The Spirit of God

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The Spirit of God

I had two experiences when I was young that helped me gain a testimony. When I was about five years old, my family went to stake conference. The congregation stood and sang “The Spirit of God” (Hymns, no. 2).

As I listened, the words from the song filled my heart with a very warm feeling. Then one of the speakers gave a talk about how the sons of Mosiah were converted to the gospel, and I got the same feeling again.

At that moment I knew I wanted to be a missionary someday. I wanted to share my testimony with others.

When I was 11 years old, something else happened that helped build my testimony. My family was having a fun summer weekend at our cabin in the mountains. On Saturday night a man showed up at our cabin door with some bad news. He told us our home in Salt Lake City had caught on fire and most of it had been destroyed.

Fire can be scary. I was very upset that our home was gone. But then my father did something I’ve never forgotten. He gathered our family of eight around him and said a beautiful prayer. He told Heavenly Father how grateful he was that our family was safe.

As my father prayed, my heart again felt that same warm feeling that I’d had in stake conference when I was five years old. I knew that when we returned to our burned home, our friends and family would be there to help. And they were. They gave us food and clothing. And they helped us rebuild our home.

How grateful I was for my parents’ faith and the example of their testimonies. The fire destroyed many precious things. But because of the Holy Ghost, I was blessed with a more precious possession—my own testimony.