My name is Carol Brown Harries. I cannot begin my testimony without saying that “I was born of goodly parents”. They were and are my source of strength. They gave me the great gift of the gospel and taught me how to gain my own testimony of Jesus Christ. My family resided in Athens, Alabama for many many years. It was there that my dad (Samuel Lee Brown was baptized at the age of 9 years old. His mother Maybelle Pressnell Brown was baptized and married on the same day in 1919 to Lee Andrew Brown. I am thankful for my heritage. I am sure that it wasn’t easy to join the church back then, especially in the South. I will be forever grateful for these wonderful pioneers that forged the way for their progenitors to have the gospel in their lives.
As a child I would sit for hours and listen to my father’s family talk about their love for the gospel. I knew that there was not one in that group of brothers and sisters that would not give their lives for Jesus Christ. They lived their testimonies and I am thankful for their examples. They help shape me and gave me great memories to think about. I am 56 years old, so I am old enough to remember going to church in the Elkmont Branch building. I remember working and helping at the Tanner Building every Saturday until it was built. My job was giving the workers water and picking up debris. I loved working along side of my dad. I am sure I was a hindrance more than a help but he took me every time if I remember correctly. My parents were married in 1950, but my mom was not a member of the Church. It took 10 years for my mom to come around to “Mormonism”. My dad was relentless in talking to her about the Church. I was four years old when she was baptized in 1960. We were able to be sealed as a family in the Salt Lake Temple. I still remember that day even though I was only 5 years old.. I have watched my mom’s testimony grow and she is a rock in my life.
Jesus Christ was always the center of my home growing up. We had a wonderful spirit in our home. I could feel it as a youth and now as an adult, I can still remember the warmth of the spirit I felt. Later when dad was called as a Patriarch, we had the opportunity to have many church members in our home. I remember him telling my mom that she always made our Living Room look like a room in the temple and he appreciated her for that.
I have served in many callings in my life and each one has been a blessing to me. My testimony has grown line upon line. I know my Savior loves me and he knows me personally. We have always tried to teach our boys that if they put the Kingdom of God First in their lives that everything will work out ok. I have enjoyed living in the mission field. We must live our religion here in the South. We cannot blend in, but stand as a witness of God at all times and places. I am not perfect and I do realise that I should have done a lot of things different in my life. But one thing was constant throughout my life and that is that I knew that my Heavenly Father loved me. Maybe it was through the example of my earthly Father that I understood how Heavenly Father feels about all of his children. Thank you Dad for loving me unconditionally.
I know that it is only through the covenants we make and the lives we live here in this short mortal life that determine if we get to return to our Heavenly Home. I want to live my life to be able to be with my family for eternity. I cannot imagine not being with my father or having my family with me forever. I know that our Heavenly Father loves us so much that he has provided a way for us to return to him. For I know that when we see him, we will know him. This is very real to me. The prophets words are scripture to me and I come to know my Savior through studying and pondering the scriptures. There is so much more I can say, but I pray that I can endure and enjoy the journey of this mortal life to the End. In the name of Jesus Christ, Amen.
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