It's actually true

The point of this post isn't to make the case that the Church is true, that the Gospel of Jesus Christ was restored through Joseph Smith, and that the Book of Mormon is the word of God to our day.  Instead, I'm on about what that means.  Since all of this is actually true, what does one do about it?

I read D&C 20:5-6 today, in which we learn that Joseph Smith had a divine manifestation that his sins were forgiven him, but that he was "again entangled in the vanities of the world," and that he later repented and humbled himself, receiving further heavenly visitations.

I've followed that path, though without the angels.  I've felt the forgiveness of a loving Father in Heaven, made possible by the Atonement of His Son.  Then I've gotten all entangled in vanities.  Eventually, I've repented again.  It's a source of frustration for me, that I have to keep having to relearn the same lessons.  But it's a source of great comfort that great men before me have had to relearn also, and that the Atonement works for multiple, even infinite failures.

Another source of comfort is that each time I recognize that love and forgiveness, I become more convinced of the reality of the Atonement, the Gospel, and the Book of Mormon.  They are actually true.  And because they are true, I can't ignore them.  Knowing this, becoming more convinced of this, must change how I live and view the world.

Because it's true, I want to serve the Lord.  I want to go to church.  I'll be there for six hours this Sunday in a combination of worship and service.  I want to publish this so that the world can know that I know it's true.  I want those I love to have this knowledge and feel the power of the love and forgiveness that I've felt.  I want to never become "again entangled."

And I want to call upon a loving Father and Brother when I do sin again.  Knowing that it's actually true has changed me and the way I live.  And anyone who knows me can tell you it's for the better.  And it's because the Gospel is true.