(Last one!) I'm Thankful for the Gospel of Jesus Christ....

Saturday, November 29th--There's not a day that goes by that I don't think about my testimony of Jesus Christ. Everyday I'm reminded of the reasons I even have a testimony to begin with. I was born and raised in the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints but it took me a long time to build my testimony to what it is today. I went inactive for a short time and found empty joys in worldly things. It took a diligent, loving mother to bring me "back to the fold". She never gave up. She was always that way. My dad went inactive in his teenage years and never returned to church till I was 12 years old. My mom got 4 kids ready and to church all by herself for almost 20 years. I can't even imagine what that was like, I was young enough to be oblivious to it. She endured to the end and was rewarded with the ultimate gift, an strong, active husband who took her and her children to the temple to be sealed as an eternal family---all on my 15th birthday.
It's hard to say what moments have all added up to what my testimony has become. I'm sure it's many little ones and a few big ones. I know the gospel of Jesus Christ exists on the earth today. I know the Holy Ghost lives within those that have received him and choose to live by his promptings. I know families are forever as long as we all remain unified in our testimonies, devotion and love. I know our Father in Heaven only wants the very best for His children and just wants us to return back to Him. I know He gave us a living prophet to guide us in these chaotic latter-days.
There are enough people in this world that would try to persuade me otherwise but they don't understand or comprehend what it took/takes to build a testimony. It takes work, faith, trust and so many other things. It doesn't come easily but once you have it, it's hard to lose it. Nate and I take our children to church in order to continually "feed" and "refresh" our testimonies every week. While we need to work harder to be better at it, we have family prayer, family home evening, scripture reading and conversations pertaining to gospel teachings. Nate gives us priesthood blessings, even at a moments notice, if needed. Just spending time with my husband and my kids reminds me of my testimony and the promises made by Heavenly Father. We can be an eternal family, we're on our way! Life is great! Sometimes I forget how blessed I am and then the Holy Ghost quickly reminds me.