a testimony.

i have a story to tell. one that was a turning point for me and my church. the church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints. a story that i will always remember. so vividly. all my life i had known the church was true. i believed it. it was the only thing i knew to believe. but i had never had that one moment where you suddenly know for yourself that it is one hundred percent true. two years ago, this november, i had my moment. and i am going to share it with you. in hopes that it will spark a feeling in you that makes you long for your own moment, or even the desire to find out for yourself that this is the only true church on the earth today. 

my brother served a mission in brasil. a year after he got back our family went back to brasil with him to meet his families that he taught the gospel to and to see his areas. i was expecting this trip to be relaxing and easy. but it wasnt. yes half the trip was relaxing on the beach and doing fun things but the other half was physically and mentally exhausting. the half where we spent a whole week just going around to families and areas and visiting with them. not only was it a lot of traveling but i also didnt understand a word of the language while everyone else did. one day i had just had it. i was sick of sitting and listening to a language i didnt know. with people that i didnt know. i was extremely grumpy on the whole car ride back to the hotel. when we got to the hotel i just wanted to go to sleep. but we had to haul all of our luggage up first and get our rooms. by the time we actually got into our rooms it was midnight. all the kids were in one room together and my parents in another.( i do not recall exactly the whereabouts of my brother while all this was happening.) i remember climbing into bed while my sister went into the bathroom and shut the door. all the lights were off except for the bathroom. a thin strip of light could be seen underneath the door. i laid there in bed and suddenly felt this darkness come over me. it was complete darkness that not even a light could break. this darkness was so thick i could feel it pressing against me. i pulled the sheets over my head and prayed that it would leave. i sat there for what seemed like forever in this darkness praying that it would go away. slowly it started to lift and i could see the small strip of bathroom light again. then it came back. in a split second. this time stronger heavier and darker. i couldnt move.   literally. not like frozen in fear but i could feel it holding me down. i tried yelling for my sister. but nothing came out of my mouth. i was screaming as loud as i could. but the darkness drowned out every sound that i made. all i could do was lay there is complete fear and darkness and cry. i prayed that it would leave. but nothing happened. it felt like i was laying there for hours. then, a thought came to my head. it was a conference talk where one of the twelve said that the devil cannot stay when he is demanded to leave in the name of god. then these words came to my head " in the name of God and Jesus Christ, Satan get thee hence." slowly i whispered these words but nothing happened. then i yelled them. right after i yelled the last word the darkness was completely gone. every bad and evil feeling was replaced with peace and quite. my sister walked out of the bathroom completely normal. she hadnt heard or felt a thing.

ever since this moment i havent had a doubt in my mind that this church, is the true church. there is so much evil in this world. but we need to fight against it every second of every day till we are back in the presence of our God. so we can feel his warm loving embrace and hear him thank us for all we did. this life is by no means easy. and just waking up every day and having to go through everyday trials is the hardest thing we will ever have to do. but the most important things in this world are the things we have to fight and stand up for. we need to have faith to pray for the strength we need to see all of this through till the very end. we need never forget the bigger picture. that in the end it doesnt matter who we were friends with or how much money we have. it matters what you stood up and fought for. i will admit. i forget this. a lot. but i am trying and i am praying that i can become a warrior in this battle between good and evil and never back down or give in to the adversary. to start fighting for what you believe in is the hardest but its something that only you and i can do. 

i wanted to end this with a testimony. a testimony that didnt just one day appear to me. but has been building up since an eye opening night in brasil.

God is real. as real as everything around us. He loves us more than anything. and has faith in us that we will do everything we can to come back to him. I know that every person on this earth is a child of God. no matter the mistakes we have made we are still His children. and that will never change. i know that the atonement is an amazing blessing and i hold it so dearly to me. i have a testimony of forgiveness. no matter how bad someone has hurt me or wronged me i must forgive them. and leave the rest to God. because he is a just God. i know that this church is true. and i will never deny that. i will fight for it until the day i die.