Answered Prayer

Well I was just reading in the Ensign (church magazine) about how useful blogs can be in sharing your feelings and testimony about the Gospel. So I've decided I want to start trying to do that a little more. I was wondering what I could post about and then I remembered an answered prayer this last weekend and thought I could share that. Many people who read our blog

are familiar with the LDS Church, but if you're not, please feel free to ask any questions respectfully and I would be happy to answer.

Last week I was thinking about my testimony of the prophet Joseph Smith.

I've never really had a hard time believing that Joseph Smith saw God the Father and Jesus Christ in a vision. I suppose part of that could be because I grew up believing it, but I think a bigger part of that is because I believe God loves us. That, and lots of people in the scriptures have had visions and seen angels, so why couldn't Joseph Smith? It has just always made sense to me.

The biggest reason, though, for my testimony of Joseph Smith is the fruits of his labors. By their fruits ye shall know them, right? I absolutely know that the Book of Mormon is true and the power of the Priesthood really has been restored. I know it because I have prayed about the

Book of Mormon and felt undeniable feelings of love and I assurance that it was right.

I love the Book of Mormon because I feel greater peace, I feel more in control of my life, and more of God's love for others and myself when I read it and try to remember to live it's teachings and have faith in Christ (which is what it teaches).

So what does all this have to do with an answered prayer? Last week I just was thinking that I would like to learn more about the Prophet Joseph Smith and strengthen my testimony of him as a man chosen of God. So I included that in my prayers. On Saturday I was trying to rearrange some books on our cheap bookshelf when the shelf broke. And that was how my prayer was answered!

Since we had to take all the books off to fix the shelf, I decided to organize. Among the books was a binder from a class Dave took once, "Teachings of the Prophet Joseph Smith." I saved it out and didn't put it back on the shelf. It wasn't until the next day that I realized that my prayer had been answered. I had prayed to learn more about Joseph Smith and a binder full of information almost literally fell into my lap. It may seem insignificant, but it was a nice reminder to me that God cares! He does hear and answer prayers and wants us to learn and strengthen our testimonies. I know it! I haven't had much time this week to read from the binder yet, but I will try to share some of the things I learn as I find time to read. I'll try to keep the posts shorter too...