“R” is for the Rest of the Story*

“Behold, I would exhort ye that when ye shall read these things…that ye shall receive these things and ponder it in your hearts. And when you shall receive these things, I would exhort you that ye ask God, the Eternal Father, in the name of Christ, if these things are not true; and if ye shall ask with a sincere heart, with real intent, having faith in Christ, he will manifest the truth of it unto you, by the power of the Holy Ghost.¹’' 

We made a new appointment and they started to answer my questions. Then, they started getting serious and I wasn’t. They gave me a Book of Mormon and asked me to read it and to pray about it. They came back two days later and asked me if I’d had a chance to read some of the Book. I said I had – the entire book. They looked at me as if I were the alien from outer space (I like to read; what can I say?) and asked me what I thought about it. I told them I thought it was interesting, but I didn’t believe it was the word of God. They were frantic.

They then asked me to read the scripture quoted above and asked if I had prayed. I said no and they asked me if I would do so. I said I would, but I was silently convinced that the answer would be no.

That night before going to bed, I prayed; I prayed every night and every morning anyway, but this time I asked about the truthfulness of the Book of Mormon. I also said in my prayer that I sincerely hoped for a negative answer, but that I would accept the answer, regardless of what it was. I then went to sleep.

When I awoke the next morning, I was smiling (I do that a lot) because I knew that the Book of Mormon WAS the word of God. And because of that, I knew that Joseph Smith had to be a prophet, which meant (in a logical process) that this had to be God’s Church, because it seemed highly illogical that God would have more than one prophet teaching things that would be so contrary to one another. I think the missionaries were ready to faint when I told them I wanted to be baptized two weeks later. And I was.

*Continued from “Q” is for Questions

¹Moroni 10:3,4

 

© April 20, 2015. Mary Purpari. All Rights Reserved.