During Relief Society, the teacher split us into groups to discuss six attributes that the Apostle Paul said will allow our lights to shine. My group was assigned Faith and chose me to be the spokesperson. I read the following quotes from President Monson's General Conference talk, "To be an example of faith means that we trust in the Lord and in His word. Our faith in the Lord Jesus Christ and in our Heavenly Father will influence all that we do. Remember that faith and doubt cannot exist in the same mind at the same time, for one will dispel the other." I then told a personal story that happened to me a couple weeks ago. I was having a lot of fear/doubts a couple weeks ago. I started fearing that I could lose another child (which I later found out is a very common fear amongst parents that have lost a child.) It was so overwhelming that it was consuming me. I thought about talking to my friend, Becky, about it when we walked the lake one morning. But I decided not to. When we were done with our walk and about it to get in our cars, Becky said, "Oh Terri, I wanted to tell you about a youth message on the Mormon Channel I heard recently. It was on agency." She continued to tell me the three tools that Satan uses to take away our agency. The first is addiction, which is obvious. Next is blaming our circumstances, and third is fear." The third one hit me so hard. Satan was using fear to take away my agency! As soon as she said that, my fears immediately stopped. I will not let Satan have that control over my life. I immediately went home and listened to that youth message and I was filled with gratitude that Heavenly Father had Becky tell me exactly what I needed to hear to dispel my fears. I don't know what the near future holds for my family, but I choose to exercise faith and trust in God and His plan. But I do not what the eternal future looks like if I exercise Faith. I need not fear.
The funny thing is, about a week later, Becky and I were walking the lake and she and I were talking about her uncertain future because he husband is getting out of the Air Force. She has a lot of built up fears about her future. Without putting that together, I began telling her about how much that talk on agency that she shared with me earlier had helped me. Then I lightbulb went off for her. She told me that she had been letting fear take her agency from her as well. She was so fearful that her husband would open dental practice and it would fail. And that's when she recognized that the fear was holding her back. So we both benefitted from that youth message at different times.
Mario and I like to attend Gospel Principles since Mario taught that class before moving to Spain. The teacher is a new member and an amazing teacher with a strong testimony. Yesterday we talked about gratitude and went around the room to tell what we are grateful for in our lives since it is Thanksgiving this week. Mario began by saying how grateful he is for the Plan of Salvation. I shared that I was thankful for tender mercies. I then told how I felt the same as the people in the Book of Mormon who said that their burdens had been eased. After class, Barb Scott asked me to look at a scripture. She pulled up Mosiah 24 verse 14 on her phone. She then read, "And I will also ease the burdens which are put upon your shoulders, that even you cannot feel them upon your backs, even while you are in bondage; and this will I do that ye may stand as witness for me hereafter, and that ye may know of a surety that I, the Lord God, do visit my people in their afflictions." Barb Scott then proceeded to point out the second part of that verse that talks about being a witness. She told me that I have been that witness to so many people. What a wonderful thing to be told. I love the Gospel of Jesus Christ. It gives me so much hope and also peace.
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