EIGHTEEN

“I was born into the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints. My parents divorced when I was about 6. My dad chose not to follow the church, and my mom held strong to her faith. My mom raised us and kept us going as regularly as she could. I attended Primary, Young Women’s, and 4 years of seminary. I knew the gospel, believed in its teachings, yet I felt very restricted by the “rules”. I had yet to let the teachings into my heart.

When I graduated from high school, I moved to Utah to be with friends and hopefully attend college. Things didn’t turn out like I thought, and a few months later I was back at my mom’s house. After moving back home, I chose to work even on Sundays and fell out of the habit of attending weekly sacrament meeting. I let my work/social life often get in the way. I still knew what I should be doing, yet choosing to have fun as a young adult. I started dating my now husband who doesn’t believe or attend any church. I never realized what an impact that would have on my life.

Time went on, and we got married. Shortly after, babies came. It was around the time our first child was born, that I realized I needed to be a better example for my children. As a mom there were certain things I was no longer accepting that I had done in the past. My mom became a huge influence at that time. Her quiet, constant faith in the church’s teachings led me to return as I had eventually quit going all together. I decided faith was missing in my life and I desperately tried to find a church that my husband would attend on occasion with me that his mom would feel comfortable at as well. I really wanted a church we could all attend together. Years of searching different Christian churches kept leading me back to the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints. Nothing else felt quite right.I decided to take our two children with me to church and teach them “my religion”. This worked for a while and my testimony grew.

Life happened and trials came, and I chose to strengthen my marriage rather than attend church, again I eventually stopped going although I had a stronger testimony. We eventually moved to Kansas, looking for a more moral environment to raise our children. Living near family, we would occasionally attend church with them. My oldest met some friends in middle school who lived close by and they invited her to youth activities, then to church. Eventually my daughter started the missionary lessons. I would attend with her and it was so refreshing to hear the gospel being taught in its fullness. I felt like I was home again spiritually. She took the lessons 4-6 times over several years. During that time, I started attending regularly again and learning the gospel with renewed faith. By the time she was baptized, I felt she and I had firm foundations in the gospel.

Having strong examples of faithful people aren’t enough to build your foundation in Christ. You have to take the time to learn and confirm that he is your Savior and that it applies to you individually. We cannot lean on another’s testimony for long. Eventually we have to stand on our own two feet. I have been in the sand before, and now on the firm foundation of Christ I know where I want to continue to be. I believe in Jesus Christ, in his teachings, and believe in The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints to be the fullness of that gospel.”