My View of Life

My Testimony/ View of Life
The Gospel is life to me. I realized once when I was young that Heavenly Father is in even the seemingly small details of our lives and that He really does care about everything that is important to us. Previous to this enlightening, I thought that God only cared about our Church lives. That everything else worldly didn’t matter to Him but I was wrong. He wants us to be happy and I have absolute faith in that.
Even though life gets hard, we have the Spirit of our Father in Heaven to remind us what eternal importance and we don’t have to get stressed about the little things. This feeling that God has for us is recognized to be real every time that we pray sincerely. We will receive answers in the Lord’s timing to show us when and how to use this spiritual gift.
I attribute my testimony to having been raised in the Gospel by my parents. I don’t mean to say that it was engrained in me by repetition of fact and doctrine, but I mean more that because of the was exposure to Gospel principles on a daily basis and then seeing them placed into actions made me want to do better. As I did what was asked, bit by bit my own testimony was etched upon my heart- it became a part of me. My mom liked to quote Joseph Smith who said, “I teach this people correct principles and then I let them govern themselves.” She always said this with a laugh referring to her parenting style. But truthfully, I can’t think of a better way to teach a child correct behavior! First, you expose them to correct doctrine, and then you let them see you, their parent, living that doctrine on a daily basis. After this point, find teaching moments wherever you can to gently correct and guide your children if needed and show them love in the process. I really hope that I can raise my family the way that my parents have raised me. They did a fabulous job with each one of us.
Something else that I have a testimony in but which testimony I also need to strengthen is that of specific answers to prayers where you actually receive instruction to do something or not. I think I need to put this into practice more in my own life. Often if I will see something good I will do it, even if it might be a bigger one, and I won’t consult with Heavenly Father to see what He thinks I should be doing at that time in our lives. I think it is the whole principle of “Good, Better, Best”. Often, I don’t reach as high as I should because I forgot to take the time to see what better other options for my path existed. Heavenly Father wants me to reach my highest potential in this life and will show me how to get there if I ask Him to show me.
I am so grateful for a loving Father in Heaven and for loving and wise parents here on Earth who have shown me the way to true happiness. I am grateful for the true Gospel of Jesus Christ that has been restored to the earth today. Follow Christ and His Church with all your hearts. Serve others around you as often as you are able and love first when you meet people, after that you may judge what kind of person they are. In the name of Jesus Christ, amen.