For the first time in my life I am feeling "different" than everyone else. I now see that growing up in Utah and attending BYU was like living in somewhat of a "cookie cutter world." Don't get me wrong, there are a lot of amazing people who I admire and look up to in these Latter-Day Saint dense communities. I knew that moving to California would be a major culture shock and thought I was pretty prepared for the utterly different world I was about to enter. It's a bit harder to adjust than I expected. You might call it a minor identity crisis--the vastly different environment has forced me to think about who I really am and rethink my priorities. Most importantly I've been able to analyze my faith in the Gospel of Jesus Christ. I have realized that I do have my own testimony of the Plan of Salvation and that every aspect of my life reflects my devotion to Christ--the importance I place on my husband and family, how I spend my free time, how I dress, my language, how I carry myself, and how I treat other people. I look around and see so many people who do not have the gift of the gospel in their lives. I often wonder why I have been so blessed. I'm beginning to understand both the difficulty and importance of missionary work. Now more than ever I feel I need to stand as a witness of God (Mosiah 18:9).
Friday, July 27, 2007
Stand as a Witness
For the first time in my life I am feeling "different" than everyone else. I now see that growing up in Utah and attending BYU was like living in somewhat of a "cookie cutter world." Don't get me wrong, there are a lot of amazing people who I admire and look up to in these Latter-Day Saint dense communities. I knew that moving to California would be a major culture shock and thought I was pretty prepared for the utterly different world I was about to enter. It's a bit harder to adjust than I expected. You might call it a minor identity crisis--the vastly different environment has forced me to think about who I really am and rethink my priorities. Most importantly I've been able to analyze my faith in the Gospel of Jesus Christ. I have realized that I do have my own testimony of the Plan of Salvation and that every aspect of my life reflects my devotion to Christ--the importance I place on my husband and family, how I spend my free time, how I dress, my language, how I carry myself, and how I treat other people. I look around and see so many people who do not have the gift of the gospel in their lives. I often wonder why I have been so blessed. I'm beginning to understand both the difficulty and importance of missionary work. Now more than ever I feel I need to stand as a witness of God (Mosiah 18:9).
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3 comments:
That is wonderful that you can quickly recognize your own testimony and values. And thank you for sharing that scrpiture, I found it very helpful for me.
I'm sure I am going to have the same realization soon now that we've moved. It might be harder than I think! It's great that this experience has strengthened your testimony.
Thank you for your thoughts Michelle. I understand your sentiments completely but from the opposite culture shock :). How important our testimonies are in all places. Thank you.
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