My Testimony - Blog Style (I hope)

I am still feeling my way in this Bloggernacle thing. One thing that I have noticed is that there do not appear to be any testimonies posted. Why is that? Is it because they are such personal things that you don't want someone picking apart? Is it because bloggernacle is no place for a testimony to be? I am not sure. So at the risk of publishing something that might be in an inappropriate setting I will make what may be the last attempt I make at publishing a testimony. This will not be an emotional experience for me partly because I am an engineer and as everyone knows (except for most of the engineers I work with) engineers do not allow their emotions to control them.

My testimony has three anchors to it for now. One is a belief in the existence of God. One is a belief in Christ as a savior. And one is a belief in the truthfulness of the Book of Mormon. Is there a difference between a statement of beliefs and a testimony? I may be using some of the wrong words here, but of course that is not necessarily the point (perfect wording).

My belief in God is something that for me is a somewhat self evident thing that I feel that I have always had. Perhaps it is a spiritual gift to me. I feel the same way Alma did in his conversation with Korihor. (Alma 30 I believe). He says that I have all things as evidence that there is a God, and you (Korihor) have no evidence that there is not a God. Things that are mentioned is the earth and its motion, the words of all the prophets, among other things. I have never had a shred of doubt about the existence of God. I see him in everything.

My belief in Christ as a savior is a bit different. This is based on some profound 'religious experiences' that I have had. Some of the most spiritual experiences that I have had have come during the repentance process. Because of these experiences I have had I feel that I can say that I know that Jesus is the Savior and has the power to forgive sins. This also strengthens my belief in the existence of God and the ability we have to communicate with Him. This aspect of my testimony has required effort, patience, humility, obedience and faith.

My belief in the Book of Mormon as the word of God is sort of a combination of the two other anchors in how it came. For me, even casually reading it gives me a sort of self evident truth acceptance. (is that a sentence?). I have had such good experience in reading it that it is impossible for me to understand how anyone could read it sincerely and not acknowledge that there is great value in the book. But to say that the book is good only would show a complete lack of understanding of what it is claiming to be. One way or another Joseph Smith produced that book and it is either a complete fraud from front to back or a translation of sacred writings. I must conclude that it is not a fraud and therefore points the way to the restoration of the gospel.

So there you have it. Now by saying this I do not say that everything in the Mormon church is perfect. I sometimes drive a wedge between the gospel of Jesus Christ as revealed by Him, and the church as administered by small and simple people.

Why did I post this on my blog? I don't know for sure. I just felt like I should.