Our True Test

As I watched the news last night I was scared by what I saw. There are so many people protesting out side our beautiful temple. I always associated the temple with peace and reverence and it breaks my heart to see so many people treating it as just another building and thinking of it as a place of hate. I know that they have the right to speak up, but we have the right to vote how we feel. We voted not based on hate but based on our beliefs and that marriage is a sacred thing between man and woman.

We have the right to worship as we want and now I believe that our testimonies are being tested. I love the gospel. It has given me peace.

I stopped going to church after high school because I thought that was what was causing me to be unhappy. It took seeing the destruction of someone elses family by their own mistakes to get me quit my bad habits. The truth is, I had never tried to strengthen my own testimony. My Mom taught us as children that Faith is an action word. You cant just go to church and expect to know that the church is true. You have to act on all those answers that we give as primary children. We are told those things for a reason. Reading the scriptures has given me more clarity in our beliefs. Praying is the my private time speaking with Heavenly Father. I feel that my heart is more open and humble when I am praying.

We grew up without our father active in the church and now as a wife and mother and can only imagine how difficult that must have been for my Mom. She knew the church was true and even though Dad fell farther and farther away, she continued to be a shining example to us. I pray for my own family that we can stay true to what we believe, especially through these challenging times. I think how we react to current events will prove our feelings for the church.

To all the protesters, I dont hate you, I love you, but I cannot go against what I believe is true. There have been people who have given their lives because they would not deny their belief in Heavenly Father. Even though it is difficult for me to deny you the right to marriage, I love God more and what he has told me is the truth. I cannot let the gospel fit around mine or anyone elses lives. We must center our lives around the gospel and not change it to fit our wants.

Please understand where we stand. We cannot go against what we know is true. We have dedicated our lives to this gospel and we will sacrifice it all to prove our love to the Savior.