I Glory in My Jesus!

"I glory in plainness; I glory in truth; I glory in my Jesus, for he hath redeemed my soul from hell." 2 Nephi 33:6

This scripture has now been committed to memory because of a pure love I have in knowing that I GLORY IN MY JESUS! These last 2 months have been AMAZING in strengthening my testimony of the Gospel of Jesus Christ especially in strengthening my testimony about my Savior!

I have had the opportunity to share my testimony over and over and over again recently and have seen how amazing it is that the Lord prepares each of us to do His work. Over the last 2 months I have learned more about Faith, Hope, and Charity than I could have ever imagined. I comprehend that there is sooooo much more to them to even what I have learned and am in awe that the Lord has helped me to learn what I have.

Prior to these last two months I was feeling a little overwhelmed with life, family, friends, school, and what I felt was a stand still with my progression in life I guess. I decided that I would take the counsel of President Hinkley's father and "get to work". I knew that I should be doing more and that there were amazing chances to see what Faith, Hope, and Charity truly are.

I remember posting a long time ago that charity is when we do things because we love people of our own accord instead of loving them because we know that God wants us too. I've know to increase my faith it needs to be tried and I should testify of what I know. Hope I have realized is patience in a sense, but sweeter because it is waiting with purpose and love. Hope is an eternal perspective.

I am FAAAAAAAAR from perfect (that FAAAAAAAR... can go on forever, but for blog space I shortened it), but I have tasted the sweet fruit of faith, hope, and charity in the sense that some of the things I have done recently I've done because I have a love for God's children, I have been able to testify of what I know and strengthen my faith, and I am patiently waiting, knowing that my Father in Heaven sees the big picture and is not holding anything back that is not for my good, has helped me to have hope. It's been a HUGE life lesson and I pray that I can continue on the path to partake more fully of this sweet fruit.

To be able to be in a place to experience these things, I have found that service, aka getting to work, has increased my faith, hope, and charity and has allowed me to see them in my life. Service = Good! I have been able to serve in my community, serve in my ward, serve with the missionaries, serve in the Temple and serve my family and friends. I have felt these last couple weeks especially that service outside the Temple makes me feel as good as service in the Temple. I didn't know that I could find the same peace inside myself outside the Temple until I started to serve more. Which is a duh Sarah, you didn't know that? How amazing this life lesson has been and I am now thankful to know for myself that "When ye are in the service of your fellow men, ye are in the service of your God."

I had said I had shared my testimony over and over again. No joke, I have been able to testify of Christ everyday for at least a month now and seem to be on some kind of missionary roll! I LOVE SHARING THE GOSPEL! I am especially thankful for being able to share so much of my testimony with Ken. He is figuring out his life and what he wants for it, and what he feels that God wants for it and I completely commend him for that. He is freaking smart and I hope that he does what will bring him the most joy and happiness in this life. He has "challenged" my faith though, in a good way, which has allowed my testimony of the truth-fullness of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints, Prophets, Modern Revelation, the Holy Ghost, Eternal Families, the Temple, the Bible and the Book of Mormon and most importantly Jesus Christ and His infinite sacrifice for each of us to be FIRMLY planted in SOLID rock!  The rock which is my Redeemer.

What a blessing these last two months have been in my life! I have never felt so good! Don't get me wrong there are still rough days because life can sometimes be hard. I have prayed, pondered, fasted, and studied my scriptures more than in my whole life too. That whole being imperfect thing is still very much a part of me (take today for instance, I was not super nice Sarah, even on Christmas when I knew better), but because of these recent life lessons "I glory in my Jesus for he hath redeemed my soul from hell." I know I have the chance to repent each and every day. I have the chance to try and be better each and every day. I have the chance to be forgiven and have my sins "as thou they be as scarlet, they will be as white as snow" every single day.

With all of this learning it makes sense why this Christmas season has been entirely different for me than any other in my life. I can truly appreciate my Saviors birth as I have never done before and I recognize a thousand times over that this appreciation should be and can be happening every single day of my life and that I can be sharing it with others.

Gifts this year were not bought, but they are sharing a part of me with those I love. I pray I can sacrifice my wants for those who are in need of knowing our Savior. I want to continue to learn more of faith, hope, and charity and want to earnestly try to do better each day. I know I am not perfect and will have my set backs, but I know I have to try.

"Wherefore, there must be faith; and if there must be faith, there must also be hope; and if there must be hope there must also be charity. And except ye have charity ye can in nowise be saved in the kingdom of God; neither can ye be saved in the kingdom of God if ye have not faith; neither can ye if ye have no hope. And if ye have no hope ye must need be in despair; and despair cometh because of iniquity. And Christ truly said unto our fathers: If ye have faith ye can do all things which are expedient unto me."
                                                                                        Moroni 10:20-23

I know I have to try! I know the Lord is in each of our lives and can direct us for good if we allow Him into our lives. I know that by relying upon our Savior Jesus Christ we can enjoy this life we have been given. I know that hard times may come, but that they are only for a season compared to eternity. Mortality is a probationary state, a time for us to prepare to meet God. I know if we live the commandments given to us in the scriptures and through modern revelation that we will not only have the best chance of success, but we will succeed in this life as we rely upon our Savior Jesus Christ. I know that prayer works. I know that if we ask our Father in Heaven for His help, if we ask Him for His guidance, if we ask Him for peace, He will give it according to our needs and His will. Our Father in Heaven knows what we each need to be the best (not just good, but the best), He knows what we can handle and how to teach each of us. We are His children and were before we came to earth, are while we are here, and will be in the here after. He loves us and wants us to succeed. I know we have the tools to learn to be like our Savior, "What manner of men ought ye to be? Even as I am". Faith, hope, and charity are those attributes that are attainable in this life that will help us to become more like Jesus. I had a friend who wrote a blog post about "Love is all you need" and that it was not true. I completely second her perspective and want to replace the word love with Christ. Christ is all you need. Christ is all we need to be happy and have JOY in this life.

How very thankful I am for this life lesson and the sweet peace that comes from knowing my Savior Lives!

God Bless and Merry Christmas!