I Am a Mormon Monday: Meet Kirsten

I am Kirsten and I grew up in a military family. We moved often and now I love to travel, see new places, and meet new people. I have been studying health for about 5 years now and am pursuing my bachelors degree in microbiology. I love learning and progressing any way that I can. I am a novice blogger so give it a little time before checking me out at essentialhealthfoodie.wordpress.com. ;) 

I went on a mission to the best mission in the world, the Arizona Mesa Mission! I loved every minute of it and still think about it every single day. I had the most amazing experiences and met incredible people. Two weeks after getting home from my mission I met the man of my dreams in Provo, Utah. We went on our first date a month later and were married in the Manti Temple ten months later. Over the last 9 months of marriage, we have lived in three states and have now settled in Las Vegas for the time being. A fun start to the eternal journey I get to have with my best friend!!

I was born into an LDS family and was raised by incredible parents. Although I have been a member of The Church my whole life, I have not always followed the gospel principles. There was a time that I thought that I knew how to live my life and I could figure things out on my own. I lived life the way I thought I wanted to, the way everyone told me would make me happy. Pretty soon I was falling faster than I could catch myself. One particular evening I had gone to work as normal, but something was definitely not normal. I had this scary feeling in my heart that would not leave. One of my best friends and roommate at that time found a Book of Mormon at our house and brought it to me when she picked me up from work. It was the only thing that made me feel better and brought me the comfort my soul was searching for. That night, It became clear that I was far from happy living my life the way I had. It was a very tangible realization that I needed to make some significant changes in my life immediately. I know that it was a warning from my Heavenly Father. Through the power of Christ's Atonement, I was able to change. I was able to feel the burden of sin lifted from me. I felt hope for the first time in a very long time. I will forever be grateful to a loving Heavenly Father who continued to reach out to me with loving and forgiving arms. I started to meet with the missionaries to relearn all of the lessons taught by the gospel of Jesus Christ. I started to read in the Book of Mormon and felt its cleansing power. I started to pray to my Father in Heaven and I felt Him so close to me. I made the changes that I needed to and have seen non stop blessings and miracles.

I know that no matter how far lost we feel, out Heavenly Father is only a prayer away. I know that if we will just reach out to Him, even if it is only a little bit, He will take us by the hand. I know that the Book of Mormon is a book from God. It was translated by the prophet Joseph Smith. I know without a shadow of a doubt, that by reading the Book of Mormon we will be comforted and
will receive guidance in our life. Our Heavenly Father prepared a Plan of Happiness for us, His children, so that we can live with Him again. I know that He loves us more than we could ever even imagine, even if we are made mistakes. He loves us even when we continue to make mistakes. He will help us to overcome any trial we are faced with. I know that the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints is God's church.

What is hope and what do you hope for?

Hope, to me, is the combination of faith and trust. The faith portion is the action or actually doing something. I believe with all my heart that we must put forth the effort and action necessary. That is how we obtain faith in this. In combination with faith, we must trust. We must trust our Heavenly Father and our Savior, we must trust the prophets and apostles, we must trust the Spirit. Hope is that internal beacon of light that shines in the midst of any trial or hardship. It is the motivator to continue forward, even when we don't completely understand why. Hope is what pushes us beyond our own sphere of comfort and helps us to progress in ways we never thought we could. 

I hope for many things. I hope for good things to come into my life. I hope that I will become a better wife and future mother. I hope that I will be able to get my education and do well at it. I hope to be able to bless the lives of all of those that I come in contact with. I hope to be a better disciple of Jesus Christ. I hope to be able to inspire hope in others.

How do you live your faith?

I live my faith with everything that I do. It is a part of everything that I do and say. I love listening to conference talks and reading the Ensign magazine. I strive to be the very best wife I can be and show respect and love to my wonderful husband. I try to become the woman I need to be for my future children. I love to serve others, especially my Relief Society sisters.I am the Relief Society Secretary and love it so much. I love to go out and teach with the full-time missionaries in my ward. I do all that I can to be actively involved in ward activities and participate while I am at church. I love it when people share their experiences and insights because that is how we learn from each other. I truly believe that we come in contact with different people for a reason and if we will just take the opportunity to get to know those around us, we will be amazed at what they can teach us. Heavenly Father knows who to put in our paths at the perfect time, either for us or for them. I am so grateful for the constant guidance of the Spirit in my life to lead me to where I need to be.

Social Media:

https://www.facebook.com/ktaylor2050

https://www.pinterest.com/essentialfoodie/

Thank you so much for having me Kimberly!!