What has made your faith stronger?

The post today is from my heart and if I ever forget about what I wrote, pease keep it in your files for it to be a reminder to me in case I ever lose my mind.

For the past two days we were watching General Conference which means that we were up all night for the past two nights. Conference for us starts at midnight. I supposed we can always watch it later but Daniel likes to watch it live.

Another thing I was doing last week was answering the question What has made your faith stronger? from Story Worth. (I am given a question to answer each week and at the end of the year, it will turn into a book with 50 plus questions answered.) So after listening to General Conference I want to share with you what I wrote:

I was asked to teach in Relief Society on this very subject of faith last week by going over two talks: To whom shall we go? By Elder Ballard and Fourth Floor, Last Door by President Uchtdorf and these are the thoughts that came to mind as I was preparing my lesson.

I remember exactly forty years ago as I started my Senior year in High school my seminary teacher told us to talk to our Bishop whenever we needed to receive guidance or to get a blessing if our father in our home was not a member which was my case. I was seventeen at the time. I wanted to know if I should leave El Salvador or stay? I didn’t know where I should attend College? And he gave me a very good advice when he told me to listen to General Conference very carefully because as I would listen to those talks, the Holy Spirit would let me know what to do, and in addition, he told me to get ready to receive those answers by fasting and praying.

 He was right! All the talks were directed to me. Elder Benson at the time when he was an Apostle said: “I want to talk to you, the young people of the Church, frankly and honestly. I presume you know that we love you. As leaders of the Church, there isn’t anything in this world we wouldn’t do that’s right for you. We have great confidence in you. You are not just ordinary young men and young women…God loves you… Your Father in Heaven is mindful of you… Satan is also mindful of you. He is committed to your destruction…He seeks for all to be miserable like unto himself…the Lord’s program is happiness now and joy forever though gospel living…you can live in the world and not partake of the sins of the world.”

From that point forward I decide to be mindful of the counsel given at General Conference. I didn’t want to be destroyed by Satan! For the first time ever I understood how real he was, not just some myth.  That was a pivotal time in my life when I resolved to always have the DISIRE to keep my faith ALIVE.  I was going to read the Book of Mormon from start to finish and to obtain my own testimony. Up to that point I had read verses here and there and started reading 1 Nephi countless of times but had never gone passed 2 Nephi.

I wanted to be a true disciple and live up to my name, Veronica who lived at the time of Christ and was the woman known to have wiped Christ’s face. She was not just a follower but a true disciple and a friend to Jesus. I wanted to do whatever work it took to be an instrument in God’s hands to show gratitude for His great sacrifice for me. 

In the last four decades since I left El Salvador, I have experienced many things in my life that has testified to me that my Heavenly Father knows me, I am His daughter. I felt this truth one day while I was in the temple. I can’t explain the feeling but it was as if He said: “You are my daughter. I love you. Everything you have been taught in the Church is true.”  I felt an incredible overwhelming feeling of joy as if a cloud took me up into heaven. This was surreal! That is something I could never deny!

My faith and love for my Father in Heaven and His son Jesus Christ is at the very core of who I am. Knowing that my Heavenly Father knows all, gives me great comfort. I am also grateful for the Lord and His atoning sacrifice. He who set the example for me to follow. He guides me and provides a solid foundation for me to build my life upon and someday I may return to His presence. That is what I believe in. I want to continue progressing after this mortal life is over and what better than to inherit all what the Father has. That is the end in mind!

I also resolved the need to continue seeking light and truth. I would want to keep those feelings fresh in my memory of what I knew the Holy Ghost had testified to me of the truthfulness of the Gospel of Jesus Christ. That I would always keep up my faith in check by asking the following questions? Where will I be in five, ten, twenty years? What decisions and commitments do I need to make now and in the future to help me remain faithful?  

So I came up with a plan of what I called my “daily dose.” I made a vison board. In my vision board I show a picture of doing four basic things:

Prayer: I don’t go to the bathroom in the morning unless I have said my morning prayer.

Scriptures: I don’t eat until I have read the scriptures.

General Conference talks: I review and listen to the talks and BYU devotionals as I clean, do chores, cook and exercise each day.

Service: I think of ways to be of service to people around me.

Today, just like I did long ago… I want to still persevere to the end. I want my children and grandchildren to know how happy it makes me feel when I know that I have always kept my faith intact no matter what circumstances I found myself in. Is in those moments when my faith has been tested that I have become stronger. I want to die someday with the clear conscious that I did all what I could to keep up the faith just like the scripture found in Timothy 4:7 “I have fought the good fight, I have finished the race, I have kept the faith.”

Con amor,

Vero