A Simple Testimony of My Savior

   

               At this very moment my heart is filled with so much love and gratitude for my Savior and older brother Jesus Christ. Our Savior and Redeemer did so much for us while he was upon the earth. He set a perfect example as to what we are to become.
     This evening I was studying Lesson 2 "The Plan of Salvation" in Preach My Gospel and at the start it gives us Chapters to read about our Savior and his work. This evening I focused in on 1 Nephi Chapters 10 & 11 in the Book of Mormon.
     I truly can testify with all of my heart that our Savior Jesus Christ does live. He loves us perfectly. I can testify that he truly did sacrifice his life for not only me but for you as well. I wonder how many drops of blood were dropped for not only me but for you? He had to bleed from every pore of his body because of the pains and afflictions he felt. All the pains and afflictions we would ever go through while we were here being tested on earth.
   Our Savior loved not only me but you so much that he had nails driven through his palms and his wrists and was nailed on a cross with a crown of thorns upon his head. He did so because he loved us and this was the only way for us to return to live with him and our Father in Heaven again someday. I can testify that he truly does love you. He loves you more than you will ever be able to imagine.
   I can testify that I know he lives, and that he did sacrifice his life upon the cross. I can testify that as we strive with all of hearts to do his will and to come unto him he will open his arms to us and we will feel his love.
   

        Our Savior Jesus Christ is waiting with his arms open for us to come unto him. He knows us perfectly, he knows the pain we suffer, he knows the trials we have to go through, he knows of our heartaches.
       I can Testify that as we turn to him and turn our lives over to him and press forward with faith enduring to the end we will see his hand in our lives and we will feel of his life.

 
         
       This is my Savior, lord and Redeemer Jesus Christ. I strive to live my life in a way that would make him proud along with my Father in Heaven. I want nothing more in life than to be able to live with them once again. I want them to look me in the eyes one day, and welcome me back home with them. The love they both have for me is something I WILL NEVER DENY.
       I pray that we will all turn our hearts over to the savior and to come unto him. I hope everyone can one day realize just how much they are loved by their Father in Heaven and Savior Jesus Christ. And experience the peace that I have with this simple understanding.
       I can't wait to testify to the world in 6 weeks of this. And to help others come unto Christ and to feel the way I do from having the gospel in my life and from being a member of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints.
     With this I leave you my testimony of my beloved Savior, the only begotten son and redeemer of the Lord World Jesus Christ, amen.


         Matthew 7:7-8 "Ask, and it shall be given you; seek, and ye shall find; knock, and it shall be opened unto you: For every one that asketh receiveth; and he that seeketh findeth; and to him that knocketh it shall be opened."

Love,
Soon to be Sister Skaggs

You are QUALIFIED!

   It's crazy to think, but I officially have less than 2 months left until I report to the MTC. I don't know what to think right now. I feel prepared but at the same time I feel as if I'm not EVEN close to being prepared. First off how do you even prepare for a mission???

    That's what I keep asking myself. I feel so unqualified and at times I'm afraid I wont do the best that I can. You have to remind yourself though that Heavenly Father qualifies those he calls. We may feel scared, intimidated, lost, tempted but that's what Satan wants us to think. Satan knows the incredible potential we have, he knows of the many lives we/you will touch and so if he can get you to doubt yourself and your potential as a missionary then he is doing his job. You need to remember Heavenly Father is sending you to a special place, a place where people are anxiously awaiting for your arrival, because only you can influence them and help them realize just how valuable and loved they are in the eyes of our Father in Heaven. Like what Pres. Uchtdorf has said "Doubt your doubts, before you doubt your faith."

         When I was taking Mission Prep up at BYU-Idaho my Mission Prep teacher Brother Riggins said 'That we need to pray for direction as to how we specifically are to prepare, we need to pray that we will recognize out in the field those individuals Heavenly Father has sent us to bless, we need to pray for them that their hearts maybe getting prepared now, we need to pray for our companions that our love for them may start to grow now that they will have a love for the gospel, a desire to share it, that they maybe hard workers. We need to start this now and not when we start our missions.'  This piece of advice has brought me a lot of strength and comfort. It brings preparing for a mission into a new light. You aren't preparing for yourself you are preparing for others. We CANNOT think about ourselves when we are in the process of preparing but of those we will come in contact with. We aren't out on a mission to change ourselves and if you are then you need to stop and reflect right this very second, because we are out on a mission for others. We are helping others come unto Christ and to bring them the happiness that the gospel has brought us.

         From reading many blogs, to talking to RM's, talking with Temple Square sister missionaries and emailing missionary friends right now the one thing I have learned is study and get to know Preach My Gospel as best as you can before your mission. haha well how do you do that?? My Best Friend and I for 11 years now both received our mission calls about a month and a half apart and we are reporting to the MTC the same day. What are the odds of that?? However she is reporting to the Mexico MTC and will then go to the Chile Vina Del Mar Mission.

     We decided that together we would spend a couple hours a day several days a week and study Preach My Gospel together. It has been such a blessing! We each take turns going back and forth and then after a section or when we really like what we read we discuss it with one another. It first of all helps you focus as you are working with someone else and you get a different view point.

     How do you prepare individually?? For the Temple Square Mission in the letter I received from my Mission President it mentioned that we need to first really get to know Preach My Gospel and second pray to have the spirit with us at all times. When you prepare individually start off with saying a prayer, thanking & asking our Heavenly Father for the things you feel you should say. Then start studying. Personally it varies each day one day I may feel directed to study a specific topic other days I may have no clue, so I will just open up Preach My Gospel or my scriptures and then just start studying and then wait for something to pop out. Keep a study journal with you at all times when you are studying. On many occasions something has stood out and I take that opportunity to write it down in my study journal and I have found that i end up writing a lot more than I had previously planned on. Also, in the scriptures make sure you use the foot notes.

     Just remember your not going to know everything before you leave on your mission. But as you lean on your Father in Heaven and trust in him at all times he will give you the comfort and strength you need to prepare for your mission. You aren't preparing for yourself you are preparing for those that you are to come in contact with. You may not feel qualified now, however, the lord qualifies those he calls. You will do great! Just have faith and keep pressing forward continually relying on your Father in Heaven. :)

With much love,
Soon to be Sister Skaggs
   

The Temple is a House of God

   The one place that I am growing to love and to adore is the Temple. For me I always wondered what happened inside the Temple. Getting out of the car, walking along the rows of freshly bloomed flowers with the wind blowing in your face all dressed in your finest Sunday best my mind was always curious but it never lasted long. Because every time I attended I would glance my head upwards toward Moroni at the top of the Temple and just stare in amazement at the beauty of the Temple. 
  

 Saturday, April 19th 2014 I had the experience of going through the Temple for the first time in my life. Ever since I was a little girl I had dreamed of such a day. 
    I know I still have a ways to go in building my testimony of the Temple, however, I can testify that the Temple truly is a House of God. The spirit you feel there is something you cannot deny. I love this gospel so much and I am so grateful I have it in my life. I feel so blessed to be able to have a Temple so close. I say these things in the name of Jesus Christ Amen. 

     Sincerely, 
Jen Skaggs or soon to be Sister Skaggs. 

Called To Serve...

                 Ever since I was a little girl I had always DREAMED of serving a mission for The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. However, I always thought I would have to wait till I was 21, but then one Saturday morning at the beginning of Oct. 2012 that dreamed changed when the mission age was changed. Our beloved Prophet Thomas S. Monson below speaks about the change that was made.
                                       


                                      MISSION AGE CHANGE VIDEO:

       After about a year or so of waiting I was finally able to start my mission papers at the end of Oct. 2013, however, I wouldn't be eligible to submit them till the start of Feb. 2014.
      The papers were finished, the interviews were finished and it was that time where the dreaded wait of getting your call came.
         Several months before my call came I started to become super obsessed with wanting to go to either the Alpine German Speaking Mission or the Temple Square Mission to the point where I would read blogs, learn about the area etc. After my papers were submitted I really keyed in on the Temple Square Mission, I have no idea why I did it,it just seemed like such a unique and fascinating mission. I told my dad one day after my papers were submitted of how badly I really wanted to serve there and how unique of a mission it was, I remember him saying "Jen you need to knock it off, stop getting your hopes up. You are more than likely not going to get called there. So you need to knock it off and don't tell anyone about this because you are going to sound really weird especially when you don't get called there."
               Everyone knew I wanted to serve there, at the time I was attending BYU-Idaho and so all of my friends, roommates, etc. knew that Temple Square was where I wanted to go. But I knew deep down that I was probably not going to get called there.


                                                        MISSION PICTURE: 

                                                                 IT'S HERE: 

             Two and a half weeks later my call had finally arrived!  By this point everyone knew how to figure out if it was stateside or foreign, and so my roommate after peeking inside one of the flab's saw that it was more than likely stateside, because it didn't show "page 1 of 4" which are your passport papers. Which I was totally okay with, because I wanted to go to Temple Square and Temple Square didn't require me to have a passport. The one thing I remember from that day was several friends and I went to the Temple like we always did each Thursday and I remember sitting there waiting with my call in my purse just thinking of how badly I wanted to go to Temple Square I whispered to Kayla who was sitting next to me saying "Kayla if this is stateside I need to go to Temple Square, that is the only place I can see myself at. If it's somewhere else I will totally be happy and excited, but I just really want to serve on Temple Square." I'm pretty sure she thought I was crazy however she went along with it.
                  After waiting 6 hours it was finally time to open that packet! Here is the video of me opening my call.
                           OPENING MY MISSION CALL:
                           https://www.facebook.com/photo.php?v=1453006164932926&set=vb.100006706687425&type=2&theater

Dear Sister Skaggs, 

  You are hereby called to serve as a missionary of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. You are assigned to labor int he Utah Salt Lake City Temple Square Mission. It is anticipated that you will serve for a period of 18 months. 

You should report to the Provo Missionary Training Center on Wednesday, July 16, 2014. You will prepare to preach the gospel in the English language. Your assignment may be modified according to the needs of the mission president. 

          When I read "Utah Salt Lake City Temple Square Mission" I didn't know what to think. The fact that I was getting called to the one place where I really wanted to go to was just a huge shocker. It was a testament to me that I do have a Father in Heaven and Savior who know and love me, who knows the desires of my heart and knows what is best for me. I left the box blank on my papers when it came to asking for anything and I didn't mention anything to my bishop and stake president about where I would like to serve. I didn't want anything to influence where I was going on my mission. I know that this is where I am supposed to serve. That I am needed on Temple Square.

      I can testify that this gospel is true, I have seen the blessings in my life that come from living the things we are taught. With this I can testify with all of my heart that I Jennifer Skaggs have a Father in Heaven who knows me by name, he knows what I am going through and he loves me so much! I have a savior who gave up his life and suffered all the pains and afflictions that I would end up going through so that I could come here to be tested. I can testify that as we live the teachings of the gospel and strive to do the Lord's will we will see our lives filled with so much peace and happiness, and one day after our time here on earth is over we will be able to return to our Heavenly Father again. I personally want to do all that I am required of so that I can live with my Father in Heaven again. I say these things in the name of Jesus Christ Amen.

   Sincerely,
Jennifer Skaggs or soon to be Sister Skaggs