Growing up in an LDS family was just like growing up in most non-LDS families. Sometimes we got along with our siblings, other times we wanted to kill them. Sometimes we loved our parents, other times we thought they were aliens from a different planet. One thing which made us stand out from the crowd is our weekly three-hour worship at church on Sundays. I always enjoyed going to church, I had a lot of friends there. During my teenage years, I noticed that something about church bugged me, something which now looking back I am so glad it bugged me.
Once a month at church we have what is called a “testimony meeting.” For those who don’t know what that is, it is where anyone in the congregation can go up to the podium and share what they believe in. A lot of people use the term “I know this is true.” This line is what bugged me the most. How could anyone know if any of this is true? How could they know if the Book of Mormon is true? How could they know if Joseph Smith was a prophet? How could they know if anything in the church was true? I became frustrated, and soon I would pretend I was sick just so I didn’t have to go to testimony meeting.
Later I realized that, like most humans, I had only been half listening to people at church. While I had heard them say they knew it was true, I was deaf to them saying why they knew. One day I heard someone say the reason they knew the Book of Mormon was true, was because they had read and prayed about it. I was a bit of a skeptic, but I decided to read and pray about the Book of Mormon. If you don’t read something, you will never know the truth. So I set out the read the book which so far had created so much anger in my life.
I read the Book of Mormon faithfully for months, I also prayed about it during this time. But nothing happened, I didn’t receive an answer. I hadn’t finished it yet, so I decided to keep going. One night after I prayed, I had this question pop into my head, “Look back at these months you have been reading the Book of Mormon, hasn’t your life become better because of it?” I took a look back and realized I had become a happier man. My life had been filled with joy.
I knew the Book of Mormon had brought joy into my life, but I didn’t know why it had. So I continued to read it. I had made it this far, and might as well finish to the end. One night, I came across a scripture which impressed my mind with great power. “Behold, I speak unto you as if ye were present, and yet ye are not. But behold, Jesus Christ hath shown you unto me, and I know your doing.” (Mormon 8:35) This scripture helped me understand why this book had been giving me so much comfort and why it had provided me with so much guidance. This book was written by men who had seen me and those around me, therefore, they could provide me with the help I needed. They knew what I had done, they knew what I was currently doing, and they knew what I would be doing. I will never forget this scripture.
This change which had happened to me from this great book created a domino effect which is continuing today. I ended up going on a mission which helped me to share with others the knowledge which I had gained from the Book of Mormon. I have had callings which have furthered my understanding of the Book of Mormon and Gospel of Jesus Christ. And now, I am married for time and all eternity to the love of my life. Now when I hear someone say they know, I just want to fist bump them and give them a big hug. And to think this great change was because I decided to listen, read and pray. “By small and simple things are great things brought to pass.” (Alma 37:6)
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