Hello and welcome back to the series! This is the eight episode of the second season and I am Latterdayhelp. This is the story of Hannah ( @Hope.through.thesavior) and how she was able to come to the knowledge of the gospel. Make sure to stay tuned for the next episode because it is going to be about the story of her friend, Natalie.
It was an ordinary start to a new school year, or so I thought. I’d attended the same school in Hawaii since kindergarten, but on the first day of sixth grade I noticed a new student. There was something different about the way she carried herself, and I decided to get to know her better. Her name was Natalie. My friends and I started eating lunch with her and quickly realized that she was a fun person to be around. It was through these school interactions that I learned that Natalie was a member of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints and cared deeply about her faith.
I never realized the impact that Natalie would have on my life. Throughout the next few years, I learned a little more about the Church and the Savior from her. When we first became friends, I noticed that she wouldn’t hang out on Sundays and that she carried her scriptures around at school. It was just these small things that introduced me to the Church and helped me learn a little bit more about her faith.
In 2019 there was a series of events that changed my entire life. I was at a carnival with Natalie, and I said, “I want to join your Church.” I’m not sure what Natalie was thinking at the time, because it came out of nowhere, but from that point on Natalie began sharing more of her faith with me.
Later that year, I went with Natalie to youth conference. At the conference we were separated into “families,” where two adults served as our parents for the week, and we went to all our activities together. I come from a small family, so having all these people supporting me made me feel like I belonged somewhere. That was one of the things that I was really searching for when I started investigating the Church.
One of the last activities at the youth conference was a testimony meeting. I had never experienced something like that. I grew up going to Protestant churches, and there was never a time where all the youth would go up and voluntarily speak to the congregation. Natalie shared a special testimony that also motivated me to want to learn more and to keep coming back. If I could pick one thing in my entire spiritual progression that changed the course of it, it would be that day. I could just feel that this is where I belonged and that this feeling was going to encourage me to stay on the right path.
With the help of Natalie, her family, and my new ward friends, I continued to learn more about the gospel. During the process, I prayed to Heavenly Father, pleading, “Please tell me that this Church is true, because I need it to be true.” As I continued to search and gain a testimony, I knew it was all true. Later that summer, I became a member of the Church.
Although I was baptized in the Church, I realize that success in sharing does not necessarily mean someone gets baptized. It’s more about being a good friend. If you have good intentions and righteous desires, then anything you do to participate in Heavenly Father’s work is going to be considered a success. Even if someone says no to an invitation to an activity, your friends still know you’re thinking of them, and that can strengthen your friendships.
President Russell M. Nelson said, “Anytime you do anything that helps anyone … take a step toward making covenants with God … you are helping to gather Israel.” Having a personal experience with being invited to church has really inspired me and motivated me to share the gospel with other people, because I know that my life would have been much different without it.
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