Grateful for my Testimony

So this probably should have been my first grateful post. I have been reading the October 2008 General Conference talks (see mormon.org if you are not LDS for an explanation) and that always brings the spirit into my life in a more powerful way. Translation, more peace, more happiness. I am so grateful for as long as I can remember I have known I can pray to a loving Heavenly Father and that my prayers would be answered. For as long as I can remember I have felt the power of his son Jesus Christ in my life. I knew he paid for my mistakes and that he felt my heartaches and understood me like no one else. I have rarely felt alone because I have always had this comforting knowledge, my testimony. But as we get older we find that we know more and come to rely less on our Heavenly Father and his son Jesus Christ. At least I know I do, I forget to include them in my struggles and I forget that they always, always without fail, come through for me and usually in ways more than I deserve! So as I get older and wiser I am coming to trust in them again as I did as a child and I am strengthened. I know that I still must do my part, but they will comfort and guide me through the Holy Ghost if I am willing to listen to them. In these uncertain times in our nation and world I find it extremely comforting that they are in charge and that as the apostle Paul wrote, "And we know that all things work together for good to them that love God ... and If God be for us , who can be against us?" Romans 8:28 & 31. It doesn't mean it will be easy but that it will be possible for us to have joy and peace even when there is chaos around us! I am grateful for the scriptures (The Bible, the Book of Mormon and other modern scripture) which also give me the same comfort and guidance since they are the words of God. If you don't feel that way, pray for the knowledge of God and his son and the Holy Ghost will come to you IF you really want to know. I am grateful for living prophets. As a member of the Church of Jesus Christ Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints we believe that there are living prophets and apostles like Paul today. The words of the living prophets also comfort and guide me. I feel great hope because of their words that they receive from God and his son. So I will end with a quote from one of the living prophets,
"Hope is a gift of the Spirit. It is a hope that through the Atonement of Jesus Christ and the power of His Resurrection, we shall be raised unto life eternal and this because of our faith in the Savior. This kind of hope is both a principle of promise as well as a commandment, and, as with all commandments, we have the responsibility to make it an active part of our lives and overcome the temptation to lose hope. Hope in our Heavenly Father’s merciful plan of happiness leads to peace, mercy, rejoicing, and gladness. The hope of salvation is like a protective helmet; it is the foundation of our faith and an anchor to our souls." President Dieter F. Uchtdorf (to read the talk go to http://www.lds.org/conference/talk/display/0,5232,23-1-947-7,00.html )