I would like to bear my testimony of the truths taught by the True and Living Church of Jesus Christ of Saints of the Last Days and that it is God’s only true Church on the face of this earth. I know that James D. Harmston is a true prophet of God and that he holds the keys to this last dispensation. As a true prophet of God he is teaching those truths that will bring about the establishment of Zion.
My mother, Pauline Harmston (see TLC membership), has always been a searcher of truths. When I was young my mother began teaching me the truths that Joseph Smith once taught. She taught me the principles of plural marriage. She told me that some day God would require me to live this law. I felt in my heart that this was true. My mother taught me that this earth would be cleansed very soon, that we were living in the last few hours of these last days. I learned that God would soon establish Zion. It all made sense to me but I never could really imagine how Zion was actually going to be established.
Although I had a testimony of Jesus Christ, of Joseph Smith, and of the Book of Mormon; as a teenager I took it all for granted. I had this belief that it was impossible for the prophet of the LDS Church to lead anyone astray. In my eyes he was completely infallible. All I had to do was follow the prophet and I was on a safe road to Zion and the Celestial Kingdom.
At the age of nineteen I met a wonderful man named Ammon Trimble (see TLC leadership) who had just returned home from an LDS mission. Five months later we were married in the Manti Temple. I now had eternal companion whom I loved dearly. I definitely had it made. We were married in the temple, we paid our tithing, we made monthly visits to the temple to do work for the dead; this was all there was to it. In our mind this was all we had to do in order to meet our Savior and enter into the Celestial Kingdom. Boy, were we blind.
Just two years after Ammon and I were married we learned that my mother had been baptized into a new church. I was completely shocked. I learned that this church taught that Adam was God and that they were living plural marriage. I had never heard about the Adam-God doctrine so my husband and I went to our bishop and inquired about it. He told us that after years of studying this doctrine he came to the conclusion that Brigham Young was wrong. After studying quotes from Brigham Young where he talks about Adam being our God, I came to my own conclusion that he could not have been wrong about something this important. But I figured that the LDS Church wasn’t meant to understand exactly what he meant until someday in the future. Yes, I believed in the law of plural marriage, but I told my mother that LDS Church would live it again after Zion was established. I later learned that the belief I had at that time was completely contradicted in the scriptures.
Zion cannot be built up unless it is by the law of the celestial Kingdom; otherwise I cannot receive her unto myself. (D&C 105:5)
Plural Marriage is a celestial law and so we must first be willing to obey and live that law before Zion can be built.
I thought that my mom had apostatized from the truth but in reality she had found the truth. About eighteen months after her baptism I was told by my younger sister that my mother believed in reincarnation. I could not believe that she would believe in something that weird. The next time my mom came by my house in Cedar City I asked her about her belief in reincarnation. Her response was, that it was not called reincarnation and in fact it was Satan’s way of twisting the real truth. She told me that the TLC believed in the doctrine of multiple mortal probations. As my mother explained to me exactly what the doctrine was I had an overwhelming feeling come over me. I knew that she was speaking truth and I began to cry. I told her that somehow I knew it was true. It was as if I found the missing piece to the puzzle. It all made sense to me. The Adam-God doctrine made more sense to me. I knew that God was a merciful god, but it wasn’t until then that I realized how truly merciful he is. I now realized why people were born of different races and into different situations. It had to do with the way that we chose to live our lives in prior probations.
After a year and a half of not wanting to talk to my mother about her beliefs I wanted to know everything. My soul was hungry for truth. I was overcome with joy and I wanted to share my joy with my husband Ammon. At the same time fear overtook me. I was afraid that my husband would not want to talk to me about what I had learned because for a year and a half I was not willing to talk to my mother about what she knew to be the truth. Instead, I tried to get my husband to start thinking about the changes that had taken place in the LDS church by mentioning those changes from time to time. Ammon was too busy working and finishing his teaching degree, so he didn’t have much time to think about the most important things. After he graduated I had high hopes that he would just happen to get a job close to Manti. I soon found out that God doesn’t make things that easy. Soon after Ammon graduated he was offered a teaching job in Cedar City (which he gladly took) and on top of that we immediately bought a home which had practically fell in our hands.
Ammon completely finished school in July of ’96, we bought a home in the middle of August of ’96 and two weeks later Ammon started his teaching job. At that time we had a little boy age three and a little one year old girl. We had a nice little family, a nice big house and a secure job. It looked like we had it made. In a way I started getting a little bit comfortable with the situation. I still knew in my heart that I was going to have to risk everything and tell my husband the truth.
It was only six months later that my mother invited me and Ammon to the Models. I made a promise to my mother that I would invite Ammon. After much fasting, prayer and study I bore my testimony to my husband on March 1, 1997. I wanted him to have the knowledge of God’s truth as I had been given. Prior to the bearing of my testimony I read Lecture Six of Faith which gave me much strength.
For a man to lay down his all, his character and reputation, his honor and applause, his good name among men, his houses, his lands, his brothers and sisters, his wife and children, and even his own life also, counting all things but filth and dross for the excellency of the knowledge of Jesus Christ, requires more than mere belief, or supposition that he is doing the will of God, but actual knowledge: realizing, that when these sufferings are ended he will enter into eternal rest; and be a partaker of the Glory of God. (Lectures on Faith, Lecture 6:5)
As I bore my testimony I told my husband Ammon that I knew that the True and Living Church of Jesus Christ of Saints of the Lasts Days is God’s true church and I knew that James D. Harmston is a true prophet of God. Not knowing how to handle what I had just told him he told me to pack my bags and leave that very night without the children. I knew that God was comforting me at that point because I was not afraid. In my heart I knew that things were going to be all right. After calming down my husband thought about what I had told him. He wanted to know why I felt the way I did. I gave him some scriptures and pamphlets to read. The next day my husband admitted that he knew that the LDS church had changed many things and on his mission he often wondered about it but had decided not to let it bother him. That same day he agreed to go with me to the models. I was filled with joy when he told me that he wanted to find out the truth as a family.
On March 7th Ammon and I attended the Models. James D. Harmston laid out the true plan of God right before our eyes. We sat before him as he taught us for two whole days and we felt the true spirit of God as we had never felt it before. It brought joy to my heart when my husband said , “I never thought that I would be taught face to face by a true prophet of God.” I knew that he had received a testimony in his heart of God’s eternal plan.
After the Models my husband and I immediately asked for baptism. We became members of the TLC on March 9th. On our return to Cedar City without any hesitations we immediately made preparations to gather to Manti. We knew that in order to properly live all of God’s laws we needed to live the law of gathering. Ammon put in his notice at work and we put our house up for sale. Three months later we were officially gathered. On June 9th Ammon was called to the Quorum of the Twelve to be an Apostle of the Lord Jesus Christ. I am thankful that God has given me a righteous husband who will lead me to the Savior. I am thankful to God for allowing me to gather here in Manti with my family. Since we have gathered here God has blessed us with another beautiful son.
I admit that life is not easy here in the gathering; but I feel a peace in my heart that I did not feel before. I feel this peace because I know that this is where God wants me and my family to be. Out in the world, in Babylon it’s okay to hide your sins and weaknesses. Here in God’s gathering place you must repent of your sins and you must triumph over your weaknesses and become perfected in order to become worthy to meet the Savior.
My greatest desire is to meet my Savior and Redeemer, the Lord Jesus Christ. For I know that he lives and that he sacrificed his life for my sake. I await the day that Christ will receive this earth as His inheritance and Kingdom at Adam-Ondi-Ahman. I testify that Father Adam is the God of this Earth. I know that he lives and I have felt of his great love for me. I give all praise, honor and glory to Adam, our father and God, and to the Lord Jesus Christ, Amen.