Renovating my Foundation

This morning, President Russel M. Nelson spoke of the importance of having strong foundations, and of the need to renovate or reinforce one's foundations if one's renovations aren't strong enough. Having been raised in the church, one would think that my spiritual foundation was solid. Yet, I'm finding that my foundation is not as strong as I'd like it to be.

You see, my foundation was mostly built on following along. I listened to what I learned in Primary, and I never really questioned it. I followed the Gospel Path all the way to a two-year evangelical mission because that was the path that was laid out for me. While I was on my mission, I struggled, partly because I didn't really have a personal testimony of what I was teaching. I was just repeating what I had been told.

Now well into my adulthood, I've learned that my foundation of following along isn't strong enough, especially now that the path forward is less clearly marked. I need to gain a personal testimony. And to do that, I need to do what thousands of missionaries have told almost everyone to do: Study and Pray.

So, that's what I'm going to do. I'm going to study the Bible and the Book of Mormon and perhaps other scriptures, and I'm going to pray to God for answers that I can know in both my heart and my mind are true.

I don't want to rely on just believing in The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints because I was raised in it and never questioned it. That's not a strong enough foundation to get me through the trials and temptations of life. I need to gain a personal testimony and learn for myself whether it's true.