As I look back on my life I have a handful of moments that helped me to define my faith. These moments came often during times of great inner turmoil, as I struggled with a decision or through a difficult situation. Fortunately I was prepared to handle these moments. As a young child my mother and father taught me to turn to the Lord in times of need. I learned that when I prayed that He was listening and that He would answer me.
As a parent now I am striving to teach my children the skills of personal prayer and scripture study. I want them to be equipped as I was so that they know whom they should turn to when they are alone and struggling with a problem. As a parent it is important that you suggest to your children that they pray to ask for help or comfort. When they receive answers for the smaller things, they will turn to Him when the problems are much bigger.
There are also moments when my testimony was strengthened through experiences that I had with my family or at church activities. I received my testimony that Joseph Smith is a prophet during seminary one day. I felt the love that Heavenly Father has for each of His children each year at young women’s camp. My husband speaks often of his first fifty-mile hike when he was in young men’s. Experiences on this hike helped to reinforce gospel principles.
As parents it is important to teach our children how to pray, study the scriptures and recognize the promptings of the spirit. Then we need to live so that we are examples of this behavior. Finally we can pray that our children will have the necessary experiences to cement their testimonies. Although these may be difficult experiences while they are going through them, it is important to realize that they will help them to become stronger.
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