Grateful for Gaining Strength from Your Testimony

Dear Elder Yu,

I do not know how to describe to you the joy I felt when I read your email. You have learned and gained so much knowledge that the Lord wants you to know during your first living endowment! I love how you came to understand the simple truths and the knowledge of how much Heavenly Father loves His children.

I could not comprehend the things that I learned in my endowment during our 1^st temple trip at Cebu Philippines Temple. It took me some time, even my second trip to the temple – Hong Kong Temple, only to realize the love of Heavenly Father and Jesus Christ for me and my small family.

This brings my memories back then to our family Hong Kong temple trip in 2019. During our family temple trip: Annabelle and you went missing in the busy streets of Hong Kong; your Daddy lost his job; your Daddy’s car broke down on the highway on his way back to Kulai after he came back from temple, and many more.

I realized that Heavenly Father blessed us with so much more after the Hong Kong temple trip. Annabelle and you gained your testimonies: both of you know that Heavenly Father hears and answers your prayers; You all have the testimony of the Holy Ghost that guided you to find your way back to the group safely and went back to the temple patron house.

I knew that it was not a coincidence that your Daddy lost his job while we were in Hong Kong. I know that Heavenly Father wants him to come back, He wants him to stay nearer to us, closer to the family, rather than having a woman outside in JB.

Everything happened for my sake and our family's good. I am so touched that I know that all these happened because Heavenly Father knows that I am trying my best to be faithful, striving to keep my covenant with Him. I can feel Heavenly Father’s love for me and my family.

I love how you mentioned that you can feel the Lord’s presence standing beside you while you are in the Celestial Room, checking on you how’s life being on earth? Is life treating you well and did you have fun? You are so hilarious on this!

My first thought was that it was not fun at all! Maybe it is because I have been too hard on myself facing all these challenges and feeling alone. Too many frustrations, upsets, and disappointments blurred my mind and hardened my heart to feel the presence of the Holy Spirit!

Your first invitation to me to write and share with you has somehow lessened the burden on my shoulders as if the Savior is yoking with me together. I can feel as if I am gaining the strength I need, the Holy Spirit flooded me with the memories and the testimonies that I had to me, the comforting words from Annabelle whenever I was feeling down. I know that the Lord is working on me through Elder Yu and Annabelle.

Like you said, “He will never abandon us but rather wants to help us. And we can get a of His divine help and guidance, when we do our very best, to obey our covenants with Him. Unless Heavenly Father breaks the promise, we are always in a covenant with Him. No matter what.”

I love your parable about an orange. It reminds me of “becoming”. The gospel of Jesus Christ is about the continuous active process of becoming. This is something that I learned in this week’s Come, Follow Me when reading Alma Chapters 36 – 38. It was the counsel that Alma the Younger gave to both his sons, Helaman and Siblon. Alma testifies to Helaman of his conversion after seeing an angel of God. Alma is the perfect example of “a becoming”. We might not as Alma as a singular event, but rather every small and simple means that makes up the process of becoming. It is ok if we are not perfect, but we are striving. That is the idea of becoming.

I feel as if everything is so coinciding when receiving your email and it is healing to write my thoughts and shares with you. I gained so many insights from you, Elder Yu, and my beloved daughter Annabelle Yu. Both of you indeed strengthened me and gave me the courage and strength I needed to go through the path before me.

Seeing you standing in front of the temple, made me want to go back to the temple and feel His presence. I know that Heavenly Father wants me to return to the temple because there is something He wants to reveal to me. It is stated in my patriarchal blessings that I will receive revelations about my personal lives, I will receive revelations of the lives of my family and I will receive revelations from Heavenly Father that His love for me is pure and exquisite.

Frankly, I have a feeling, and not sure if this time, the relationship between your Daddy and I could work or fix back anymore. But I just got calm and assured feelings in my heart that everything would work out for good for me. So, please do not worry and I know that Heavenly Father and Jesus Christ are watching over us!

Love,

Mommy

P.S. About the temple work, let me sort my family tree out then will give you the information. I actually have a name, my great grandfather but I only have his surname, I do not have his first name, as I have tried to search for some time. However, the FamilySearch system showed that his name is ready for temple ordinances even only has a surname. I wish I could have his first name and I know how to address him… if not, I can only call him 陈先生 or 陈太公 …hmmm…

Grateful for Your Questions

Dear Elder Yu,

Time flies, and this is your third week in the MTC. I hope you are well adjusting to your new life in Utah. We could see your bright smile and joy for the past 2 weeks when you video-called us during your P-Day! We love our missionary son so much!

Things happened between your dad and me since you left for Utah for your mission. I know I shouldn’t tell you all these things and burden you with all these things. It should have been resolved between myself and your dad, but it was so hard...

Your Dad kept emphasizing, that Alvin and Yi Peng can't be husband and wife any longer. He wants to be just a friend, not a couple in a relationship. Last Sunday, I saw his video posted on his TikTok account, he was having breakfast with a girl whom he called his lover in the video. I was very upset and called him immediately. I asked him why he treated me like this. I stopped the call, and your dad texted me a long message later in the evening. I did not talk to your dad since last Sunday as he only called Annabelle. I do not know how am I going to live through the past week.

Until last week after your P-Day call, and I asked you about the conversation you talked about, you posted questions to me, which reminds me that I should put my focus on Jesus Christ instead of dwelling on the sadness, frustrations, disappointments, and anger, which I cannot control. I felt something in my mind and heart as your questions directed my attention back to the Savior.

You asked me: “What made you want to be baptized and enter the church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints? And what was/is your testimony when you entered that covenant with the Lord? Cause making that decision is a very hard yet sacred choice that you have made. So I wanted to understand why you choose to follow the Lord ever since that moment when the missionary invited you to be baptized.”

Well, to answer your first question, “What made you want to be baptized and enter the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints?”

I think I shared this a long time ago. time ago with you and Annabelle, that I always believed and knew that, there is a Creator even when I was much younger as a primary child. I am grateful that I have a mother who gave me no restrictions when I wanted to seek learning, even a long-distance correspondence of religion studies to learn about Buddhism and God.

I think the main reason why I want to be baptized and enter the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints is because I prayed to Heavenly Father in Jesus’s name to seek His help to gather our family as a whole again after your Daddy and Mummy went through our first divorce. I promised Jesus Christ that I would someday go into His Church as a family and in my heart, I was wondering which church I should go to. When our family walked into the baptism fond, I knew that the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints is the only true church on earth and led by the Savior because of the little promise I made at that moment, only Heavenly Father, Jesus Christ, and myself know about it. And He made it happen, bringing a broken family back together again!

“What was/is your testimony when you entered that covenant with the Lord?”

When I entered the covenant with the Lord, I think I had the testimony that I have a Heavenly Father who loves me and my family so much, that He sent His only Begotten Son Jesus Christ to die and live again for me; I know that Jesus Christ is my Savior. I know that family can be together for all time and eternity; I know that Heavenly Father and Jesus Christ are always with me because I can see Their hands in every single aspect of my life, from helping me to get our current home, how the Lord paved the path in front of me after divorce, reunite with your Daddy, registered of marriage again, and how the Lord directs our family towards His Church. All these are the testimonies that I had. All these small pieces and bits strengthen me to keep the Word of Wisdom, the Law of Tithing, and make myself worthy to enter my baptismal covenant with the Lord. I further walked into the temple and made temple covenants with the Lord, even though I only went to the temple twice.

Writing here, I find that it is funny, as I will still be able to write all these things calmly because I thought it was supposed to be the opposite. Anyway, it is a healing that I can change my focus to the more important matters now. I am grateful to the Lord for getting me to where I am now. The Holy Ghost has brought back my sacred spiritual memories reminding me to remember the Savior. I am thankful to Elder Yu, for posting these questions to me because I know you are guided and instructed by the Lord.

I am grateful to Heavenly Father and Jesus Christ, who gave me the precious opportunity to become a mother to His divine son and daughter, Issac and Annabelle. After you go on with your mission, Annabelle helps a lot in the home. She takes care of her Mummy like her big brother. I feel blessed that I have 2 not so little guardian angels anymore to teach, share, encourage, uplift, love, and care for me! I love both of you so much!

Elder Yu, I hope I can learn and grow spiritually together with you over the coming 2 years. So, please do not worry about what happened in the home and focus on your two years to serve the Lord—"invite others to come unto Christ by helping them receive the restored gospel through faith in Jesus Christ and His Atonement, repentance, baptism, receiving the gift of the Holy Ghost, and enduring to the end.”

Love,

Mommy

Image via https://latterdaysaintmag.com/hand-in-hand-with-angels/#google_vignette