Where Were You? Part 3

Blogger's Note:
This piece is different for everyone, but I tried to make it as generic as possible.  I've been pondering a lot on how our lives end up, and our lives are so different from each others.  I've been having a few experiences recently that really played a big part in this piece, and I've found a video that has pulled at my heartstrings that has deeply colored this part. You should definitely check it out: It's called 'The Hope of God's Light.'  I know that God has a plan for our lives here on Earth.  I know that He knows what He is doing.  Everything in our lives has been put here to help us to learn and to grow and to become the best versions of ourselves that we can be.  To read the earlier parts, Part 1 and Part 2.


My Life Isn't Quite What I Thought It Would Be

It came your turn to receive a body. Just as you had seen happen to your brothers and sisters, a veil of forgetfulness was drawn over your memory. You had no memory of your family, no memory of your Heavenly Father, no memory of the plan.

You were sent to a good family, a mother and a father, and you learned and grew. You would sometimes feel as if there was something greater, but you didn't know what and so you would continue on in your life, school, work, friends, and then you are married, starting a family of your own.

Religion was not a big part of your life, but you knew there was something out there.

A friend invited your family to a church party, a holiday BBQ, and you agree. There, two young men in white shirts, ties, and name badges introduce themselves as Elder and Elder and you wonder if the name tags were a joke because they had the same first name. Your friend invites you over to his home to talk with Elder and Elder, and you don't see the harm in it.

You chuckle when you learn that they weren't really named Elder, and that this was just a title for the church's missionaries, you listen politely to their message, and then they share the story of a young boy named Joseph Smith. Something changes in the room, and you feel something different. You continue to learn from the missionaries, and they help you realize what this feeling is.

You learn that you can live with your family forever, and you share that with your spouse, and the next time the elders come over, you both are there asking questions and listening to what they have to say.  They ask you to read a book and pray, and you do that, and you learn for yourself that there is a God and that He loves you and your family.  The strangest thing is that this feeling is familiar.  You make the decision to follow Christ.

Throughout the next several years, your family makes leaps and bounds working to follow Christ, feeling happier day by day.  The hardships aren't gone, but you feel as if they are more manageable.  You feel as if you have more hope and the tools to succeed in your life.  You and your family are sealed together for time and all eternity, and as you look at your family that day, you know that this is what was meant for your family, and you will have your family with you forever. 

As everyone does, you die, but you're not afraid.  You know what is coming next.  You know your Heavenly Father is excited to see you.