Thoughts on 131 days of quarantine.
I remember exactly over forty years ago, my seminary teacher told our class 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 needed to make some hard decisions. I wanted to know if I should leave El Salvador or stay? I didn’t know where I should attend College? When I had my interview with my Bishop he told me to get my patriarchal blessing and 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 through gospel living…you can live in the world and not partake of the sins of the world.” Wow, his words sounded so much like Alma.
From that point forward I decided to be mindful of the counsel given at each General Conference. I decided from that time forward to attend all activities and devotionals and to attend Church as a norm I would never break. That is the least we can do since the other six days of the week we are going to be exposed to living in a very confusing world. Bottom line, if there was something I learned in Seminary is that we are at war against Satan who is the God of this world. No one wants to be destroyed by him but somehow, he manages to get us!
For the first time ever, I understood how real Satan really was and not just some myth. That was a pivotal time in my life when I resolved to always have the desire to keep my faith alive. It all starts by wanting to have faith. I believe that I have never doubted my faith because I want to have faith for starters. Faith is the trust in believing in those things that can’t be seen but can be felt. There are spiritual things that only the Holy Ghost can teach you. I believe there are many things I don’t know or understand but I know someday I will. I am not impatient to know them now. I like to think that everything has a purpose and that we are all part of the great plan Heavenly Father has for us.
We have been told (over and over again) by our leaders, to read the Book of Mormon from start to finish and to obtain our own testimony. Back in High School I had read verses here and there and started reading 1 Nephi countless of times but had never passed 2 Nephi so finally for the first time at age seventeen, I started to read the Book of Mormon with the intent to understand Christ and His teachings. Many things found in the Old and New Testament have edited to the point that they are not clear. There are things which are only explained in the Book of Mormon. It opened my mind. I can honestly say, I felt touched by the Spirit as I read those pages that talked about the love Christ has for us, for me! I got a confirmation of the truthfulness of the Book of Mormon and I can never deny that feeling. It is at the core of my faith.
I wanted to be a true disciple and live up to my name, Veronica who at the time of Christ 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 am sure before I came to this world, I knew Christ and he knew me. I wanted to do whatever work it took to be an instrument in the Lord’s hands to show gratitude for His great sacrifice for me. The way I keep my faith intact is by simple obedience of daily prayer and scripture study, by doing those small and simple things, my testimony has matured. I was also given a gift to seek for truth and light always and to take things as they are and not doubt every little thing. I am a believer. simple as that!
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 inside the temple. That is an experience I would never forget because it is so sacred to me. I can’t explain the feeling but it was as if the God said: “You are my daughter. I love you. Everything you have been taught about Christ in His Church is true.” I felt an incredible overwhelming feeling of joy as if a cloud took me up into heaven. I can honestly say that for a moment, I had a taste of what Heaven looks like. That feeling of faith was surreal!
Speaking about faith Elder Rasband made this comment, “Faith is increasing among God’s covenant people, and I believe it is through having a personal treasury of such valued experiences that an increase of faith can happen for each of us.”
I met a woman when I was attending BYU who had a similar experience. She was a little girl around six years old who died and remembers passing the veil and being with Jesus. She was told, her time was not up and needed to come back. She was burn 80% of her body and even though her body is deformed and she was never married, she knows her physical body will be made whole after she leaves this life and she is very much aware of that because she has an amazing personality to make up for the physical aspect. We are currently experiencing a pandemic and many fear dying but I have faith that this life is not all there is.
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 have resolved the need to continue seeking light and truth. I would want to keep those feelings fresh in my memory of what the Holy Ghost had testified to me of the truthfulness of the Gospel of Jesus Christ and His second coming. I decided over forty years ago to remember keeping up my faith in check by asking the following questions? Where will I be in two, five, ten, twenty years? What decisions and commitments do I need to make now and in the future to help me remain faithful? Is there something I am doing now that needs to change to become a better person?
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 like to pray as I start my day. I can’t leave my bedroom if I haven’t said my prayer.
Scriptures: I don’t go to bed until I have read at least one verse. My faith is based on eternal truths found in the scriptures.
General Conference talks: I review and listen to the talks as I clean, do chores, cook and exercise each day. I also enjoy listening to BYU devotionals and books by our amazing leaders.
Service: I think of ways to be of service to people around me, I pray daily to be guided to those people and think of ways to help those who have left us by attending the temple each week when they open again.
Today, just like I did long ago… I want to persevere to the end. I want my children and grandchildren to know how happy it makes me feel knowing 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.
Elder Bednar gave a life changing talk” Seek Learning by Faith” Read it please! Here are some things I’ve learned about what helps in making your faith stronger. For starters, I learned that faith is never passive but active. Faith is more than just belief. faith is action!
Second, we need to look for our answers to our questions in the right sources and not the internet. God does not want us to be in the dark. He wants us to learn what’s true. Always go to the right source for answers. Ask, seek, knock! But ask Him and trust Him as you read the scriptures. Question and doubt are not the same thing. We can seek answers to questions with doubt, or we can do so with faith. The choice is ours. Having faith means that we do not have all the answers to all the questions all the time; but we choose to live our lives consistent with the gospel truths we do know because we trust God. The most important thing about faith is to be able to trust those leaders God has anointed to guide us. Faith is all about the people we trust.
And last, don’t get deceived by those who are following darkness. I don’t trust random people that for whatever reason became apostates. Don’t pay attention to the mocking and condescending voices of those who have lost faith and all they do is attack the Church. Elder Nash explained to see doubt for what it is: a natural-man impulse that can paralyze your thinking and actions, then exercise your faith in the Father and in the Son by patiently and diligently living the gospel and trusting that light and understanding will come to those who patiently seek learning by study and by faith.
I only trust the caliber of people that can help me follow Christ. Elder Bruce R. Mc Conkie’s masterwork “the Promised Messiah” said: “I was born with a testimony, and from my earliest days have known with absolute certainty of the truth and divinity of this great latter-day work. Doubt and uncertainty have been foreign to me as the gibberish of alien tongues.” Those are the people with so much light I follow. One thing we are doing for family home evening is to go to the topical guide and read in the Bible dictionary the definition of Faith. You will be amazed at all that teaches.
I want to die someday with the clear conscious that I did all what I could to keep up the faith just like what its written in one of my most favorite scriptures that I try to live by; found in Timothy 4:7 “I have fought the good fight, I have finished the race, I have kept the faith.”
Con amor,
Vero
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