It has been such a fun last few weeks! Preparing for a mission is hard work; stressful at times but so full of joy. How could you not be overjoyed each day when you are filling your soul with the light of Christ? I have invested many hours into deep studying of the Book of Mormon and have visited the temple about 10 times in the last few months (with THE best temple buddies). Just thinking about being in The House of The Lord fills me with happiness.
I have LOVED this time of my life! Yes, it has been a
I won't lie, Satan has been working hard to bring me down, make me feel worthless, and fill me with anxiety at times. Any moment that I even slightly let my guard down, he is there to bring those negative feelings and it can be trying.
I have a HUGE testimony of this gospel. I wouldn't leave my family, school, and the comfort of my current life to knock on doors for 18 months in Portland if I didn't. I have a testimony of my Heavenly Father and of Christ our Savior. However, I also know that Satan is real. I know that he will do anything to keep all of us from living righteously. But he will especially work on the future missionaries of this world. He will try to stop you from first, turning in our mission papers, and then actually serving a mission. HE WILL DO ANYTHING. He will tempt you in EVERY weak area you have.
Luckily we all have a way to stop Satan in his tracks. Prayer, scripture study, keeping the Sabbath Day holy, keeping the commandments. The greatest way for me to kick the devil out of my life has definitely been to attend the temple and keep up with my daily prayer and scripture study.
Each time I go to the temple, I always come away with something new learned or another question. That testifies to me of the importance of attending church meetings/the temple and continually searching through the scriptures and any other gospel related material. There is always something new to learn! You would think that 11 years as a member (since I was baptized at 8 years old) I would have learned all that I can possibly learn since the doctrine never changes and we are taught the same things constantly. But really, there is always something to learn and something to share. In Natalie Rust's words at Institute today, "there is no such thing as 'new fashion' doctrine. The doctrine of the church is eternal."
Lauren Bessey and I come out of the temple and immediately share with each other personal revelation we received during our few hours in the temple that trip and the questions we have. Sometimes we can answer the others' questions; most of the time we are just as lost as the other. Then comes the cool part. Usually in the next few days, I will be have my question answered but only because I have been keeping my covenants with the Lord and have followed his commandments. This has happened with almost every question I have had lately. Just the other day, I had some hard questions and Lauren and I were both at a loss for the answer. The next day, as I was having personal scripture study, the answer was plain as day, right there in front of my face worded in just the way I had asked the question. I mean literally, 6 versus of a complete answer to my question that I had in the temple. I sat there in amazement, shaking my head, and immediately grabbed my phone to let Lauren know what had just happened along with typing a short testimony of this gospel and of the divine timing of the Lord. Had I not gone to the temple at the time that I did, I wouldn't have even realized that I had struck gold during my scripture study that next day.
This isn't the first time something like this has happened. Having had a very deep and controversial conversation multiple times with different people one weekend (not on purpose), that following Thursday, right before Institute started, I happened to be simply flipping through my little notebook with inspiration I have at church meetings. I randomly decided to stop on a page and read it. Right there was the answer to my question, written by my own hand weeks before from my mission prep class I took while in college. I didn't even remember writing it down! I mean seriously?? What are the chances that I would happen to stop on THAT PAGE. GAHHH! All I can say is that this gospel is as true as the sky is blue. & man am I excited to let others know that!
From my own experiences, I know that when you are doing what the Lord asks of you, ye shall receive knowledge and great wisdom as well as peace, comfort, and exceeding joy in your life.
I LOVE THIS GOSPEL.
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