By Lin Vernon Floyd
Do you take the opportunity to bear your testimony on fast Sunday or when your family has gathered for special occasions like a baptism or baby blessing? It’s important that they know the depth of your religious feelings. Family home evenings are also appropriate occasions to share your testimony with your family, but how about writing down and self-publishing those sacred experiences for your loved ones?

Several years ago when my twin granddaughters were being baptized, I decided to share with them how I gained my testimony. Though I was baptized at age eight, my understanding of the Church was limited then. It wasn’t until years later at age 20 that I started to comprehend the gospel principles, and felt the Holy Ghost for the first time. To preserve this special experience for them, I created a small book for each girl with a brief history of my life in words and family photos.

Planning to make a sturdy child-sized book, I decided to print my story on white card stock paper. Laying out my document so that the 8 1/2 X 11 inch page was in portrait mode with two pages of text on one page of paper, I proceeded to add my text and photos. The completed book was 12 pages long including a cover. I printed five copies on my home printer to save costs. Cutting the printed pages in half, I had them laminated at a copy center. After trimming the pages, they were bound with a wire coil. Total cost of paper, ink cartridges, laminating costs and binding was less than $5/book. Quite economical but of immeasurable value as my written testimony is now preserved for my children and grandchildren.

The title of my child-sized 8 ½ X 5 ½ inch book was Finding My Testimony of the Church By Grandma Lin Floyd. I began the story very simply… I was born into a family with a mother Evelyn Johnson and a father Stanley Vernon. My parents both lived in Utah and had been baptized as little children into the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. Most of their grandparents were Mormon converts who came across the ocean to America to have freedom of religion. In just one brief paragraph using words appropriate for their reading level, I summarized some of our family history. I wanted my granddaughters to know of their religious heritage, and to understand my background and upbringing.

In the second paragraph, I told how my parents met, where I was born, blessed in the Mormon church and named…I don’t remember my baby blessing, but this was the beginning of my life in the Church as my name was put on the rolls of the Church and would always be there even though I didn’t go to meetings…Before long I was 8 years old and was baptized and given the gift of the Holy Ghost who is a special member of the Godhood. He guides and helps us in our lives. The Holy Ghost would later guide me back to the Church and help me find my testimony.

My biography recalled my experiences in elementary school and going to Primary occasionally, then came a move to California and an older cousin who was looking for a church to join. We attended a variety of churches together and ended up at a Mormon Sunday School meeting for the first time since our parents were all inactive. Then…I met a wonderful Young Women’s leader who took a special interest in me and gave me rides to Mutual. I felt she was guided by the Spirit to help me find my way in the Church. Soon I started to attend Sunday meetings regularly.

Continuing, I related my experiences after high school and my involvement in my Junior College’s LDS Institute program which led to a decision to attend BYU in Provo, Utah. As a Junior at the university… I felt the Holy Spirit for the first time when I prayed together with my Bishop that I could know if the Church was true.

I described that experience and suggested…Once you have felt the Holy Spirit (and the feeling comes in different ways to each person,) you want to feel it again and not be without His help in your life. He is a special friend that you can trust and always have with you… I hope you will pray also to find your own testimony of the Church.

I’m sure most of you would love to have a written testimony from your convert ancestors or maybe you are the convert. Regardless of the length of your membership in the Church, each individual needs to go through his or her own conversion. Maybe it’s time to write and preserve your heartfelt testimony for your loved ones.