I come from a long line of mostly active, devout members of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints but I was raised in an atypical family for our religion. My father passed away when I was 8 months old. My mother raised me and my three older siblings on her own. She worked as a nurse and worked the graveyard shift for the entirety of her career because it gave her a little more money for our family.
This meant that most of the time, us kids were on our own. Consequently, we had the appearance of being a little wild to those around us and because of this we were not treated well by many people in our ward. Many parents discouraged their kids from spending too much time with us. Now, there were some very celestial people as well who tried their best to help us feel the Savior’s love but for the most part we always felt like outsiders in our ward.
This was particularly hurtful to my two older sisters. They struggled to feel a desire to participate. My older brother was the one who oftentimes kept the family on the straight and narrow. My wonderful mother would often drag herself to church after working all night and not going to sleep. I have many memories of my mother sleeping in church. My brother however was the leader. He was the vocal one, who encouraged all of us to remain active.
When my brother left on his mission, I was twelve. Without him as an example, I was a little lost. For a time, I lost interest in going to church. It was too boring. I had many friends who were not members of the Church who were out doing fun things on Sundays and I wanted to be with them. To make a long story short, I started to sew wild oats. My mother did her best to keep me on the right path but I was often alone and had to make my own decisions.
By the time my brother came home from his mission, following the Savior was the last thing I was interested in. My brother, however, simply wouldn’t allow me to fall away completely. I will never forget how he handled the situation. He was never mean or forceful, he simply treated me like I was a dedicated Aaronic Priesthood holder and because I looked up to him so much and didn’t want to let him down, I started acting like one. But I still had never developed a testimony. When I was fourteen I decided to start reading my scriptures every day. I was by no means studying the scriptures. I was simply trying to create a habit and hoping something good would come of it.
When I was fifteen, I decided I needed to know for sure, for myself. I started to pray. Every night I would stay on my knees, beside my bed and plead to know if the church was true. Night after night I would pray for what felt like forever with no discernible response. Until one night, as I had been on my knees for what felt like fifteen to twenty minutes, I was pondering because I had run out of pleading words, I saw in my mind’s eye, myself as a missionary handing a woman The Book of Mormon and saying “I know this book is true.” As the words left my mouth, the most powerful feeling came over me. It was all encompassing, from head to toe. I knew at that point that it was all true. There have been many more confirmations since that time but I have frequently relied on that moment as my foundation.
Whenever I am asked what my favorite part of the Book of Mormon is, I always think about Alma 37. This chapter is when Alma is passing the plates to his son and urging him to continue to keep the record of the people. This must have seemed like a somewhat insignificant task to Helaman because his father explained that by small and simple things are great things brought to pass. Helman probably didn’t realize how great it would be for the world to have his history and the history of his people. We know now that it is the keystone of Christ’s Church on the earth. It is the engine of the vehicle that will usher in the second coming of the Savior.
My testimony has been built on small and simple actions that led to a profound experience that changed the direction of my life. As I have continued striving to maintain small and simple habits, I continue to build on that foundation and help set an example for my children that will hopefully help shape the direction of their lives.
The attacks of the Adversary are relentless and growing louder and louder all around us. All it takes is small and simple actions, everyday to thwart the fiery darts and remain on the foundation of Jesus Christ.