i bore my testimony

I got the wonderful opportunity to bare my testimony in front of 400+ people two weeks after my baptism at a fireside. it was such a wonderfully powerfully night, and I was so honored to speak at it. here's what I said: 

Hi everyone! My name is Valissa Espinosa, I am eighteen years old, and until April 25th, 2015 I was and had always been Catholic. But I’m not anymore, I’m Mormon now, and I have never been happier in my life! I’m just going to start by reading you Moroni’s promise. It’s a scriptural promise from Heavenly Father himself that was designed just for you and me. This is the scripture that changed my life for eternity, and maybe it’ll be the same scripture that’ll change your life for eternity too. It is in the Book of Mormon, in Moroni chapter ten verses four and five and it reads, 

“And when ye shall receive these things, I would exhort you that ye would ask God, the eternal father, in the name of Christ, if these things are not true; and if ye shall ask with a sincere heart, with real intent, having faith in Christ, he will manifest the truth of it unto you, by the power of the Holy Ghost yea may know the truth of all things.”

I cannot express to you how grateful I am for the scriptures. I have been blessed in many ways, but especially with the gospel. And I am extremely blessed to have come across this scripture because it indeed changed my life.  Moroni wrote the promise that the Lord has for us. That promise is to ponder in our hearts what is true, to ask questions, to act upon your thoughts and with real intent go to Heavenly Father yourself and figure it out. I can testify to you that if you do go and pray with a sincere heart and have real intent in finding an answer you will receive one. Whether it is a yes or it is a no, you will get an answer. And it’s not a right or wrong answer, for the plan the Lord has for you is different than the person you’re sitting next to, it’s the plan that Heavenly Father has just for you. And because of that, the Holy Ghost will come upon you and only you and give you a true and real answer to your question. How awesome is that?! The Lord made this special promise just for you and I hundreds and hundreds and hundreds of years ago. He intended you to encounter that very promise at this very moment. He has been planning your life and your life events for ages now. Now he is just letting you hear the real truth. He’s making sure that you can know about him, that you can know his very power, and that you know he really exists. 

I personally have known his power and have had his presence in my life from the start. I was blessed to know the gospel and to know who heavenly father, the Holy Ghost and who Jesus Christ all were because my family blessed me with knowing that. Like I said, I was Catholic. And in being Catholic I got to learn a lot about the importance of the gospel and how to implement it into my everyday life. Sure Heavenly Father continued to test me and my faith, but I grew so much deeper in faith and really learned how to lean on the scriptures and the gospel for help and guidance.

At one point in my investigation I truly found out just how much the gospel had blessed me in my life. It was when my mom asked me why I was getting baptized so quickly. She randomly came into my room one night ad just asked me. Why do quick? Mind you it was only 3 weeks into lessons when I set a date for my baptism so her question was reasonable as a parent. And I told her "Because I know that this is the true and full gospel mom. I know it." And she said, "but what about all the time you spent doing classes for your Catholic Confirmation? It was all for nothing! You spent so much time and effort for nothing Valissa." And I replied with "No mom. It was all for this! I learned so much scripture and so many life lessons when I prepared for my confirmation. And all of it was for this! To add to what I have just discovered. I know that this addition is the true gospel and that it would be meaningless without the Old and New Testament. So no mom. It wasn't for nothing. It was for everything! I gained so much from it." And she said "okay Valissa, I just hope you're really happy and that this is something that you really want to do." And I replied with a smile and that was it. 

So back to my investigating story. It was quick! When I did start investigating the church it was more just to gain knowledge on why Mormons did the things they, did not necessarily to convert. My first intentions were never to convert actually, but after a series of lessons, I found myself gaining not only knowledge but answers on questions that I had in my Catholic religion. There were many things that I personally had a hard time believing. I'm the hungry type to wants and longs for answers and I never seemed to get any answers. So coming into the mormon church as an investigator and I actually got answers that made sense was something that eased my mind tremendously. It was like a series of 'aha'  moments. Sure it was mostly doctrinal differences but those differences were the ones I always questioned and finally found the answers to. But those differences were the differences that I believed in and the ones that changed my life. 

It has been such a journey from where I was a year ago to where I am today. I used to live life in a "yolo" way. I took everyday for granted and did not live out the commandments but loved the scriptures and put them on all my instagram pictures. I was one of "those Christians" and I didn't mind. All my friends were the same way, I figured it was fine. But since the beginning of this year, I made it a New Years resolution to do my best to actually live a Christ like life. And I really think that is why when I did start investigating the church everything was so real and it all made so much sense to me. Just in the past 3 months of living out the commandments I saw a difference in myself but I also saw a difference in the blessings I was receiving. It was overall great, and so when I started investigating and I found out that by doing the little things now, I will just increase my chances at going into eternal happiness in the celestial kingdom. And it just was amazing and a sense of relief knowing that by doing good now, I will one day be rewarded! And then I realized that everyone can have this! Every single one of us can have this joy and happiness and love that I feel right now. By living the commandments, loving, studying, and believing in the gospel and by having a true relationship with the man who created you. I have always known that Jesus, God and the Holy Ghost have been real, but it wasn't until I fully accepted them and allowed myself to really live for them did I realize how real it all can be. There's such a giant difference between living and being alive. And I am alive because of the gospel. And living is fine! It's a blessing to just live, but all of us can be alive! We can always have someone to lean on, someone to talk to when we have a good day or even a bad one. We all have that, we just have to use it! I am so blessed by the gospel and every life experience that has gotten me to this very moment. I am so excited to tell you guys this next statement and I really hope you know it's sincere when I say it,

I am Mormon, I am loved so big, and I am living the commandments and scriptures because I know it's the true way to happiness. 

I want every single one of you to feel the joy and love that I feel in this very moment and every day because it's such a large joy that every single one of you deserve to feel. I hope that you can open your hearts and feel the spirit like I do someday!

I testify to you that the Book of Mormon is true, that this church is the true church, that the prophets are real, that the gospel is true and that I am happy because of you guys. 

I get so much joy with sharing my testimony, so without you to share my testimony with, I wouldn't have happiness. So thank you! Heavenly Father loves you so much, someday you will feel that love. I know it. I am honored to be a Latter Day Saint and to share this with you! I say these things humbly in the name of Jesus Christ, Amen.