April 11, 2024 • 24 mins
In the inaugural episode of 'Hope Smiling Brightly,' Amber Dawn Pearce shares her journey from a unique upbringing to developing an unshaken faith in Christ. Raised off-grid by converted hippies in a large, blended family, Amber's life was far from ordinary, involving significant challenges and moments of introspection often mistaken for sadness. She discusses overcoming the 'happy when syndrome,' where joy is deferred to future circumstances, and recounts how striving for perfection led to exhaustion and a realization that her understanding of God was fundamentally flawed. Through years of refinement, Amber learned to focus solely on looking to God daily, allowing His truth to replace incorrect beliefs and bring about transformative change. She emphasizes that Christ's healing power, patience, and gifts of the Holy Spirit are essential in personal growth and overcoming the adversary's influence. Amber vows to use her gift of testimony to encourage others, urging them to believe in God's promises, cultivate their spiritual gifts, and recognize the abundant resources available through faith in Christ, especially in these latter days.
You can join Amber on all social media platforms @amberdawnpearce
00:00 Unlocking Unshaken Faith in Christ
00:29 Introducing Hope Smiling Brightly: Amber's Journey
01:44 The Power of a Smile: Overcoming Life's Challenges
03:11 Embracing the Gospel's Joy: A Personal Transformation
05:55 Foundational Principles for a Fulfilling Life
12:08 Harnessing the Power of God in Our Lives
17:19 The Ultimate Gift: Believing in God's Promises
22:08 Christ: The Source of Our Hope and Healing
23:49 A Call to Action: Cultivating Faith, Hope, and Charity
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Transcript
Episode Transcript
Available transcripts are automatically generated. Complete accuracy is not guaranteed.
Amber (00:00):
Believe in God's power, his gifts, his promises.
(00:04):
Remember all he has done.
You will cultivate unshakenfaith in Christ as you do.
Let this seed of belief work inyou today.
And you will be astounded by thepower of his grace.
You will witness change comeinto your life.
That is so stunning that it willbe impossible for you to deny
(00:27):
the power of God.
Well, hello.
Welcome to the first episode ofHope Smiling Brightly.
I am Amber Dawn Pearce, and I amso grateful and humbled that you
are here.
I had a wonderful and uniqueupbringing raised off grid by
(00:52):
addict hippies who wereconverted to The Church of Jesus
Christ of Latter day Saints.
We ended up becoming a family of15, including 8 adopted
siblings.
Yep, I know what it's like tolive in a home with dirt floors
and no plumbing or electricity.
Oh, I've got stories.
You'll hear a lot of them infuture episodes, I promise.
(01:15):
Some of you know me from socialmedia where I share little clips
of my upbringing and faith.
But as we know, when it comes tosocial media, there is so much
more than meets the eye.
The gospel of Jesus Christ hasbrought much joy into my life.
And the smile you see on my facethere is truly genuine, but
(01:40):
finding that joy has been quitethe journey.
In fact, there is one, one wordinstruction I heard from others
more than any other when I wasgrowing up.
Can you guess what it was?
Smile.
My upbringing was amazing, butit wasn't without incredibly
(02:02):
difficult experiences.
Being an introspective person bynature.
Others often mistook my abilityto get lost in thought.
as, well, sadness.
Though, honestly, sometimes theyweren't far off in their
assumption.
From a very young age, Ideveloped the happy when
(02:27):
syndrome.
You know what I'm talking about.
I'll be happy when ABC is overor when XYZ finally begins.
And yes, I definitely knew Iwould be happy when I could
finally use an indoor toiletinstead of an outhouse.
All jokes aside, with happy whensyndrome, I knew there was joy
(02:53):
out there, but I was sure itwould only come if and when
circumstances would change.
Funny thing is, Every timecircumstances did change, I
would just find another happywhen to hope for.
The same applied to everythingelse I believed in.\ I knew God
(03:17):
would speak.
I knew there were miracles.
I knew there was peace.
I knew there was deliverance.
But just Not now.
For that, I'd have to wait.
That waiting turned into yearsof striving to check every
single box on the RighteousChild of God checklist.
(03:41):
I was sure that when I got tothe end of my perfect checklist
rainbow, that is where I wouldfinally find everything I
wanted.
You can imagine the confusionwhen I found myself on the
ground, completely exhaustedwith no pot of gold.
(04:04):
Worse than that were thedevastating words that God spoke
to my mind.
In the middle of it all, ye knowme not.
My whole life, I had worshippeda very demanding God, who I knew
loved me, but I was sure wasconstantly disappointed in me.
A God who would only love,accept, and bless me after I
(04:28):
could perfect myself.
I finally realized that if thecost of worth and acceptance was
perfection, then there was noway I could ever pay it.
No wonder living the gospel feltso exhausting.
I had it all.
wrong.
(04:48):
Over the next years, God showedme my only labor, the one and
only checkbox I ever needed.
To look to Him each day.
God has slowly stripped awayincorrect beliefs I have about
who He is and replaced it withtruth.
(05:09):
With that truth has come changeto the point that I barely
remember the person that I wasbefore.
His promise that his wordchanges us, born again into a
new creature in Christ, is real.
I can't help but share thismessage.
(05:30):
Over and over again, the Spirithas spoken to my mind.
This isn't just about you,Amber.
These experiences can bless morethan just you.
And so I am here sharing it,even if it helps just one person
sharing, because so many havemistakenly decided the solution
(05:52):
is to walk away from theirfaith.
If you don't mind, I'd like toshare with you a few
foundational principles thatwill guide the message of this
podcast.
Number one, it is Christ whoheals do not labor for that,
which cannot satisfy.
(06:13):
When I was researching for thispodcast, I came across many
websites of motivationalspeakers who promised the same
things in different words overand over again.
Master every area of your life,create a better life, take
control of your life, take backyour life, create the life
(06:35):
you've been dreaming of, andmany more.
I am sure those people have somegreat tools and knowledge to
share.
But there will always besomething missing, and here it
is a testimony of Christ can dowhat all other self help
(06:58):
resources promise and more.
Whatever it is, Christ is theanswer.
He is our coach, our guide, ourmentor, our motivational
speaker.
If we would just have thepatience to let him speak.
(07:21):
Come unto Christ and his powerand lay hold upon every good
gift, touch, not the evil gift,nor the unclean thing.
In other words, stop looking forpeace, healing, power in
solutions that will never trulysatisfy.
(07:42):
Isaiah says it perfectly inchapter 55.
Wherefore do ye spend money forthat which is not bread, and
your labor for that whichsatisfyeth not?
Hearken diligently unto me, andeat ye that which is good, and
let your soul delight itself infatness.
(08:04):
Incline your ear, and come untome.
Hear, and your soul shall live,and I will make an everlasting
covenant with you.
So shall my word be that goethforth out of my mouth.
It shall not return unto mevoid, but it shall accomplish
(08:26):
that which I please, and itshall prosper in the thing
whereinto I sent it.
It sounds easy enough.
But remember that Moses raisedup a type of Christ in the
wilderness, that whosoever wouldlook upon it might live.
(08:47):
And many did look and live, butmany would not look and
perished.
And the reason they did not lookis because they did not believe
that it would heal them.
Living in these last days, Hasleft a lot to be healed in us.
(09:08):
Christ promises healing, but fewhave patience to come to him and
instead look for healing andpeace from other sources.
Yes, finding Christ in theseconfusing times requires great
faith, but the amazing news isthat you wouldn't be right here,
(09:33):
right now, if you didn't havethe capacity for this kind of
faith.
The second principle, hishealing process manifests
greater things than you canimagine I dare you to find any
(09:53):
resource out there that topswhat he offers.
So what can you hope for as youturn your head and look to him?
What does he want for you tobelieve?
With hope, smiling brightly, youcan experience that God is
always communicating to you,even in this very moment, that
(10:18):
joy is now.
Even in the most difficultcircumstances, miracles are real
and evident in every single day.
Angels are ministering to you.
He is giving an abundance of thegifts of the Holy Spirit to help
us strengthen and bless eachother.
(10:41):
The power of your covenants ismagnifying you in unprecedented
ways.
His peace that passes allunderstanding is flowing over
you, and he is delivering youfrom all manner of bondage,
physical, mental, spiritual,emotional.
He is Lord over all.
(11:06):
The third principle, he keepshis promises and they are
powerful.
God will show unto you withpower and great glory at the
last day that these things aretrue.
The only thing that can stop itis our own unbelief.
(11:28):
And even then, if you don'tbelieve, he's working on that
right now too.
Today is that promise fulfilledthat was given in the book of
Mormon.
So let's break it down a bitNephi saw us and witnessed that
the power of the Lamb of Goddescended upon the saints of the
(11:51):
church of the lamb and upon thecovenant people of the Lord who
were scattered upon all the faceof the earth.
And they were armed withrighteousness and with the power
of God in great glory.
What is this power?
Priesthood power available toevery covenant daughter or son
(12:17):
of God.
How important it is to learn thedoctrine of the priesthood that
it might distill upon our souls.
Again, in 2 Nephi 6:14, we arereminded that he will manifest
himself unto us in power andgreat glory unto the destruction
(12:41):
of our enemies.
What enemy?
I believe our own thoughts areour greatest enemies.
They are often created bysuggestions from the adversary.
God can destroy those enemieswith truth.
(13:01):
Okay, so he will manifesthimself unto us in power and
great glory unto the destructionof our enemies.
But in the next line, we learnsomething that has to happen on
our part.
You ready for it?
When that day cometh, when theyshall believe in him.
(13:24):
Notice how it didn't say if.
He did not say if, but when,because he has that much
confidence in you and yourbelief now, you might be
thinking, okay, I believe inChrist and his promises but that
(13:48):
is just the start and brings usto the fourth principle.
We must believe in his power inour lives personally, and that
power comes from gifts of theHoly Spirit, that same God who
parted the sea so it could becrossed on dry ground is the
(14:11):
same God who is with you whenyou find yourself at a spiritual
dead end, The same God whohealed the blind is the one who
is trying to help you see him inyour life.
When your sight is restored Youwill see that he has given and
will help you cultivate giftsthat will bless you and the
(14:36):
world.
If there be one among you thatdoeth good, he shall work by the
power and gifts of God.
I remember when President Nelsonsaid, My dear sisters, You have
spiritual gifts andpropensities.
I urge you with all the hope ofmy heart to pray to understand
(14:59):
your spiritual gifts, tocultivate, use, and expand them
even more than you ever have.
You will change the world as youdo.
I took that invitation seriouslyand began to pray for that
understanding.
I didn't receive an immediateanswer, but one day as I was
(15:20):
going about my tasks, the wordscame into my mind as clear as
anything.
You have the gift to beartestimony.
I stood frozen in my spot,surprised that I had never
realized I had been blessed withthat gift where in that moment,
(15:41):
it seemed so obvious, but now Ihad the task to cultivate, use
and expand the gift to beartestimony more than I ever had.
And try to have faith in thepromise that along with you.
We would change the world.
That moment was the first ofmany turning points in my life
(16:06):
and in between I've probablyfaced more opposition than ever
trying to overcome doubt andfear and sharing the gift I've
been given.
Sometimes I wanted to forgetabout that experience because I
was sure I was going to fail.
But to deny our own gifts andabilities is to deny God and his
(16:32):
power, priesthood power.
Deny not the power of God, denynot the gifts of God, but deny
yourself of all ungodliness.
One of the most ungodly thingsto do is to reject or diminish
(16:56):
the divinity within you.
When you put yourself down, tellyourself you can't do something,
stay quiet out of fear, hideyour gifts.
You are literally rejecting thegodliness in you.
(17:19):
My last point is a warning tobeware of one of Satan's
favorite tactics.
We are shown over and over againin the scriptures of how Satan
will try to make us forget thatGod can do such marvelous works
In Alma nine, we are told of apeople who forgot and the
(17:41):
terrible destruction that camebecause of it.
But do we remember in our day,those same things that they
forgot that all things can bemade known according to our
desires, that we can be visitedby the spirit of God converse
(18:03):
with angels spoken to by thevoice of the Lord.
Blessed with the spirit ofprophecy and the spirit of
revelation and also many giftsthe gift of speaking with
tongues, And the gift ofpreaching and the gift of the
Holy Ghost.
It goes on to list other thingswe tend to forget or never even
(18:26):
see.
And I want you to listen tothese as if they were spiritual
and not just physical, that wehave been delivered of God saved
from famine, not justphysically, but spiritually,
from sickness, from all mannerof diseases of every kind, waxed
(18:49):
strong in battle, spiritual orphysical there, that we might
not be destroyed, having beenbrought out of bondage time
after time and having been keptand preserved until now.
And we have been prospered untilwe are rich in all manner of
things.
(19:11):
Again in Mormon one, we witnessa time when the work of miracles
and healing did cease because ofthe iniquity of the people.
And there were no gifts from theLord.
And the Holy Ghost did not comeupon any because of their
wickedness and unbelief.
(19:33):
Another warning in Moroni 10,that if the day cometh that the
power and gifts of God shall bedone away among you, it shall be
because of unbelief.
God's greatest power.
is manifested in his children inbeing able to sanctify and
perfect our imperfect efforts aswe strive to develop his gifts.
(19:58):
He has already paid the price.
Our only cost is to believe.
These are the last days andwhere people tend to think of
destruction and hardship whenthose two words"last days" are
spoken, we know better.
There is great power, promises,miracles, revelation, gifts,
(20:22):
joy, strength, protection thathas been reserved for these days
for right now.
They are yours.
Claim them.
There is hope.
Elder Holland gave a similarinvitation to know Christ and
claim his heavenly help in theApril 2024 general conference.
(20:46):
But his invitation in particularcomes with incredible power
because he gave it after havingsacred experiences when he
almost left this life for goodand knowing that this might be
the very last message he wouldgive in this mortal life.
Can you imagine preparing a talklike that?
(21:07):
He bore powerful witness of thereality of eternal life and the
need for us to be serious in ourplanning for it.
He said,"That serious needs toexist when Christ comes.
Because he needs to recognizeus, not as nominal members
(21:28):
listed on a faded baptismalrecord, but as thoroughly
committed, faithfully believing,covenant keeping disciples.
This is an urgent matter for allof us, lest we ever hear with
devastating regret, I never knewyou.
(21:51):
Or as Joseph Smith translatedthat phrase, you never knew me."
Close quote.
Do those words sound familiar?
Very similar to the words thatwere spoken to me.
Ye know me not.
To know Christ is to needChrist.
(22:11):
To believe in and access hishealing power.
In fact, the very next wordsElder Holland spoke were of all
the help that is available to usas we come to know Christ, if we
will just believe.
He said,"Fortunately, we havehelp for this task, lots of
(22:32):
help.
We need to believe in angels andmiracles and the promises of the
holy priesthood.
We need to believe in the giftof the Holy Ghost, the influence
of good families and friends,the power of the pure love of
Christ.
We need to believe in revelationand prophets, seers and
(22:54):
revelators, and PresidentRussell M.
Nelson.
We need to believe with prayerand pleading and personal
righteousness, we really canascend to Mount Zion, the city
of a living God, the heavenlyplace, the holiest of all." What
a happy place.
(23:15):
Are you tired of waiting foryour happy when?
Tired of trying quick fixes thatdon't stick?
Let's do this now.
What change are you seeking?
What burden do you need lifted?
What faith do you wantstrengthened?
What gifts are dormant withinyou?
(23:37):
What healing is needed?
That is what Christ came here todo.
I think you might be pretty goodat it.
Believe in God's power, hisgifts, his promises.
Remember all he has done.
You will cultivate unshakenfaith in Christ as you do.
(24:00):
And from that faith comes hope.
And from that hope comescharity, which encompasses every
gift of the spirit and containsthe greatest power of God we can
realize.
Let this seed of belief work inyou today and you will be
astounded by the power of hisgrace.
(24:22):
You will witness change comeinto your life that is so
stunning that it will beimpossible for you to deny the
power of God.
When dark clouds of trouble hangover you and threaten your peace
to destroy, there is hopesmiling brightly before you, and
you know that deliverance isnigh.
(24:44):
Christ is your hope, smilingbrightly.
Believe in God's power, his gifts, his promises.
(00:04):
Remember all he has done.
You will cultivate unshakenfaith in Christ as you do.
Let this seed of belief work inyou today.
And you will be astounded by thepower of his grace.
You will witness change comeinto your life.
That is so stunning that it willbe impossible for you to deny
(00:27):
the power of God.
Well, hello.
Welcome to the first episode ofHope Smiling Brightly.
I am Amber Dawn Pearce, and I amso grateful and humbled that you
are here.
I had a wonderful and uniqueupbringing raised off grid by
(00:52):
addict hippies who wereconverted to The Church of Jesus
Christ of Latter day Saints.
We ended up becoming a family of15, including 8 adopted
siblings.
Yep, I know what it's like tolive in a home with dirt floors
and no plumbing or electricity.
Oh, I've got stories.
You'll hear a lot of them infuture episodes, I promise.
(01:15):
Some of you know me from socialmedia where I share little clips
of my upbringing and faith.
But as we know, when it comes tosocial media, there is so much
more than meets the eye.
The gospel of Jesus Christ hasbrought much joy into my life.
And the smile you see on my facethere is truly genuine, but
(01:40):
finding that joy has been quitethe journey.
In fact, there is one, one wordinstruction I heard from others
more than any other when I wasgrowing up.
Can you guess what it was?
Smile.
My upbringing was amazing, butit wasn't without incredibly
(02:02):
difficult experiences.
Being an introspective person bynature.
Others often mistook my abilityto get lost in thought.
as, well, sadness.
Though, honestly, sometimes theyweren't far off in their
assumption.
From a very young age, Ideveloped the happy when
(02:27):
syndrome.
You know what I'm talking about.
I'll be happy when ABC is overor when XYZ finally begins.
And yes, I definitely knew Iwould be happy when I could
finally use an indoor toiletinstead of an outhouse.
All jokes aside, with happy whensyndrome, I knew there was joy
(02:53):
out there, but I was sure itwould only come if and when
circumstances would change.
Funny thing is, Every timecircumstances did change, I
would just find another happywhen to hope for.
The same applied to everythingelse I believed in.\ I knew God
(03:17):
would speak.
I knew there were miracles.
I knew there was peace.
I knew there was deliverance.
But just Not now.
For that, I'd have to wait.
That waiting turned into yearsof striving to check every
single box on the RighteousChild of God checklist.
(03:41):
I was sure that when I got tothe end of my perfect checklist
rainbow, that is where I wouldfinally find everything I
wanted.
You can imagine the confusionwhen I found myself on the
ground, completely exhaustedwith no pot of gold.
(04:04):
Worse than that were thedevastating words that God spoke
to my mind.
In the middle of it all, ye knowme not.
My whole life, I had worshippeda very demanding God, who I knew
loved me, but I was sure wasconstantly disappointed in me.
A God who would only love,accept, and bless me after I
(04:28):
could perfect myself.
I finally realized that if thecost of worth and acceptance was
perfection, then there was noway I could ever pay it.
No wonder living the gospel feltso exhausting.
I had it all.
wrong.
(04:48):
Over the next years, God showedme my only labor, the one and
only checkbox I ever needed.
To look to Him each day.
God has slowly stripped awayincorrect beliefs I have about
who He is and replaced it withtruth.
(05:09):
With that truth has come changeto the point that I barely
remember the person that I wasbefore.
His promise that his wordchanges us, born again into a
new creature in Christ, is real.
I can't help but share thismessage.
(05:30):
Over and over again, the Spirithas spoken to my mind.
This isn't just about you,Amber.
These experiences can bless morethan just you.
And so I am here sharing it,even if it helps just one person
sharing, because so many havemistakenly decided the solution
(05:52):
is to walk away from theirfaith.
If you don't mind, I'd like toshare with you a few
foundational principles thatwill guide the message of this
podcast.
Number one, it is Christ whoheals do not labor for that,
which cannot satisfy.
(06:13):
When I was researching for thispodcast, I came across many
websites of motivationalspeakers who promised the same
things in different words overand over again.
Master every area of your life,create a better life, take
control of your life, take backyour life, create the life
(06:35):
you've been dreaming of, andmany more.
I am sure those people have somegreat tools and knowledge to
share.
But there will always besomething missing, and here it
is a testimony of Christ can dowhat all other self help
(06:58):
resources promise and more.
Whatever it is, Christ is theanswer.
He is our coach, our guide, ourmentor, our motivational
speaker.
If we would just have thepatience to let him speak.
(07:21):
Come unto Christ and his powerand lay hold upon every good
gift, touch, not the evil gift,nor the unclean thing.
In other words, stop looking forpeace, healing, power in
solutions that will never trulysatisfy.
(07:42):
Isaiah says it perfectly inchapter 55.
Wherefore do ye spend money forthat which is not bread, and
your labor for that whichsatisfyeth not?
Hearken diligently unto me, andeat ye that which is good, and
let your soul delight itself infatness.
(08:04):
Incline your ear, and come untome.
Hear, and your soul shall live,and I will make an everlasting
covenant with you.
So shall my word be that goethforth out of my mouth.
It shall not return unto mevoid, but it shall accomplish
(08:26):
that which I please, and itshall prosper in the thing
whereinto I sent it.
It sounds easy enough.
But remember that Moses raisedup a type of Christ in the
wilderness, that whosoever wouldlook upon it might live.
(08:47):
And many did look and live, butmany would not look and
perished.
And the reason they did not lookis because they did not believe
that it would heal them.
Living in these last days, Hasleft a lot to be healed in us.
(09:08):
Christ promises healing, but fewhave patience to come to him and
instead look for healing andpeace from other sources.
Yes, finding Christ in theseconfusing times requires great
faith, but the amazing news isthat you wouldn't be right here,
(09:33):
right now, if you didn't havethe capacity for this kind of
faith.
The second principle, hishealing process manifests
greater things than you canimagine I dare you to find any
(09:53):
resource out there that topswhat he offers.
So what can you hope for as youturn your head and look to him?
What does he want for you tobelieve?
With hope, smiling brightly, youcan experience that God is
always communicating to you,even in this very moment, that
(10:18):
joy is now.
Even in the most difficultcircumstances, miracles are real
and evident in every single day.
Angels are ministering to you.
He is giving an abundance of thegifts of the Holy Spirit to help
us strengthen and bless eachother.
(10:41):
The power of your covenants ismagnifying you in unprecedented
ways.
His peace that passes allunderstanding is flowing over
you, and he is delivering youfrom all manner of bondage,
physical, mental, spiritual,emotional.
He is Lord over all.
(11:06):
The third principle, he keepshis promises and they are
powerful.
God will show unto you withpower and great glory at the
last day that these things aretrue.
The only thing that can stop itis our own unbelief.
(11:28):
And even then, if you don'tbelieve, he's working on that
right now too.
Today is that promise fulfilledthat was given in the book of
Mormon.
So let's break it down a bitNephi saw us and witnessed that
the power of the Lamb of Goddescended upon the saints of the
(11:51):
church of the lamb and upon thecovenant people of the Lord who
were scattered upon all the faceof the earth.
And they were armed withrighteousness and with the power
of God in great glory.
What is this power?
Priesthood power available toevery covenant daughter or son
(12:17):
of God.
How important it is to learn thedoctrine of the priesthood that
it might distill upon our souls.
Again, in 2 Nephi 6:14, we arereminded that he will manifest
himself unto us in power andgreat glory unto the destruction
(12:41):
of our enemies.
What enemy?
I believe our own thoughts areour greatest enemies.
They are often created bysuggestions from the adversary.
God can destroy those enemieswith truth.
(13:01):
Okay, so he will manifesthimself unto us in power and
great glory unto the destructionof our enemies.
But in the next line, we learnsomething that has to happen on
our part.
You ready for it?
When that day cometh, when theyshall believe in him.
(13:24):
Notice how it didn't say if.
He did not say if, but when,because he has that much
confidence in you and yourbelief now, you might be
thinking, okay, I believe inChrist and his promises but that
(13:48):
is just the start and brings usto the fourth principle.
We must believe in his power inour lives personally, and that
power comes from gifts of theHoly Spirit, that same God who
parted the sea so it could becrossed on dry ground is the
(14:11):
same God who is with you whenyou find yourself at a spiritual
dead end, The same God whohealed the blind is the one who
is trying to help you see him inyour life.
When your sight is restored Youwill see that he has given and
will help you cultivate giftsthat will bless you and the
(14:36):
world.
If there be one among you thatdoeth good, he shall work by the
power and gifts of God.
I remember when President Nelsonsaid, My dear sisters, You have
spiritual gifts andpropensities.
I urge you with all the hope ofmy heart to pray to understand
(14:59):
your spiritual gifts, tocultivate, use, and expand them
even more than you ever have.
You will change the world as youdo.
I took that invitation seriouslyand began to pray for that
understanding.
I didn't receive an immediateanswer, but one day as I was
(15:20):
going about my tasks, the wordscame into my mind as clear as
anything.
You have the gift to beartestimony.
I stood frozen in my spot,surprised that I had never
realized I had been blessed withthat gift where in that moment,
(15:41):
it seemed so obvious, but now Ihad the task to cultivate, use
and expand the gift to beartestimony more than I ever had.
And try to have faith in thepromise that along with you.
We would change the world.
That moment was the first ofmany turning points in my life
(16:06):
and in between I've probablyfaced more opposition than ever
trying to overcome doubt andfear and sharing the gift I've
been given.
Sometimes I wanted to forgetabout that experience because I
was sure I was going to fail.
But to deny our own gifts andabilities is to deny God and his
(16:32):
power, priesthood power.
Deny not the power of God, denynot the gifts of God, but deny
yourself of all ungodliness.
One of the most ungodly thingsto do is to reject or diminish
(16:56):
the divinity within you.
When you put yourself down, tellyourself you can't do something,
stay quiet out of fear, hideyour gifts.
You are literally rejecting thegodliness in you.
(17:19):
My last point is a warning tobeware of one of Satan's
favorite tactics.
We are shown over and over againin the scriptures of how Satan
will try to make us forget thatGod can do such marvelous works
In Alma nine, we are told of apeople who forgot and the
(17:41):
terrible destruction that camebecause of it.
But do we remember in our day,those same things that they
forgot that all things can bemade known according to our
desires, that we can be visitedby the spirit of God converse
(18:03):
with angels spoken to by thevoice of the Lord.
Blessed with the spirit ofprophecy and the spirit of
revelation and also many giftsthe gift of speaking with
tongues, And the gift ofpreaching and the gift of the
Holy Ghost.
It goes on to list other thingswe tend to forget or never even
(18:26):
see.
And I want you to listen tothese as if they were spiritual
and not just physical, that wehave been delivered of God saved
from famine, not justphysically, but spiritually,
from sickness, from all mannerof diseases of every kind, waxed
(18:49):
strong in battle, spiritual orphysical there, that we might
not be destroyed, having beenbrought out of bondage time
after time and having been keptand preserved until now.
And we have been prospered untilwe are rich in all manner of
things.
(19:11):
Again in Mormon one, we witnessa time when the work of miracles
and healing did cease because ofthe iniquity of the people.
And there were no gifts from theLord.
And the Holy Ghost did not comeupon any because of their
wickedness and unbelief.
(19:33):
Another warning in Moroni 10,that if the day cometh that the
power and gifts of God shall bedone away among you, it shall be
because of unbelief.
God's greatest power.
is manifested in his children inbeing able to sanctify and
perfect our imperfect efforts aswe strive to develop his gifts.
(19:58):
He has already paid the price.
Our only cost is to believe.
These are the last days andwhere people tend to think of
destruction and hardship whenthose two words"last days" are
spoken, we know better.
There is great power, promises,miracles, revelation, gifts,
(20:22):
joy, strength, protection thathas been reserved for these days
for right now.
They are yours.
Claim them.
There is hope.
Elder Holland gave a similarinvitation to know Christ and
claim his heavenly help in theApril 2024 general conference.
(20:46):
But his invitation in particularcomes with incredible power
because he gave it after havingsacred experiences when he
almost left this life for goodand knowing that this might be
the very last message he wouldgive in this mortal life.
Can you imagine preparing a talklike that?
(21:07):
He bore powerful witness of thereality of eternal life and the
need for us to be serious in ourplanning for it.
He said,"That serious needs toexist when Christ comes.
Because he needs to recognizeus, not as nominal members
(21:28):
listed on a faded baptismalrecord, but as thoroughly
committed, faithfully believing,covenant keeping disciples.
This is an urgent matter for allof us, lest we ever hear with
devastating regret, I never knewyou.
(21:51):
Or as Joseph Smith translatedthat phrase, you never knew me."
Close quote.
Do those words sound familiar?
Very similar to the words thatwere spoken to me.
Ye know me not.
To know Christ is to needChrist.
(22:11):
To believe in and access hishealing power.
In fact, the very next wordsElder Holland spoke were of all
the help that is available to usas we come to know Christ, if we
will just believe.
He said,"Fortunately, we havehelp for this task, lots of
(22:32):
help.
We need to believe in angels andmiracles and the promises of the
holy priesthood.
We need to believe in the giftof the Holy Ghost, the influence
of good families and friends,the power of the pure love of
Christ.
We need to believe in revelationand prophets, seers and
(22:54):
revelators, and PresidentRussell M.
Nelson.
We need to believe with prayerand pleading and personal
righteousness, we really canascend to Mount Zion, the city
of a living God, the heavenlyplace, the holiest of all." What
a happy place.
(23:15):
Are you tired of waiting foryour happy when?
Tired of trying quick fixes thatdon't stick?
Let's do this now.
What change are you seeking?
What burden do you need lifted?
What faith do you wantstrengthened?
What gifts are dormant withinyou?
(23:37):
What healing is needed?
That is what Christ came here todo.
I think you might be pretty goodat it.
Believe in God's power, hisgifts, his promises.
Remember all he has done.
You will cultivate unshakenfaith in Christ as you do.
(24:00):
And from that faith comes hope.
And from that hope comescharity, which encompasses every
gift of the spirit and containsthe greatest power of God we can
realize.
Let this seed of belief work inyou today and you will be
astounded by the power of hisgrace.
(24:22):
You will witness change comeinto your life that is so
stunning that it will beimpossible for you to deny the
power of God.
When dark clouds of trouble hangover you and threaten your peace
to destroy, there is hopesmiling brightly before you, and
you know that deliverance isnigh.
(24:44):
Christ is your hope, smilingbrightly.
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