What is this life for, why are we here? Here is a great answer by the Prophet Alma and Amulek"...this life became a ^cprobationary state; a time to ^dprepare to meet God; a time to prepare for that endless state which has been spoken of by us, which is after the resurrection of the dead" (Alma 12:24). Which means everything we do in this life-we will be held accountable for so everything we do should be bringing us closer to our Savior and Father in Heaven. The time that we have here is so short! For example this first dash is a representation of the time we spent with our Father before coming to the earth, the period equals the time we have here on the earth and the rest equals what awaits us after this life -.---------------------------------and it never ends! Our time is so short and yet so crucial! What we do now impacts the rest of our Eternity.
I really like this chapter and one of my favorite parts is in Alma 12:14 "For our ^awords will condemn us, yea, all our works will condemn us; we shall not be found spotless; and our thoughts will also condemn us; and in this awful state we shall not dare to look up to our God; and we would fain be glad if we could command the rocks and the ^bmountains to fall upon us to ^chide us from his presence." Will we be ashamed because of our actions here or will we be excited and look forward to that day when we will meet our God? Personally I want the later. So what are you going to do about it? Alma gives us great council when he says "cast off your sins, and [do] not ^cprocrastinate the day of your repentance; But...humble yourselves before the Lord, and call on his holy name, and ^awatch and pray continually, that ye may not be ^btempted above that which ye can bear, and thus be ^cled by the Holy Spirit, becoming humble, ^dmeek, submissive, patient, full of love and all long-suffering; ^aHaving faith on the Lord; having a hope that ye shall receive eternal life; having the ^blove of God always in your hearts, that ye may be lifted up at the last day and enter into his ^crest. And may the Lord grant unto you repentance, that ye may not bring down his wrath upon you, that ye may not be ^abound down by the chains of ^bhell, that ye may not suffer the second ^cdeath" (Alma 13:27-30).
Eternal life is something that will come by our day to day and minute to minute efforts. Its a process in which we cannot afford to slacken our strength. It will and does take work-hard work but I know and I promise as a representative of Jesus Christ that it is and will all be so worth it! We cannot even begin to comprehend they pure joy and happiness that awaits us. So my dear brothers and sisters, let us do our very best each and everyday. Be an example that those around you can and will want to follow. Let us all work together in strengthening one another and bringing our brothers and sisters unto Christ so they too can have Eternal life. In the name of our Savior, Jesus Christ, amen.

Testimony

Today I would just like to bear my testimony.

I know that The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints is Jesus Christ's church on the earth today. It has been restored through the Prophet Joseph Smith who was called of God and given the Priesthood authority to do so. I know that we have a living Prophet on the earth today, just as in Bible and Book of Mormon times, his name is Thomas S. Monson and he has been called of God. I know that my Father in Heaven is there. I know that he is aware of EVERYTHING that I (and all of you) have and have yet to experience. I know He loves me and is waiting for me to return home to Him. I know that my Savior Jesus Christ lives and that he atoned for each of us, individually, so that we could return to our Father's presence. I love my family more than anything and I am so grateful to know that I can be with them for all eternity. I love this Gospel. It has brought so much joy and happiness into my life. I am inexpressibly grateful for the opportunity I have to share what I know with my brothers and sisters so they too can have this joy in knowing.

I know these things to be true and I know the Book of Mormon and the Bible are from God and that they support one another and teach us of the things we must do to return to live with our families and our Father in Heaven. I am grateful God loves us enough to share these sacred records with us and to continue to give us modern day revelation through the Apostles and Prophets to guide us back to Him. I know and I so testify in the name of my beloved brother and Savior Jesus Christ, Amen.

Jesus Christ: the chief corner stone of our religion.

Today I was reading in 2 Nephi 25 in the Book of Mormon. The prophet Nephi teaches plainly and prophesies of our Savior's coming and crucifixion. One of my favorite verses is verse 26, "And we talk of Christ, we rejoice in Christ, we preach of Christ, [and] we prophesy of Christ..." Everything we do and teach in The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints is centered on and around our Savior Jesus Christ and his Gospel (Ephesians 2:20). We must continually strive to center our own lives upon his teachings and by doing so strengthening our faith and relationship with him.
I know that Jesus Christ knows each of us personally and had felt every single thing I have ever felt and experienced. He suffered for you, me, and everyone who ever has or ever will live on this earth. I love him and I am continually grateful for his love, comfort, and help. I say these things in his name, even Jesus Christ, Amen.