I learned valuable social skills, life skills, and leadership skills. That was HARD, but, I develop a sense of grit and determination. As a nineteen-year-old, I left my family, friends and the world I knew, to serve a two-year mission to Chile. Growing up in the church also taught me that I could do hard things – and I mean HARD things. That experience, and others like it, helped to form an early foundation of faith in God. I felt a deep sense of belonging and purpose – as if my soul and my life were part of something bigger than I could comprehend. And another feeling that, despite my relative insignificance, I was somehow known by God and mattered to him. One feeling was of my utter insignificance compared to the scale, grandeur and beauty of God’s creations. Somewhat unexpectedly, I was overwhelmed by two simultaneous, yet seemingly opposing feelings. I can distinctly remember sitting on top of a boulder near the edge of the lake and taking in the scene around me. Small waterfalls cascade over steep cliffs, through colorful meadows and into the crystal-clear lake. Even in the heat of summer, there are patches of bright white snow clinging to the cool mountain slopes. On one such adventure, I went backpacking with a group of young men to Silver Lake in American Fork Canyon – a stunning high-alpine lake, surrounded by towering granite peaks on three sides. There is something special about your first time seeing the Milky Way shimmer above you, summiting a jagged mountain peak, or climbing through the bottom of a remote red rock slot canyon. It was on adventures with the youth of my local church ward that I would have some of my first spiritual experiences. Together, we had many memorable experiences that motivated me to be my best and define the type of person I wanted to be when I grew up. Many of my closest friendships were forged during church-sponsored youth activities. Living the Mormon youth standards helped me survive adolescence relatively unscathed by bad decisions that sometimes plague inexperienced youth. As a teenager, the rigidity and structure of the church helped me to establish a strong sense of personal values, ethics and sense of self. It helped give me a purpose and the ability to be a part of something bigger than myself. “Many members will answer with great warmth that their experience as a member of the Church is working exceptionally well for them.…But I also recognize that there are some who have a less-than-fulfilling experience-who feel that their membership in the Church sometimes isn’t quite what they had hoped for.” įor most of my life, the church worked extremely well for me. I wonder if we as Church members might also benefit from asking ourselves from time to time: ‘Is my experience in the Church working for me? Is it bringing me closer to Christ? Is it blessing me and my family with peace and joy as promised in the gospel?’” Often that search has led them to The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints and to the restored gospel. “Profound questions regarding the purpose of life have led many individuals and families throughout the world to search for truth. In a recent talk to members of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints, Elder Dieter Uchtdorf said the following:
0 kommentar(er)
