*Every time I talk about my ancestors and genealogy/temple work, I feel the spirit.*Grandma Gayle sent someone to comfort mom the day Amy got married in the temple and the day she was planting roses at Grandma's grave
*Michael had a near death experience
*Dad got a new, better job right after he paid his tithing
*Davy got more money in tips the night after he paid his tithing than he ever had before
*I received a confirmation by the spirit of Joseph Smith in sacrament meeting one day. I really felt that. It was undeniable.
*I learned President Hinckley was a real prophet when I went to see him speak in CO. I sat on the fourth row. He was late because of the snow. They announced that we would go ahead and sing "We thank thee oh God for a prophet" while we waited. We sang it 4 times and during the fourth rendition, he walked in. We all spontaneously stood and cried and he waved and cried. I loved that man.
*I have a friend who I believe could be an excellent leader, a great producer of everything. He was capable of anything, but he left the church and I watched him squander his talents and gifts. The Lord would have made him so great, but he was faithless and could not be blessed as much.
*At CSU I had a calling in church that I did not do anything for. One day I got a specific assignment. I decided to do it. All I had to do was meet the choir from UVSC on campus and say hi. I did, and I met the institute director from UVSC. He told me I needed to transfer to UVSC. I promptly forgot about his advise.
*An angel took me by the hand and helped me quit my job and sign up for college on the first day of UVSC. There is no other way to explain how I could have done that myself. It was right after mom and dad and I prayed together and I didn't have a clue what to do and at the last minute a messenger from behind the veil "showed" me what to do. Literally. I walked into the institute building and and there was Brother Felix. He said, "I've been waiting for you." He helped me get my faith back and get on the right track.
*Right after I prayed about why I was continually dating the wrong guys and after I asked when I would meet the right guy, I was shown a vision of the kind of guy I should be looking for. It wasn't what he looked like, but it was who he was and it wasn't what I had been looking for at all. Just a few weeks later, in the very room I had prayed, Paul told me all about himself and, guess what; it was "the guy." I never had to doubt after that.
*I was told by the spirit that Eirik would need his brother as fast as I could bring him into the world. That was most definitely true, and a miracle, and a lifesaver.
*We could not decide what cities to list as our preferences for the match for rotations, so we just picked randomly by our best guesses. When we matched 6th, we got to choose again and by then we had more information and both Paul and I were told clearly to change our 1st choice to Wyandotte. If we had not, we would never have been able to do dermatology. Never.
*I got a call out of the blue from Pottery Barn offering me a painting job right after Paul and I prayed about how we were going to get enough money to make it the rest of the year. It was the exact amount.
*One day I was frustrated with baby Eirik and worried about baby Joren who was just about to be born and I was lonely. I raised my hands to heaven and so "Please help me God!" That day at library story hour a woman I had never seen before started a conversation with me and offered me the exact advise I needed. It was a miracle and a tender mercy. I needed to hear just those words that day.
*I was told 1 month before being called to be Relief Society President that I was going to be getting the calling. I was prepared so that I would believe it was supposed to be. Otherwise I would have never believed.
*Eirik
*Joren
*Teig
*Every living thing testifies that there is a God. I study nature and animals and plants a lot now that I have boys, and the more I learn the more I am astounded.
*Paul's patriarchal blessing is dead on.
*Mom's patriarchal blessing is amazing.
*The gospel makes people better. It elevates people in a way that nothing else can. Think about the people you know. The people I know that have the strongest characters, the most admirable, loved and happy people are all close to the Lord.
It occurred to me this week that I think the way the Lord can so easily forgive us for things we do wrong is because it isn't what we have done that matters, it is who we have become. All those little sins of omission or sins of commission will add up to make us who we are. If we work really hard and use all those opportunities to become more like Him, then we will be much further along the path than if we don't. I've decided that all those commandments like, read your scriptures, go to the temple, pray, have FHE, keep the WoW, keep your covenants are all our opportunities. I've learned that almost all the times I have felt the spirit I have been putting forth effort. There is a lot that the Lord commands us to do, but we know there is no way we can do all those things. We will be imperfect in fulfilling all the commandments, but I have learned that we do not need to feel guilty when we are not perfect. We need to feel grateful for His love because despite our imperfections, we can keep working to correct them. Phew! How cool is that? In John we learn how Christ wants us to be one with Him, glorified with Him as He is glorified with the Father. He really wants that for us? He only holds things back from us if we are not ready for them. He blesses freely. He just wants us to get ready to receive all that He has to give us. If we aren't ready, and have not used those opportunities to get ready, then it's our own personal hell. He is eternally patient. He's not scary, He's just sifting us, but mostly trying to help us.
My visiting teacher told me that we will all be comfortable where we end up after judgement. She said, "I probably won't be comfortable with thieves and murderers. I'm pretty happy associating with the saints." That gave me a lot of help because, at the time I was dealing with a lot of guilt. I was motivated by guilt instead of understanding that God is not angry when we miss an opportunity. It just stops Him from helping us progress.
Paul once said that if he knew Jesus was coming tomorrow he would be so excited because he would be able to kneel at His feet and tell Him how much he loves Him and to say thank you. At the time I thought I would be stressed because of all the things I had not done, all the meals I had never taken, all the people I had never shared the gospel with... and on and on. After hearing Paul's words, I knew that I knew nothing of the Savior's real love for us.
God knows what to give us when we have no idea ourselves. He knows so much and growing older gives me enough perspective to understand that when you are young, sometimes all you are missing is perspective and experience and trusting Him makes all the difference.
That's a bit about how I know.
Now it's your turn.
Love you all!
