When I first moved to Texas, I was 23 years old and very naive. The job that I took was my first teaching job as a bilingual Spanish teacher. I was terrified. During this time I let myself be influenced by my very anti-mormon cousin. She was the only person that I knew in Dallas and I incorrectly anchored myself to her. I am now 37 years old, but I do not believe that I will ever forget that time in my life. To say that it was difficult would be an extreme understatement.
You may be wondering why I am writing about this so many years after it has happened. I was reminded yesterday about this experience while reading in Mosiah 27. Alma the younger and the sons of Mosiah were persecuting the church. The scriptures say: "And he (Alma the younger) became a hinderment to the prosperity of the church of God; stealing away the hearts of the people; causing much dissension among the people; giving a chance for the enemy of God to exercise his power over them" Mosiah 27: 9 This happened to me, and I'm sorry to say that I was a willing participant. I was angry and frustrated that the desire of my heart had not come to pass. And that is where the tiny fissure began in my testimony. I did the worst thing I could have done... I stopped praying.
My parents, however, did not stop praying. They plead with the Lord on my behalf. I am so grateful for their faith and hope. They trusted that I would seek the Lord out again and ask of Him what it was that I should do. My parents were just like Alma. "The Lord hath heard the prayers of his servant, Alma, who is thy father; for he has prayed with much faith concerning thee that thou mightest be brought to the knowledge of the truth; therefore, for this purpose have I come to convince thee of the power and authority of God, that the prayers of his servants might be answered according to their faith." Mosiah 27: 14 An angel did not appear to me. I spent a few months in an evangelical church and I finally learned through prayer four gospel principles that my "new church" rejected that I knew for sure were true.
1. Heavenly Father is the father of my spirit. He is a seperate being.
2. Jesus is my older brother who chose to come to earth and take upon Him my sins so that I may live again. He is a seperate being.
3. The Holy Ghost is the comforter and he is a seperate being.
4. I lived before I came to earth.
Interestingly enough these simple gospel principles are what anchored me to my faith at that time in my life. Prayer is what helped me to sort it all out. "So when life gets dark and dreary... don't forget to pray."
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