I Know!

This week was so fast! I feel like it was P-day yesterday! 

This week was also just amazing. The word of the week was WOW!

Miracles, awesome experiences, tender mercies, and so many lessons learned. The first half of our week was pretty rough. We had a couple awesome lessons with our investigators Bonnie, Jenn, and Elaine, but besides that, it was a slow week with a lot of door knocking and uninterested people. I was getting pretty down on myself and starting doubting my testimony again. I always wonder why that happens. I have incredible spiritual experiences, feel God's hand in my life, appreciate the tender mercies, and then out of the blue, I start doubting things again.

This week I had spiritual renewal that will hopefully last me a lot longer. First of all, I finished the Book of Mormon for the third time and decided I would once again pray about the Book of Mormon. Moroni asks us to first consider how merciful the Lord has been to us since Adam was on the Earth. I decided to write down all of the times I could think of that the Lord showed mercy to mankind and to me personally. I thought about all the blessings that have come into my life as a result of the gospel and the Book of Mormon. As I prayed I was filled with this immense sense of gratitude and peace and love (the fruit of the Spirit: Galatians 5:22). The Book of Mormon IS the word of God! 

Then, if that wasn't enough, we were able to take a tour of the Star Valley temple yesterday in preparation for helping out with the open house. Keep in mind that I haven't been inside a temple in about a year. I felt like I had been in a drought from temple worship! The minute I walked in the temple doors, I felt a unique peace that can only be found in those sacred buildings. As we moved through the temple and admired the artwork on the walls, I was filled with the Spirit and a joy that I cannot describe. Before entering the celestial room, our tour guide explained that he wasn't going to say anything once we entered the room. The moment I walked in, I felt different. I felt the Spirit throughout the entire tour but standing in the celestial room, there was an intense Heavenly presence that was overwhelming. I couldn't hold back my tears as I stood in that very holy place. 

The gospel of Jesus Christ has been restored. The Book of Mormon is true and of God. Temples are the Lord's houses on earth. I know these things. They are things that can only be known spiritually. No amount of logic or reason can explain how I know that these things are true (which is hard for me because I am a very logical person) but I know it!

I remember feeling uncomfortable with the word "know" when I talked about spiritual things, but I'm learning that that word simply means that I have a very very strong conviction of the things of God. I have had undeniable experiences that have led me to a "knowledge" of these things. 

I love all of you very much! 

Until next time,

Sister Park