Testimony of a Convert

Beautiful Testimony of one of Carlee's newest converts. She wants to share her testimony with everyone now that she has it.  Carlee asked that I put it on her blog this week.

On the Internet, there’s a funny picture- or meme. It’s of a cat lying down on his owner’s keyboard. The caption reads “food dish is half empty; starvation is imminent.” That cat looks pretty freaked out! If you have a cat, you’ll understand the humor of it all. Now, why would I be speaking about a picture of a cat during my testimony? The reason is simple; I believe it goes hand in hand with my testimony about faith.

  As I’ve been investigating the church for a little while now, I’ve gotten the true pleasure to meet with the missionaries and a lot of you lovely people. And I’ve been encouraged to pray and read the scriptures- which I have been doing. Doing so has been a true blessing because, for the first time, I don’t feel empty anymore. I’m not wandering around, looking for something to believe in. I feel true joy, a kind of joy I’ve never felt. I feel the Holy Ghost working inside me. It is really a miracle.

  Now, back to the cat picture. I know it’s a funny comparison but I like it! You see, the food bowl is our soul. The cat food is... the scriptures and prayers! We need to fill our “bowl” with “cat food” every single day to keep ourselves going. If not, we’ll end up like that cat- fearing starvation. We will be starved from the joy of reading the gospel and feeling the work of the Holy Ghost- we will be starved from faith! Our food dish will be “half empty” and starvation will be imminent. And we’ll end up being that cat, laying on the keyboard - freaked out!

  My goal is to keep my faith strong, to study the scriptures and continually pray. Doing so has strengthened my faith so far and I hope that I can continue keeping my “food dish” full, so that I am filled with this faith. In Alma 32, faith is compared to a seed. It’s an analogy that I hold dear to my heart. Faith starts out as a little seed that we plant in our hearts. We nourish it by reading the scriptures and talking to our Heavenly Father. Then if it is the good word, we will know because it’ll start to grow and grow inside of us. It’ll become so big and strong and soon we’ll be able to eat the delicious fruits inside of it. It will be pure, it will be white. The purest of pure, and the whitest of white.

  But if we forget about the seed, it will wither and it won’t grow. Just like the cat fearing starvation. This is why it is important to talk to God and read the scriptures. So that we can be filled with our faith and we won’t go hungry! Because of the atonement of Jesus Christ, we are so able to have the freedom to do this. I don’t read the scriptures because I’m forced to- I do it because I want to. He suffered for us so that we don’t have to. Because of His atonement, I was able to receive these blessings and I know that our sins are forgiven. He has given me life and a purpose and I couldn’t be more thankful. Yes, life is hard. It’s very very hard, but because of Him, it’s not permanent.

  Brothers and Sisters, I stand here before you because I know this book is true. I feel it in my heart and my soul. I’ve received happiness from the scriptures. I know that this church is true and I can’t wait for the day I can be a member of it. I hope that, as I continue on this journey, my little seed will turn into a beautiful tree with the most delicious of fruits. And those fruits, I wish to share with everyone. And I say all of this with my entire heart, through Jesus Christ, Amen.