Warning: This IS an LDS post. I am an active LDS loving and believing person who loves everyone no matter who they are or what they believe in. I'm only sharing my personal thoughts, feelings, and experiences. If you would like to read, please do. If not, don't. But no negative comments please. Thank you! :)
For some random reason, I thought about an email that I wrote home to my family on my mission today. I searched for it, found it, read it, and realized... I really needed to be reminded of this. I've been trying to rely on so many other things/people, other than My Savior Jesus Christ.
So, I decided to share this with those of you that also wanted to read.
December 2, 2015
This week, I had been thinking to myself, "If I got another chance to speak in sacrament meeting, I would talk about Faith in Christ." To my surprise, we got to church on Sunday and right as sacrament meeting was starting, the bishop asked to talk to me. He pulled me aside and asked me if I could give a talk in sacrament meeting and that I could choose my topic. I smiled and accepted thinking to myself, "Well I already know what my topic is." Yup, Faith in Christ. I quickly got my scriptures ready and prayed that God would be able to help me and that I could say what He wanted me to say.
So I started out my talk defining faith. We all know what faith is. But faith in who?
Faith in Christ.
"Faith is to hope for things which are not seen, but which are true, and must be centered in Christ."
-Bible Dictionary
I find it interesting that that it says centered IN Christ. It doesn't say.. faith in your neighbor, your friend, your bishop, your parents, a missionary, or an apostle. It says, Faith centered in Christ! Only in Him.
I shared what I had heard from Elder Bednar in the MTC. He talked about an experience that he had while he was serving his mission. He said that when he was an AP, his mission president asked him what he would think or do if one of the 12 apostles fell away from the church? Elder Bednar said that he didn't know how to respond to his mission president because he had never thought about that before. His mission president quickly said, "For me, it wouldn't matter. Because my faith isn't centered in an apostle of the Lord, my faith is centered in the Lord himself. It is centered in Jesus Christ." He said that he would be worried about what some of the members of the church would do and how it would affect the church, but as for him, it wouldn't sway him at all.
I loved this!! I shared how important it was to have our own testimonies and to have our faith only in Christ! Because with Christ, we can not fall. The thing is, Christ is the only perfect person. Everyone else in this life is just an imperfect person trying to make his/her way and one day be perfected through Christ. But as for right now, everyone except for Christ has the capability or capacity to fall. That's why we have to put everything in Christ's hands and let Him lift us.
We can't have our testimony built on someone else or something else. We can love the great examples that we have around us and be super grateful for the people who have helped, taught us, and given us direction along the way. But that's it!!!
Before my mission, I had one of the hardest trials that I have ever had. I had the opportunity to see if I had my own testimony or not. To see if my testimony was built in Christ, or in someone else. I realized that I had my own testimony and that I knew that this church was true because I knew. Because God had told me so and he keeps telling me so. I can't deny the spirit that I have felt and the miracles that I have witnessed.
I promise you all, that if I would of had my testimony built in someone else/something else, I wouldn't be on my mission right now. I wouldn't be a member of the church right now.
"Miracles do not proceed faith but strong faith is developed by obedience to the gospel of Jesus Christ. In other words, faith comes by righteousness although miracles often confirms ones faith."
-Bible Dictionary
I invited everyone to think about Elder Bednar's experience and to think about what would happen to them if a family member, loved one, friend, bishop, or an apostle walked away from this church.. Would you walk away too? Or stay right where you are because your faith is set firmly in Christ? Would you question? Would you doubt? Would you get down on your knees just one more time like I did to ask Heavenly Father to help you know the truth of all things?
I testify, with all of my heart, that this church is true. I testify that Christ lives. But this is my testimony! No one else's. I hope and pray that we all have our own personal testimonies so that even in our weakest moments and when trials come upon us, we do not fall, but we are lifted thanks to Christ and our faith in Him.
My mission scripture sums up about how I feel about My Savior perfectly...
2 Ne 22:2 Behold, God is my salvation; I will trust, and not be afraid; for the Lord Jehovah is my strength and my song; He also has become my salvation.
So basically, this reminded me that I have faith in Christ! I do. I have never lost that. But... what I have lost is the ability to rely on My Savior like I once did. Someone reminded me of that today. The words were, "Why try to fix our problems temporally, when we can fix them spiritually?" Christ is there, He always is. Even when I forget to lean on him 100%.
Thanks everyone. Happy Sunday. :)
Love, Madi Louise
For some random reason, I thought about an email that I wrote home to my family on my mission today. I searched for it, found it, read it, and realized... I really needed to be reminded of this. I've been trying to rely on so many other things/people, other than My Savior Jesus Christ.
So, I decided to share this with those of you that also wanted to read.
December 2, 2015
This week, I had been thinking to myself, "If I got another chance to speak in sacrament meeting, I would talk about Faith in Christ." To my surprise, we got to church on Sunday and right as sacrament meeting was starting, the bishop asked to talk to me. He pulled me aside and asked me if I could give a talk in sacrament meeting and that I could choose my topic. I smiled and accepted thinking to myself, "Well I already know what my topic is." Yup, Faith in Christ. I quickly got my scriptures ready and prayed that God would be able to help me and that I could say what He wanted me to say.
So I started out my talk defining faith. We all know what faith is. But faith in who?
Faith in Christ.
"Faith is to hope for things which are not seen, but which are true, and must be centered in Christ."
-Bible Dictionary
I find it interesting that that it says centered IN Christ. It doesn't say.. faith in your neighbor, your friend, your bishop, your parents, a missionary, or an apostle. It says, Faith centered in Christ! Only in Him.
I shared what I had heard from Elder Bednar in the MTC. He talked about an experience that he had while he was serving his mission. He said that when he was an AP, his mission president asked him what he would think or do if one of the 12 apostles fell away from the church? Elder Bednar said that he didn't know how to respond to his mission president because he had never thought about that before. His mission president quickly said, "For me, it wouldn't matter. Because my faith isn't centered in an apostle of the Lord, my faith is centered in the Lord himself. It is centered in Jesus Christ." He said that he would be worried about what some of the members of the church would do and how it would affect the church, but as for him, it wouldn't sway him at all.
I loved this!! I shared how important it was to have our own testimonies and to have our faith only in Christ! Because with Christ, we can not fall. The thing is, Christ is the only perfect person. Everyone else in this life is just an imperfect person trying to make his/her way and one day be perfected through Christ. But as for right now, everyone except for Christ has the capability or capacity to fall. That's why we have to put everything in Christ's hands and let Him lift us.
We can't have our testimony built on someone else or something else. We can love the great examples that we have around us and be super grateful for the people who have helped, taught us, and given us direction along the way. But that's it!!!
Before my mission, I had one of the hardest trials that I have ever had. I had the opportunity to see if I had my own testimony or not. To see if my testimony was built in Christ, or in someone else. I realized that I had my own testimony and that I knew that this church was true because I knew. Because God had told me so and he keeps telling me so. I can't deny the spirit that I have felt and the miracles that I have witnessed.
I promise you all, that if I would of had my testimony built in someone else/something else, I wouldn't be on my mission right now. I wouldn't be a member of the church right now.
"Miracles do not proceed faith but strong faith is developed by obedience to the gospel of Jesus Christ. In other words, faith comes by righteousness although miracles often confirms ones faith."
-Bible Dictionary
I invited everyone to think about Elder Bednar's experience and to think about what would happen to them if a family member, loved one, friend, bishop, or an apostle walked away from this church.. Would you walk away too? Or stay right where you are because your faith is set firmly in Christ? Would you question? Would you doubt? Would you get down on your knees just one more time like I did to ask Heavenly Father to help you know the truth of all things?
I testify, with all of my heart, that this church is true. I testify that Christ lives. But this is my testimony! No one else's. I hope and pray that we all have our own personal testimonies so that even in our weakest moments and when trials come upon us, we do not fall, but we are lifted thanks to Christ and our faith in Him.
My mission scripture sums up about how I feel about My Savior perfectly...
2 Ne 22:2 Behold, God is my salvation; I will trust, and not be afraid; for the Lord Jehovah is my strength and my song; He also has become my salvation.
So basically, this reminded me that I have faith in Christ! I do. I have never lost that. But... what I have lost is the ability to rely on My Savior like I once did. Someone reminded me of that today. The words were, "Why try to fix our problems temporally, when we can fix them spiritually?" Christ is there, He always is. Even when I forget to lean on him 100%.
Thanks everyone. Happy Sunday. :)
Love, Madi Louise
No comments:
Post a Comment