“The ability to feel God’s love doesn’t just make life nicer or more comfortable - it changes everything. When filled with God’s love, we can do and see and understand things that we cannot do and see and understand on our own. As our own hearts are softened by these blessings, our overriding desire becomes to help others experience this joy also.” -Virginia Hinckley Pearce I tend to err on the cautious side relative to bearing my testimony in public settings. Since the Los Gatos Ward had ample opportunities to hear from Brent, as the Bishop, it made me somewhat reluctant to take more than our family’s share of allotted time.
Besides, I generally prefer to listen versus speak. But, I also find by not doing something regularly I get out of the habit. And, I have enough bad habits to know that I should dearly hang onto or foster any good habits that I can.
So, needless to say, I didn’t stand up during our Fast and Testimony meeting on Sunday at church (one more month that goes by without taking the opportunity to get out of my habit of not getting up!)
And, although it’s incredibly simple, my testimony is strong. I’m so grateful for the gospel in my life! It’s been a huge blessing in every regard. It gives me opportunities to serve, it gives me opportunities to stretch outside my comfort zone (think scary callings like Gospel Doctrine teacher), it gives me opportunities to be surrounded by a ward family of saints who impress and inspire me by their kindness and goodness.
To borrow from the Relief Society Theme: “We are beloved spirit daughters of God, and our lives have meaning, purpose, and direction.”
So, it is my “testimonial" of sorts that living the gospel really does give my life more meaning, it gives my life a sense of purpose, and points me in the right direction by guiding me to make good choices. Or, as Sister Pearce puts it so nicely in the quote above, “feeling God’s love, changes everything!” For me, this concept isn’t just mumbo jumbo, it’s real. It has changed my life and I’ll always be grateful!
