurably by the gift of the Holy Ghost.  The companionship of the Holy Ghost– his comfort, guidance, and warnings– is an unspeakable gift for which I am eternally grateful.

 

I'm so excited to once again, be in the presence of my Heavenly Father, and my Savior, and be reunited with Them, soon.  I can't wait for that glorious day.  I am also so looking forward to being reunited with all my love ones on the other side of the veil. I've graduated many times in my life, but graduation from mortality will be an unfathomably glorious experience.

 

I know that God lives.  I know that my Redeemer lives.  I know that there is peace in following Them.

 

It is my hope and prayer that we will all strive to live as Jesus lived.  Also, that we may remember the first and second great commandments – to love God and to love our neighbor.  I know that as we strive to follow our Heavenly Father and His Son, Jesus Christ, and to keep Their commandments, that we will find much joy, happiness, and peace in this life and in the eternities.

 

Of these truths I testify and bear my solemn witness.

 

In the name of Jesus Christ, Amen.