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VIEW TESTIMONY
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POSTED BY:
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serenadavidson
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DATE:
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13.05.2008 |
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SUBJECT:
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He lives and loves us |
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LOCATION:
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Iona, United States
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When I was a little girl, my mother took me to the LDS church. My father was not a member. I remember being three years old and sitting on the front row in Jr. Sunday School one Sunday, crying because I missed my mother and I felt scared of all the strangers around me. A man in a suit came up to me and scooped me up in his arms. (I learned later he was the Junior Sunday School president.) He took me out of the room and stood near the doorway with me. The children were singing this song:
"I think when I read that sweet story of old,
when Jesus was here among men,
how He called little children like lambs to His fold;
I should like to have been with Him then.
I wish that His hands had been placed on my head,
that His arms had been thrown around me;
that I might have seen His kind look when He said,
'Let the little ones come unto me.'
Yet still to His footstool in prayer I may go,
and ask for a share in His love,
and if I thus earnestly seek Him below,
I shall see Him and hear Him above."
(Children's Songbook of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, pg. 56)
The man had a beautiful tenor voice, and he sang quietly in my ear, swaying back and forth with me. I think it was the combination of the beautiful song about Jesus, my own insecurity, and that man's tender loving arms around me that gave me a feeling for our Savior, a knowledge at an early age of His love for us, His total acceptance of us, His hope for us. Children are not the only ones who crave reassurance and the safety of arms around us. One of my favorite scriptures in the Book of Mormon says: ". . .and I am encircled about eternally in the arms of His love."
In the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, I find encircling. I find safety and reassurance in the Savior's love for me. I find the authority of God and permission to use and benefit from His authority. I find impetus and direction to do better. I find the ordinances and covenants I need to return to live with Him someday. I find doctrines of comfort and peace that ring true in my heart. I know that God lives and loves us and has a purposeful plan for us. I know that Jesus is His Son and my Redeemer and Friend. I know the Holy Ghost can speak to us and give us relevant direction in every aspect of our lives as we seek to live worthily. Nothing is too small for their attention and consideration. I testify that this divine threesome cares about the details, and they are only a prayer away. It is amazing to me, and I am so grateful. I know that prophets speak to us today, just as they did in ancient days. I know Joseph Smith saw and spoke with our Heavenly Father and Jesus Christ. I know he was, and is, a prophet of God, and he was followed by a succession of other real prophets, the current one being Thomas S. Monson, who presides over our church today. I love the scriptures we have, including the Book of Mormon, the Old and New Testaments, the Doctrine and Covenants, and the Pearl of Great Price. I have spent years studying them carefully, and I can testify of their truthfulness and the great power for good that lies within them. Day after day, I am encircled about in the arms of His love. Life is good. I bear witness of the truthfulness of these things in the sacred name of Jesus Christ, Amen.
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