1 and 2 November 2012

I am so grateful for the Gospel and all that it has done for me. I had the luck of basically being born into a family that was a part of the church. My mother found out she was pregnant with me shortly after her 20th birthday. As soon as she found out, she realized that if she wanted to provide a good life for me that she needed to make some changes in her life. She prayed and prayed to Heavenly Father that He might help her in raising this child all by herself.

Fast-forward a few years. . .

My mother met the her husband in Biology 100 at UAA in Anchorage, Alaska. He was the one that was able to share the Gospel with my mother and therefore myself as well (I was like 2 when this happened). She went through the discussions and found that she did in fact believe that Joseph Smith did restore the gospel to this Earth after praying to Heavenly Father. She became baptized into the church and shortly thereafter she married my dad.

I learned through my Dad's example that church was important. When I was little my Dad was very prone to migraines (he still is), however I remember him getting us up for 9 AM church every Sunday morning. Even though he didn't feel good, he knew that we needed to be at church. Later, when I was deciding whether to be baptized I remember my Dad telling me that I was making a commitment to my Heavenly Father by joining His church. If I chose to become baptized I was making the commitment to be a good Latter-day Saint; that I would from then on be a representative of Christ.

I am so grateful that I chose to do so. I have the sure knowledge that Christ did die for all of us on the cross and that He did in fact rise again on the third morning. I know that even though God's church was not on the Earth after the Apostasy, it was in fact restored by Joseph Smith. I know that if I do everything that I am asked to by my Heavenly Father; if I do not shirk on my duties, that I will have eternal life with the companion of MY choosing. These things I know, as well as many more because of I made the decision as an 8 year old child to join the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. I have never regretted making that decision, nor will I ever do so.