The light of your testimony

The light of your testimony

There was once an old rancher that hadn’t been to church in a while and one day the preacher came out to see him. As the two sat down around the old ranchers wood burning stove the preacher pulled a coal out from the fire and put it on top of the stove. Sitting there in the quiet home they watched as the glowing coal slowly turned from red to black. When the coal turned black that's when the old rancher leaned forward and said “I know what you mean, I'll be at church Sunday."

There are times in all of our lives when we get to the point we feel like our coal is growing cold or is cold, when we feel our testimony is getting weak. It is at times like this that we like the old rancher need to sit back in the quiet away from the noise of the world and ask our self’s what am I missing in my life, what do I need to be doing differently? Eventually as we ask ourselves this question we like the old rancher will know what is missing and what we need to do to get that coal glowing bright again.
We might be missing something that we think is small like praying for example. Prayer is what connects us to our father in heaven, it opens the door for Him to help guide and direct us in our life.
Think of prayer like this. Have you ever ran into an old friend you haven't seen in a long time and when you two get together everything feels as if you had never been a part but there’s also so much to catch up on and it just makes you happy to have ran into them? When you pray it is like that, your heavenly father loves to "run into" you and hear about all the things that happened to you during the day and week. Even though he already knows how it all was he loves to hear it directly from you as you take a few moments out of your day to talk to him just as you would an old friend.
Never give up on the little things we do in life that bring us closer to our father in heaven. Don’t let your coal grow black. If your coal is black find someone whose coal isn’t and ask for help, lean on their testimony and do that until you feel you are in a place you can keep your coal burning on your own, the same goes for you whose coal is growing dim. The lord will not give you trials in your life without a way out. Once the fire is out you can always relight the fire.
Your heavenly father loves you. Sometimes the best people have the worst experiences, because they are the most ready to learn. He knows what you are going through and he knows what you can handle. He know when your coal is growing cold and he knows the way to bring it back to life, we just have to be willing to listen and act.
I know this church is true. I know God and his son Jesus Christ live and love, and know each and every one of us personally. He knows where your heart lies. I know we can overcome the hardest of times with the help of the lord.
I Love this gospel and I love my savior, and I say these things in the name of Jesus Christ amen.