Grateful for the Gospel of Jesus Christ

I had an amazing experience at church this morning. I really wanted to play hooky and stay home. I'm so grateful that I didn't. Brad Wilcox came and spoke, and the Spirit was so strong. When I was 15, my friend Suzy invited me to EFY (Especially for Youth) at BYU in Provo, Utah. She assured me that it would be "the most Spiritual experience of your life." I remember thinking - "The last thing I want right now is a Spiritual experience." That experience proved to be life changing for me. It is where I first gained a testimony of the Gospel of Jesus Christ, and of our Savior. Brad Wilcox spoke there - we never missed one of his classes - along with Kenneth Cope, and I could no longer deny the feelings that I felt. I spent the next three summers attending EFY. As I mentioned awhile back, my testimony has been a bit shaky for the past few years. There are so many things that I have been taught at church that do not set right with me. Take, for instance, the teaching that we have mortality to "figure it out" or we're damned. To think of a God that loves me more than I can comprehend that would banish me from His presence for eternity just didn't make sense. I love my children with all of my heart. So much so, that there is nothing they could do to make me never want to see them again. Today Brad spoke of "worthiness." He said that we don't pray, attend the temple and partake of the sacrament because we're worthy, we do those things because we NEED them. He said that being with God eternally is not the end, it's the MEANS. We were already with Him in the pre-existence. Why would we have come to earth if the only thing we were trying to accomplish was returning to Him someday?! What we noticed, was that our Heavenly Parents were different than us - their bodies AND their spirits. We wanted to become like them. He explained the scripture that reads, "it is by grace that we are saved after all we can do," and pointed out that meanings change based upon where we put the emphasis. He explained that WE, refers to us AND the Savior. We already have grace, and we do need works, but not to receive His love, but so that we will WANT to receive His love! He has given us commandments to HELP us! He spoke of his nephew that is in prison - for the second time. When he was a teenager, Brad thought that he should attend EFY. He did, but only lasted a day. He called his mother and demanded "Get me OUT of here!" He didn't want to be there. Brad pointed out that he had always pictured judgement day as the Savior standing there with a clip board and declaring - "Oh Brad, you were SO close! Only 2 points. TWO POINTS!" And then he would beg the Savior for another chance. He said that what is more likely is that the Savior will be begging US to stay and partake of the blessings of His atonement, but that we won't WANT to be there if we are not one with Him. It made so much sense to me. It has been said that true doctrine "tastes good." This definitely tasted good. My heart was so warm that I couldn't hold my tears back.