Our Testimonies of Christ

Testimony of Emily May (Lybbert) Hansen

Nov. 21, 2011

As I sit here writing this, it’s the Monday before Thanksgiving and my thoughts are turned to the abundance of blessings in my life. I truly am overwhelmed with gratitude and could make a long and lengthy list of the blessings so evident all around me; I won’t because I recognize the source of those blessings- all of them- is the same. How grateful I am for my elder brother and Savior, Jesus Christ. How I love Him! How grateful I am to have felt His love for me, again and again, throughout my life. I have a deep and abiding testimony that He Lives and that we can rely on Him. He is the source of my strength and, while the carnal minded (wo)man battles with the divine spirit that resides within me, I try every day to center my life on the will of God. How grateful I am for the atonement and the knowledge that I have that the mistakes that I make can be forgiven and I can be clean and pure before my Lord when my turn comes to stand before Him.

I am so grateful for the knowledge of the Gospel of Jesus Christ in my life and for the loving examples of wise and wonderful parents who have exemplified His teachings. How grateful I am for the knowledge of eternal families…and that the relationships that I so cherish here on Earth will be intact through the eternities. How dearly I love you, my wonderful family. Thank you for your gracious love in return.
Testimony of Nathan Kemp Hansen

Nov. 21, 2011

I know God lives and loves us . Jesus is the Christ, the son of the living God and through Him we can be with our family in the Celestial Kingdom. I know Joseph Smith Jr. is the Prophet of the restoration. The Priesthood is God’s power and authority given to fathers to bless the lives of their family. I am grateful for the many opportunities to bless my wife and children with that priesthood. I have come to know the Book of Mormon is another testament of Jesus Christ and is the most correct book and I have come closer to my Heavenly Father and Savior by reading from its pages. It has helped protect me and my family from the fiery darts of the adversary. I love each one of you and thank you for your good examples and your unfailing loyalty to your family. God bless each one of you.
Testimony of Janene Marie (Lybbert) Jensen

Nov. 21, 2011

I have an abiding love for the Gospel of Jesus Christ. I know the gospel changes lives. I have seen its miraculous effect on so many. I love the scriptures and I know that we can truly find the answers to life’s questions as well as guidance for trials we may be facing as we faithfully study them. As a seminary teacher I have been amazed how little I understand about the gospel, but as I diligently study each day for my lessons I have found a powerful testimony behind each and every story from the scriptures, that Jesus Christ does live, He loves us and He has done everything possible to prepare and provide a way for our safe return to that home we all came from. Just as God has provided a prophet throughout all dispensations of time, He has provided a living prophet for our time. I testify that as we follow closely the direction we receive from our living prophet our lives will be blessed beyond measure. “…eye hath not seen, nor ear heard, neither have entered into the heart of man, the things which God hath prepared for them that love him” (1 Corin.2:9). The Book of Mormon has been a constant guiding light for me throughout my life and I testify of its truthfulness. I know that no man could have written this book of his own accord. The Book of Mormon was brought forth by the hand of God through the prophet Joseph Smith. The truthfulness of the gospel of Jesus Christ has been restored upon the earth through Joseph Smith. He was, and still is a true prophet of God. The Book of Mormon is another testament of Christ. I know that someday we will all stand before our Savior to account of our own lives. It is my fervent prayer that there will be NO empty chairs in our family circle. May we all live worthy of that great gift we were all given at baptism, the Holy Ghost, to guide and direct us throughout our lives. I testify that Christ lives. He loves each of us and awaits our return. I pray I may someday be worth of his loving words “well done thou good and faithful servant; thou hast been faithful over a few things, I will make thee ruler over many things; enter thou into the joy of thy Lord.” (Matt. 25:23) God be with you till we meet again!
Testimony of Jaron Richard Jensen

Nov. 24, 2011

I know that the gospel doctrines contained within the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints are true. A simple statement with profound meaning. I love my family. Joshua, JilliAnne, Jontana, and Janessa are my life’s greatest blessings. Everything I do, I do for them and their mother. I will be forever grateful for my savior Jesus Christ, and for the prophets that recorded their revelations in the Book of Mormon. I cherish the book. May we each live our lives so that people will want to know Jesus Christ because they know us. May our works speak louder than our words in testimony of Christ. May we never be casual in the daily nurture of our spirits. Until forever…..
Testimony of Carol Jean (Lybbert) Turley

Nov. 21, 2011

I would like to include my testimony in with this cookbook for all my children to read. I’ve never been very good about bearing it, so I wanted to put it with this cookbook so you would always know that I do have a testimony of the Gospel.

 I know that I’m a daughter of God and therefore of divine worth. I know that I have heavenly parents that know and love me. I know that Christ is my Savior and elder brother. That he atoned for my sins to provide for me an opportunity to repent and be washed clean so I can once again live within the presents of my Heavenly Father. I know that Joseph Smith, as a young boy of 14, entered a grove of trees and was visited by Heavenly Father and Jesus Christ. I know that he was the instrument of God in restoring the gospel once again to the earth with all the rights and blessings associated with it. I know the he translated the Golden Plates with the power and authority of God into the Book of Mormon and that it is the true and full word of God. That by reading it we can gain a more sure knowledge and testimony of Christ. I know that Thomas S. Monson is now the living prophet of God on earth. That he leads and guides this church. I know that the priesthood power has been restored again here upon the earth and that I will have the opportunity of having my family forever because of that sealing power. I am so grateful for this knowledge, for the comfort it brings to me. I’m grateful for the family that I was raised in, for loving parents and brothers and sisters that set and continue to set an example for me. I’m grateful for the husband that I’ve been blessed with, for his love and devotion; for being with me and sharing with me this journey of life. He truly is my best friend and eternal companion. I’m grateful for the seven wonderful children that Heavenly Father entrusted to my care; for each of your individual personalities and spirits. You have made my life complete and full. I’m grateful for the loving and supportive spouses that they have chosen. For their desire to build strong and eternal marriages and raise upright and stalwart children. These precious grandchildren bring added joy and love into my life. My greatest desire and prayer is to live so that we can be a forever family.  I love you!! Mom (Carol)
Testimony of Eugene (Gene) Floyd Turley

Nov. 21, 2011

I grew up in the Catholic church, went through Cada Cesium, and was an Alter Boy. So I was very active in the Catholic Church.

I joined the LDS Church when I was 18 years of age. I remember thinking when the missionaries were teaching me the lessons. I thought this is totally logical. It makes more sense than the Catholic version, especially about the trinity. When the missionaries explained about Joseph Smith’s first vision with Heavenly Father and Jesus Christ, I felt totally comfortable with that. I could see that happening. I was told later by the missionaries that that part of the presentation was very hard for most people to accept. So when they realized that I had accepted that, they knew I was Golden. I didn’t realize it then, but the Spirit of Jesus Christ was confirming the Church was true to me.

Since I have joined the church I have used the Priesthood to bless my family.I know I have saved two lives in my family by using the priesthood, our son, Justin, when he was about 9 months old, and my Dad after he sustained almost fatal injuries in a rollover accident.

I cannot deny this church isn’t true as too many things have happened to me for me to deny it. I know this Church is the true Church that Jesus Christ established during his mortal reign on earth. I know and will never deny that Joseph Smith was a prophet of God and translated the Book of Mormon to English for this last dispensation. The Book of Mormon is definitely another testament, partnering with the Bible, that proves Christ reigned on the earth with his people in the western hemisphere. I know this church is true because I met my beautiful wife through the Church and have a family with 7 beautiful children and my family keeps growing.

I have been blessed through my life far beyond what I deserve. I know God lives, Jesus Christ is my Lord and Savior who died for my sins, and the Holy Ghost can bless me with warnings and revelations for my family. I say this in the name of Jesus Christ, Amen.
Testimony of Charlotte (Char) Marie (Needham) Lybbert

Nov. 21, 2011

Dear eternal family,

I want you to know my testimony from my heart in my words. I know that this church is true. I know that I am a daughter of a heavenly father who loves me and I love him. I know that my elder brother Jesus Christ suffered tremendously for my sins because he loved me. I have a testimony of the atonement and i know without it we cannot return to live with him again. I have exercised the atonement at different times in my life sometimes for small things and sometimes for life changing things. I know that with every mistake I make I can use the atonement to repent and I can be forgiven. I know that families can be together forever and that we can do Gods work in holy temples for those that have passed before. I know that i will be with my dad, who has returned to live with our heavenly father, someday because i was sealed to him and my mom when i was born. I have now been blessed to marry into a family of my own. My testimony has grown tremendously since i married the love of my life. His testimony and love for me and the gospel have not only strengthened my testimony but has also made me want to be a better person. I consider myself lucky to have such great examples of heartfelt and amazing testimonies of the gospel in his family as well as my own and my love for them is never ending. I can’t wait until the day comes that I can kneel across the altar and be sealed to my sweetheart for time and all eternity. It will be the happiest day of my life. I know that the veil is very thin and that guardian angels watch over us. I love my heavenly father, my husband, our parents, and the rest of our family with all my heart and I know we will all be together someday in heavenly fathers presence preparing our mansions if we live worthy to do so. I love my savior and know without a doubt hat he lives and loves me always. I want to always strive to be the best I can be and stand as a witness of god in all things and in all places at all times. I love you all very much. My love is eternal. I bear you this testimony In the sacred name of Jesus Christ. Amen. I love you always, Char.
Testimony of Christian Frederick Lybbert

Nov. 18, 2011

To my dear, sweet family,

The first word uttered by God in this dispensation of the Gospel of Jesus Christ was…”Joseph”…the name given by a mother and father of little account, obscure to the world, to a baby boy born in the backwoods of Vermont. This simple fact is significant to me not because of what it says about the prophet Joseph, but because of what it says about God…and His love, knowledge, and relationship with His children. My testimony to my family—my wife, my kids, my brothers and sisters (and their kids), my Mom and Dad, and any who may read this—is simple. It has and continues to sustain me and give me the hope and courage I need to repent and overcome the challenges I have faced and continue to face in my life. I know that God lives, that He is my father, that He knows me, that He loves me, that He is aware of me and cares for me enough to know me by name. I know that He sent Jesus Christ, His only begotten Son, to Earth to reconcile not only the Fall of Adam, but my own fall…and the fall of everyone who exercises faith to repent. I know that Joseph Smith exercised his faith and retreated from the “war of words and tumult of opinions” to seek wisdom from God. I know that his prayer was answered by a real and personal visit of the Godhead—The Father, The Son, and The Holy Ghost—to an obscure young boy in the backwoods of New York who chose to exercise his faith, and heard The Father call him by his own name as He introduced The Son to him and directed that Joseph “Hear Him”. I know that the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints is the church established and restored by Christ himself through His faithful servant, Joseph Smith, and that it continues to be led by revelation through prophets and apostles today. I know that Jesus Christ is central to The Father’s plan of happiness for His children. I know that he came to Earth to do the will of The Father. That he willingly submitted to gross injustice and descended below all things so that he could reach the feeble but outstretched hands of the fallen and lift them, with Him, to rise above all things. I know that Jesus Christ is my Savior, Redeemer, and lover of my soul. I love Him. I want to be more like Him. In His holy name, even Jesus Christ, Amen.

I love you.

Fred
Testimony of Alane Kae (Lybbert) Watkins

November 20, 2011

I am so very grateful to have this opportunity to express my testimony to those whom I love the most in the entire world. My family has been a great blessing throughout my life. I have found support, love, and strength from them during stressful times as well as happy times. No matter what life was like for me, my family has been a source of great joy and happiness for me. There is no greater blessing to me than to be sealed to my family throughout eternity because of the blessings of the temple. It is in my older years that I am realizing the great power of being sealed for time and eternity to my dear husband and my wonderful children. The passing years have taught me many lessons. I have learned through personal revelation that my Heavenly Father is intimately involved in my life. He loves me, sustains me, and directs my life when I am willing to submit to His will. There have been times when I have angrily cried out to Him because I felt neglected or alone. In those times, I have been reassured that He is there. He has told me that the blessings I was longing for were not what would lead me back to Him.

I am confident that each of us signed up for, volunteered for, or accepted a divine mission prior to this earth life. Elder Neil A. Maxwell has said that none of us has been foreordained to fail or to be wicked. I am also confident that the civil war that occurred in heaven with our own loved ones there had produced the most dangerous kinds of foes; those who know how we think, what we love, along with all our strengths and weaknesses. Those evil followers of Satan are doing all they can to prevent us from fulfilling our missions here. The war rages on in the most dangerous of battlefields. We are fighting for and working out our own salvation/exaltation with no memory of our former lives. No one can fight the battle for us. I know that it is through clinging to righteous principles that my Savior stands by my side, comforts me and guides me as I fulfill the mission that I agreed to prior to this life. I have seen first hand that those who have great callings also have to overcome great obstacles.

The only way back to our Heavenly Father and Savior Jesus Christ is through obedience to the laws and ordinances of the Gospel. What a great blessing they are to me now! What was a burden in my youth is comfort to me now. President Ezra Taft Benson has said, “When obedience ceases to be an irritant and becomes a quest, then the Lord endows us with power.” I believe that with all my being as I have been endowed with unbelievable power and strength at critical and noncritical times of my life.

I believe in the power of prayer. I have received comforting, guiding revelation when I have needed it. I have also struggled for instant answers only to have to wait (sometimes for years) for answers. I know that our life here on earth is to refine us, not to make us comfortable in a “Happily Ever After” state. That time will come after we are resurrected. I am grateful to my Savior, Jesus Christ for allowing me the great privilege of learning for myself through trial and error. I love Him! I love the restored Gospel. The Book of Mormon has provided a solid testimony for me during questioning times. I love the Book of Mormon. I love my family. I am grateful for all the blessings that are mine. In the name of Jesus Christ, Amen. Love you all! Alane
Testimony of Carlos F. Watkins

November 18, 2011

I know that Jesus is the Christ, the Son of the living God. I know that he restored his church through the prophet Joseph Smith and that the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints (LDS Church) is the only true church on the earth today. I know that God the Father and his Son appeared to Joseph Smith in that sacred grove near Palmyra, New York. I know that Moroni, a prophet in the Book of Mormon, appeared to Joseph Smith as a resurrected being, preparing and directing him to translate the Book of Mormon. That great book is the work of God and truths grace its pages inspiring testimony and goodness to all who read and study with a sincere heart.

I haven’t always known the truths expressed above but have always believed them. I feel very fortunate to have been raised in the church and to have the foundation of early learning. Throughout my life my thoughts have not been certain about the truths of the gospel, Joseph Smith and the Book of Mormon. Even on my mission in the British Isles wonderment frequented my mind if I KNEW the gospel was true. The words of President Spencer W. Kimball strengthened me, while in England, when he said words to the effect: Would you go on a mission for the Baptist, Catholic, Lutheran, or any other church? For me the answer was no. Would you be willing to say the Book of Mormon was false and declare it? For me the answer was no an all accounts. That comforted me to know I have always known, in a very simple way, the gospel is true! Since then I have contemplated how I loved to sing primary songs as a child, loved to listen to a missionary farewell or homecoming remarks. I thrill to hear special musical numbers, especially in missionary sacrament meetings, in all meetings. Many experiences have come and gone, my testimony has grown. Though there have been some momentous times where the spirit was and is very profound. My testimony has grown slowly and steadily throughout my life. I hope and pray it will continue to grow.
Testimony of Gary Lamont Lybbert

Gary passed away April 26, 2010, Alane had this talk Gary gave in Sacrament Meeting on 10/28/07 on Hope. We’ve included his testimony from that talk:

I would like to add that as I grew up in a family strong in the gospel and found myself in later years doubting myself and a lot of other things that were of the church, one thing I never did was doubt my testimony of the truthfulness of the gospel and the hope that my parents and brother and sisters had in me to one day return in full force to the gospel. Because of that hope and faith and love shown to me I was able to once again return to the gospel with the help of my family. Fresh with a hope of an eternal family, a family that by living the true covenants and teachings of Jesus Christ will be reunited in its entirety in the celestial kingdom and forever to be together in love and harmony. The opportunity afforded me to be able to repent of my sins and to carry forward in righteousness because of the atonement of Jesus Christ and the hope it gives me to accomplish this without fear of denial into the kingdom as long as I continue to live worthy and exemplify the teachings of Christ.

I bare witness to you of the truthfulness of this gospel and that Joseph Smith was indeed a prophet of God who in these last days restored the true church with all the keys and blessings afforded us. I know that President Hinckley is a true prophet of god as well and that he receives inspiration and revelation to continue to lead, guide and direct us in these last days, that by following his counsel we will be able to obtain the Celestial kingdom. I support and love our local church leaders and continue to prey for their health and continued guidance for us as a ward. I do love each and every one of you and do truly appreciate the support and love shown us since we have moved into this ward. I know the Book of Mormon is true and is here as another testament of Jesus Christ. Brothers and Sisters I hope that all of you have the “Ultimate Hope” in the atonement of Jesus Christ and that our lives will be a little brighter and happier because of it, I say these things in the name of Jesus Christ, Amen
Testimony of Norma Elaine Ostler Lybbert

Nov. 18, 2011

I have a deep and abiding love for my Father in Heaven, I know that Jesus Christ is my Savior. I am so grateful for the blessings that we get in the temple. That has been brought home to me a whole lot more since I have been serving in the temple especially in the initiatory. I am grateful for the heritage that we have and share. That is particularly true for my sweetheart. I am grateful for all my children, for their goodness and their love for their parents. I know that we have a living prophet today.
Testimony of Kay Lamont Lybbert

October 22, 2011

I am grateful for the gospel of Jesus Christ, for the sacrifice and atonement the Savior did in my behalf. I am grateful for Joseph Smith, the early pioneers and all they went through to make it possible to have the gospel here upon this earth. I am grateful for the ancient and modern prophets. I am not only grateful but know that we have a living prophet on the earth now. I am grateful for him and all the leaders we have now. I am just so grateful for what the Gospel gives us. I am grateful for my parents who raised me up right. I am grateful for the family that I have now. I guess I oughta be grateful for the time that I live, the opportunity to be tried and tested. I have no question that we grow and develop by our trials and tribulation. My greatest wish is when our family sits at that eternal table that none of our chairs will be empty. I hope that my posterity will be able to turn their stumbling blocks into stepping stones. I say these things in the name of Jesus Christ. Amen.