Image

young women

Illustrations by Janet Atkinson

One day my friend Viviana and I heard about an important fireside from our Young Women leaders. They encouraged us to go, even though it was far away from where we lived.

We were not familiar with how to get there by bus, and we couldn’t afford a taxi. However, we trusted in the Lord and went on the bus. On the ride, my friend saw someone she knew, and the woman suggested that we catch the metro at the next stop. So we did. When we got off, we were already quite close to the stake center. And since the metro ride happened to be free because of its recent grand opening, we were able to use that money to pay for a taxi to our destination.

After we got to the fireside, we had a problem: we were out of money! We didn’t tell anyone, but when the fireside ended, our bishop came and gave each of us a tithing envelope with money in it. He said, “I’m afraid you put more money into your envelopes than you had recorded on the donation slip, and here is what you overpaid.”

At that moment, Viviana and I embraced each other. We knew that because of our diligence in following our leaders and paying our tithing, our Heavenly Father was blessing us. That experience reminds me how much He is aware of me and loves me. I know that when we obey His commandments in faith, He will bless us.

Image

young woman reading scriptures

Before working on my Virtue value project for Personal Progress, I had read the Book of Mormon many times, but I didn’t feel like I had a testimony of it. I would read the Book of Mormon, ask God if it was true, and feel OK about it, so I figured that was a good enough answer and would move on, never really taking more time on it. I thought since I had a testimony of everything else, that was good enough.

When I began to read the Book of Mormon for my Virtue value project, I really studied and tried to gain a testimony of it for myself. It came through finding that the Book of Mormon held messages for me! It held things that Heavenly Father needed me to know at that point in my life.

The Book of Mormon is for us. It helps us to be better and to have the Spirit more in our lives. I’m so grateful for this testimony I’ve gained. Now I can gladly say that I know the Book of Mormon is true!

Image

young man walking through doorway

At school one day, my teacher turned on a movie for us and left the classroom. As soon as my teacher left, I felt that something was wrong. As the movie went on, it began to show inappropriate images. I knew I had to leave the room. Then I remembered what I’d learned in seminary recently. We had talked about being “the light of the world” and how we can share that light with others (see Matthew 5:14–16). This was an opportunity to share my light!

I confidently stood up and told my classmates that we shouldn’t be watching this movie. One of my classmates said with a teasing voice, “There’s nothing wrong with this movie! We’re mature enough to watch stuff like this.” My other classmates agreed with him. I sat down, feeling sad and discouraged. I felt like I had no light—so how could I influence them to do good? I prayed and felt prompted to leave the room. And without hesitation, I got up and left by myself.

Miraculously, a minute later, a few of my classmates also left the room. As I watched them come out, I realized that my light wasn’t useless after all. I’m glad I can be a light to others. Sometimes it can be hard to combat evil, but we can always remember that we have a light within our hearts, and that light is our Savior, Jesus Christ.