I belong to the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter day Saints

Naturally, Conference weekend has brought me an added measure of the spirit . Saturday morning, I did not wake up in enough time to get over to Shannon's apartment so I watched conference on the internet. As soon as the video stream loaded in my room, tears came to my eyes and I felt completely filled with and overwhelmed by the spirit. I was so moved for most of the session, and struggled to bring my emotional outburst to a standstill! I felt such an immense gratitude for the Gospel of Jesus Christ and for continuing revelation and divinely called leadership. In part, I feel a great debt to my mother, who, during my childhood, instilled within each of us children, a sense of importance surrounding conference. As the years pass by, it has become increasingly clear to me why the opportunity to hear from living apostles and prophets should be cherished. Today I feel acutely aware of my family. In this morning's session of conference, one of the messages that found resonance in my heart was the testimony of goodly parents and the faith of our fathers. I have my own goodly parents who reared me in the ways of truth and righteousness, always setting the example which they would have me follow. My Mom exerted great strength and faith in rising above the circumstances of her own family life, to break damaging cycles and negative feelings. Looking back a generation on my Dad's side, I have to express limitless thanks to his parents. Without their influence and respective decision to join the church, despite disapproval from their own parents, my Dad may not have had exposure to the church. Because my grandparents did join the church and subsequently brought their children up with the light of the gospel, he served a mission.

My Dad's mission changed my life before I took my first breath on this earth. Whilst tracting in England, he came across my Mom's doorstep where he was invited in and proceeded to teach the gospel. As a result of my Dad's faithful missionary service and my Mom's conversion, I live in this country and am blessed with endless opportunities that have enabled me to graduate from BYU in a few short weeks. In one sentence or blog post I could not truly describe the web of effects that Dad's mission has resulted in for our family and for me personally.

Today I am thankful for the Gospel of Jesus Christ, it is your and my salvation. I know that it is true, and I feel deep gratitude for the opportunity to leave each day with that knowledge.

On the old record player: Lead Kindly Light, MoTab