mavreenrose

Thanks for that! I can fairly relate. My grandmother and mother were the first converts and I grew up in the church. I attended primary, we had family home evenings and family prayer , and we were sealed in the temple. These things probably seem pretty elementary to most born in the church, but in the Philippines, these things (especially temple attendance) were pretty much a big deal. My father used to be a bishop... and then he left the church. And that was quite a blow to the family. For several years, my family struggled through inactivity. I never finished seminary. I attended church whenever I was home due to my grandmother's insistence. (I went to high school in a neighboring province and I never set foot in a church there) But when I went off to college in still a different province, I decided to seek my own testimony. I did share my testimony when I was younger but I always felt I was thriving on borrowed testimony. That time, I decided I had to find out for sure. I looked for a ward near my school and I attended regularly. At first i was hesitant to attend institute, but I was amazed at how I can actually apply the principles taught to me. I kept attending church and at first I just attended merely to 'comply".. But little by little I was changing. I kept reading the Book of Mormon and though at first I was a skeptic, I found myself changing in so many ways... My friends said my countenance changed as days passed. I was given callings and at first though I was grudging of the time I'd lose out on my studies.. I began to enjoy it.... And eventually, I knew then that the church is true, and that Joseph Smith is a prophet, and that the Book of Mormon is true. I am glad to have had a head start yet I am also grateful that I had the opportunity to find the church myself. Getting a testimony requires a bit of faith and a lot of effort - and then it's a feedback mechanism.. A bit of testimony gives you more faith and inspires you to give more effort..

Hello everyone. I'm new to LDS.net. I was looking for a site where I can talk to other members and I found the site through yahoo. Anyway, my name is Mavreen Rose. Friends call me Mavreen, Mavs, or Mavie.. I'm 24 but I can pass for 16 mostly because I am "vertically challenged" (i'm just 4'11" - same height as the President of the Philippines). Hehehe.. Forgive my run on sentences I could be somewhat chatty :) Anyway, you can view my profile for more info :).. Can I just tell you about the things you can't find in my profile ? :) * Mavreen assumes you are nodding in consent * I live in the Philippines in a little city called Talisay (named after the Talisay tree). My parents are Rose and Ariel and they both work for the city government (Mom is the chief of staff of the Mayor while my father is a consultant). I have an elder brother (25 y.o) who has autism and is hearing impaired - which means we communicate via sign language although I'm not very good at it-.. anyway my brother's handicap doesn't stop him from working or going to church very early :) (He even arrives earlier than our bishop!). I have two younger sisters - Kaye is 19, a nursing student and RJ is 15, a 3rd yr high school student. My grandmother lives with us and we all agree that she is the cutest grannie in the whole world - she's funny all the time.. and I mean ALL the time. I have a feisty dog named Teshima - he's a bit confused though whether he's a mini pinscher or a dacshund ( He's a crossbreed). I spend my weekends by crossing the Guimaras strait via the earliest boat to Iloilo where I take my Masters in Chemistry at the University of the Philippines. I spend my free time trying to teach myself how to cook - and though my sisters laugh at how clumsy I look in my attempts, they say I know how to follow instructions because my attempts are "tasty" (Must be beginner's luck!!!). If I'm not cooking I'm probably roaming around used books stores.. either that, or rummaging for new DVDs I can add to my collection. In church I serve as the Stake Primary President - quite a challenging responsibility especially since my first counsellor, secretary and I are unmarried :) But then again, the advantage is that we are eager to learn and we have the time to really give of ourselves to our callings :) I guess that's about it.. I hope I get to meet new friends here :)