Sacred Groves

I cry a lot. I admit it.

Its something I've come to accept :) I get a little misty and emotional when something touches my heart, when I feel the Holy Ghost whispering to me that something is true, and beautiful, and good. A family in my church got up and sang a song together one Sunday about how God has given us families to help us become what He wants us to be, and I was a mess. Sniffles, wiping tears, the whole nine yards. I can't help it.. I love LOVE! I love to feel the spirit. Its the most pure, joyful, and sweet experience.. Its difficult to adequately describe, but its this exhilarating  moment where you get hot flashes and the goosebumps all at one time and feel the most amazing peace, fulfillment, and JOY. I'm sure you've felt something to that effect in your life. That is the Holy Ghost that you are feeling, manifesting the truth and goodness of something to you, the existence of a Heavenly Father and Savior who know and love you. And if you have felt that unworldly sensation, even if it was for just a moment, I am sure you want to feel it again.

The Holy Ghost is the third member of the Godhead. He doesn't have a body like our Heavenly Father or Jesus Christ, and works in perfect unity with them. I love knowing that if I feel the Holy Ghost testify to me that the scriptures I read are true and good, I can trust that it comes from God. The Godhead are of one mind, and one purpose. God cannot lie and neither can the Holy Ghost. The only way that we receive pure testimonies of God, of Jesus Christ, or of any other truth that we desire is by the power of the Holy Ghost.

Everybody's got questions. Sometimes it takes us a little while to discover what our questions are, but we all have them. We don't know everything. We just can't. As earthly beings, we chose to come to this earth to walk by faith rather than by sight. But when we have those questions, we don't have to struggle and fail, ever-searching for finding peace. We can find peace and understanding, when we humble ourselves enough to ask and to seek through prayer, study, and application. We have to experiment on the commandments, on reading our scriptures and praying, on doing the things God has asked us to do to really know if the fruits are as sweet as they say.

But its us who has to make the choice to ASK. In Matthew 7:7-11, Jesus tells us to "Ask, and it shall be given you; seek, and ye shall find; knock and it shall be opened unto you." It WILL be opened up to us by the power of the Holy Ghost. But we have to ask our Heavenly Father those tough questions, and do the work to find the answers..

I love flowers. They are pretty :) They make me happy! So lets say I give you a daisy seed and say, "Hey! Here's a daisy seed! Plant this and if you nourish it, if you water it and give it sunlight, it will blossom into a beautiful flower." How will you know for yourself that it will bloom? How will you know that it is a good seed and that it can grow into a beautiful little daisy? You'll only find out if you plant it, if you give it water, and put it on a sunny windowsill. And then, when it grows, you will say, "Hey! She was right! Now I have a happy little daisy."

The same goes for our faith. If we plant those seeds and we EXPERIMENT on the commandments and the council we receive from prophets, missionaries, or scriptures, we will know for ourselves that the seeds are good and that we really are happier, more peaceful people with the fullness of the gospel in our lives. If we discard the seeds, if we don't plant them or give them a chance to grow, how will we ever really know if the Church of Jesus Christ is is true, if there really are prophets on the earth, or if the Book of Mormon is true.

Experiment today! If your testimony is lacking on some point, where can you experiment? Pray for guidance, ask for help, and I know that you will find those beautiful daisies in your life. And when you do, I know that you will "pluck the fruit thereof, which is most precious, which is sweet above all that is sweet, and which is white above all that is white, yea, and pure above all that is pure; and ye shall feast upon this fruit even until ye are filled, that ye hunger not, neither shall ye thirst." (excerpt from the Book of Mormon, Alma 32)