It has been almost exactly 50 years since I first finished reading the Book of Mormon. The year was 1968 and our Church leaders had encouraged the members to read it in its entirety. That worked out well because in the printed edition of that day, there were 521 pages. So, 52 weeks @ 10 pages/week would exactly do it! I was eight years old that year and I decided to take the challenge. I remember making a reading chart for my family and faithfully reading each week and marking off the progress each Monday night in Family Home Evening. More than reading to know of its truthfulness, I was probably more reading to mark it on the chart!
I read the Book of Mormon several more times as a youth. One time was as we studied it in 9thgrade seminary. That year I joined a Seminary Bowl team where we competed with other schools in our area as to our knowledge of the names, facts, and events of the Book of Mormon as well as memorizing 40 of its most meaningful scriptures and then competing to see who could locate those scriptures the quickest given a variety of clues. I feel a little bad at this point because, even though this study and competition was well meaning, we probably focused a bit too much on irrelevant facts and we did not treat our copies of the Book of Mormon with the respect they deserved as we raced to locate the scriptures.
There is promise made by one of the Book of Mormon’s prophets, Moroni, on one of the last pages of the Book of Mormon, that if we seriously desired a witness of the truthfulness of this Book, God would grant that to us. For me, it was not a case of reading the entire Book and then receiving an unmistakable witness. But as I continued to read the Book as a youth, my witness of its divine origin and its importance in my life came bit by bit. As I would read the teachings and sermons by ancient prophets on Christ–His life, mission, ministry and Atonement–and on other teachings like faith, repentance, grace, and service, I could just feel these things were true. Sometimes I would be touched by a warm/comforting feeling that would come over me, occasionally I had a tingling up/down my back as I read/discussed the Book, and yet other times I just enjoyed new and related thoughts and insights that would enter my head as I studied the Book.
So, even though I cannot pinpoint an exact day I knew the Book of Mormon was truly God’s word, that witness certainty did come. I loved my time as a young missionary in Japan where it was my privilege to carry around copies of Morumon Keiand teach the people in Japan of Jesus Christ as it is taught so clearly in the Book. It strengthened my testimony of the power of this Book to personally see many dozen people read it and be touched by its spirit, power, and truth. I saw many of these people then change their lives and join the Church which was founded by the Book’s translator, Joseph Smith.
In the nearly 40 years since I returned from my mission, I have read the Book of Mormon many times – sometimes over a whole year, other times, over just a couple of weeks. I have marked inspiring and instructive verses in several printed copies and now on my phone and tablet. I have read the Book with my children and now they are regularly reading it with theirs. I have attended classes, seminars and conferences on the Book and have had the privilege of speaking about and teaching from the Book numerous times. I have read many books by both Church leaders and scholars on various aspects of the Book. I have also spent much time and effort getting to know its inspired translator, Joseph Smith, and the means and events whereby the Book of Mormon came to be. Through all this, I can unequivocally state, where I could not 50 years ago, that the Book of Mormon is truly a divinely inspired book and it is the word of God. I love this Book and I love my Savior, Jesus Christ, whom I have come to know through the study of this Book.
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It always seemed perplexing to me that people needed to gain a testimony of the Book of Mormon, I’ve always known it was true. I read it cover to cover for the first time when I was 10 years old, and thoroughly enjoyed the stories. It was like the very best action movie mixed with intense drama, with powerful steadfast personalities like Nephi, Abinidi, Alma, and Moroni. It was easily my favorite book, and I never doubted it’s veracity. As I grew older I heard people more and more talking about how “they didn’t know it was true until they prayed and asked Heavenly Father…” and as they talked about the spiritual confirmation they received I wondered if I was missing something. Was there some giant heavenly manifestation I could get if I got down on my knees and asked to know if the Book of Mormon was true? I felt silly doing it, because in my heart I already knew it was true. It was more than faith, it felt like actual knowledge, but to illuminate any possibility of “missing out“ on something bigger, I wandered into the woods near our church building, picking a spot that I knew I wouldn’t be disturbed I knelt down and poured out my 13 year old heart to my Heavenly Father. The answer was almost immediate. It was as though He was saying “You feel silly right now, don’t you? You already know these things are true, you’ve always known. Other people might struggle with their faith, but I have given you knowledge and you don’t need to ask ever again.” I walked out of those woods satisfied and calm. I didn’t need some burning bush or pillar of light. I didn’t even need a warm feeling in my heart. I had something that most other people needed to work for, and it has guided my life ever since.
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My name is Jared White, I am 50 years old and have been a member of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints my entire life. I have often been asked to share how I came to know that the Book of Mormon is the true word of God and another testament of Jesus Christ (just like the Holy Bible). It has been said that everyone must be “converted” to the truth of the Book of Mormon whether they are born into the church or are introduced to it later in life. I suppose this is true, but for me, the conversion process happened at a very early age. One of my earliest memories is sitting on my mother’s lap as she read the Book of Mormon to me. Although, I was only three or four years old, I remember clearly the impact of feeling the Holy Spirit testify to my young heart that what I was hearing was truth.
As I grew older, I never questioned my testimony of the truth of the Book of Mormon, as happens with many other adolescents… My testimony of its truthfulness just continued to grow as my study and knowledge of it increased. When I was a 19-year-old missionary called to serve in Guatemala, I remember challenging an investigator to read the Book of Mormon, and to pray and ask our Heavenly Father if it was true. I told them that I had read it many times (which I had) and that I had asked God in prayer if it was true (which I actually never had done), and that He had blessed me with the witness from the Holy Spirit that it was truly His word (which, again, was true, but not exactly as an answer to prayer). That night as I knelt down to say my prayers, I reflected on the “white” lie I had told that investigator. I remember telling God that I was almost ashamed to ask if the book was true, because I already knew that it was true. But I felt I had to do it, so as to be completely truthful when testifying to other people. After some anxiety over the possibility of offending God, I asked him in prayer.
I will never forget the awesome power of the Holy Spirit that came over me. What I experienced was not the “still, small, voice” of the Spirit that I had known all of my life. It was an almost consuming fire of confirmation! I felt the answer in such a powerful way as to penetrate my entire being and leave me weak and shaking… not with fear, but with awe.
Since that day, I have continued to grow in my knowledge of the Book of Mormon, and I can honestly say that my testimony has only grown stronger as to its truthfulness, although I have never again “asked” in prayer for further confirmation. I know it is true! It is the word of God! I am so thankful for that knowledge. Because of my testimony of the Book of Mormon, I know that Joseph Smith was truly a prophet of God, and that the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints is God’s true and living church. What a blessing the Book of Mormon has been in my life! From those tender days on my mother’s lap, to that wonderful night on my knees in Guatemala, until my middle-age… I have always been blessed to know that Jesus is the Christ, that He is my redeemer, and that testimony has come through the Spirit testifying to me that the Book of Mormon is true.
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I was raised a member of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. My parents were faithful, hardworking members. By their examples and teachings in our home, I knew from my earliest ability to understand, that God lives and loves us as his children, that his Son Jesus Christ is our Savior, and that we will be happiest in this life and in the next if we do our best to pattern our lives after Jesus Christ and trust and follow the counsel of the prophets. My belief in the truthfulness of the Book of Mormon has the same source. I know it to be true. But my belief in these things, has grown significantly in breadth and depth over the years as I have grown and matured and learned. Though I’ve never doubted, I have repeatedly put my belief and my understanding to the test, not out of rebellion or doubt, but to confirm and strengthen.
As Alma taught, I nurtured the word (the gospel, the Book of Mormon, the teachings of the prophets) in my heart, I tried the counsel, I sought the confirmation of the Holy Spirit, and I considered the results. (Alma 32). Likewise, I followed the counsel of the Savior himself who said, “If any man will do his will, he shall know of the doctrine, whether it be of God, or whether I speak of myself.” (John 7:17) In every case, as I have nurtured the word, and as I have lived the commandments and teachings of the Savior, I have been strengthened in my knowledge that it is the word and will of God.
I know the Book of Mormon is the word of God for his children. Together with the Bible and other canons of scripture, it will illuminate our path back to Jesus Christ and our Heavenly Father. It will bring comfort, guidance, and happiness to our lives. I know this because I have read it and put it to the test in my life.
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A couple weeks ago our young women youth group headed to Moab. Every year we do a week long camp trip to provide the girls with some outdoor experiences. We love to see them get away from their electronic devices, enjoy the outdoors, learn how to cook, cleanup, set-up tents and see Gods creations. It’s always a great experience. We decided to switch things up a bit and do a river rafting trip! I’m so glad we did, it was amazing!
We managed to convince the young women that a hike in 100 degree weather was going to be worthwhile! Miraculously, after it was all done and over with, I think they all agreed. One of the many things we try and accomplish at camp is to learn that we can do hard things. It would be nice if life was easy but there wouldn’t be a lot of spiritual/mental growth. Haven’t you noticed that you learn the most when life is the hardest? This life is about learning, growing, and becoming a better person-which means you better be prepared for some hard times!
We tried to help the girls be prepared for the hike. We provided them with an empty water bottle and water. All they had to do was fill it up. It was a simple task but their action was required. If they took off on that hike without water, in 100 degree temperatures, it was not going to be a positive outcome.
Just like our own lives, the Savior is the water. He is there for us, ready to quench our thirst at a moments notice. All we have to do is fill up the bottle. We need to be the ones that take the first step of action. The water can’t get in the bottle unless we initiate the first step. We need to go to Him, humble ourselves and He will lift us up.
We took off on our hike with all different levels of excitement. There was the “I’m happy to go” group and the “I do not want to be here” group and everything in between group! In life, we have to be prepared to help others along the way. Sometimes we’re going to be the upbeat/ready to take on the challenge and other times we will be the one needing someone else who’s ready for the challenge. It was good for the young women to see we each play a role in someone else’s journey. Heavenly Father wants us to be there for one another.
It was not your typical “fun” but the hike gave them all a sense of accomplishment. Even though the hike was hot and physically exerting, the end result was a magnificent sight. The journey to get there was not easy but usually the things that are the most worthwhile require the most effort.
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I’m sure some of you have heard the name Joseph Smith, and I’m sure some of you haven’t! I always tell my children, “Knowledge is power”. So today I am going to give you a little bit of power, you will thank me later!
As Mormons, we believe in modern day prophets. This is beautiful and wonderful because we receive direction from God through our living prophet. Joseph Smith was the first of these modern day prophets.
Joseph Smith was born December 1805 into a religious family. His parents taught him to read the Bible and pray always. He was familiar with and loved God. At the young age of 14, Joseph was ready to affiliate himself with an organized religious group. He had dedicated himself to trying to find the right religious group to join. He had studied each group and was unable to determine which of all the groups was the true church. He decided to follow the advice he had read in James 1:5, “If any of you lack wisdom, let him ask of God…..and it shall be given him” . So he went into a grove of trees in upstate New York and said a heartfelt prayer believing that God would answer it.
And answer it, God did!
God, the Father and His Son, Jesus Christ visited Joseph Smith! They spoke to Joseph and told him to join none of the churches. Joseph’s life was never the same from this time forward. This was the first step in the restoration or the bringing back of “The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints”.
Now, I could write pages and pages about the story and life of Joseph Smith. But really, I just want you to know that I love Joseph Smith and I believe every word of his story!
Joseph Smith was persecuted and tormented because of what he saw and knew. No matter what happened in his life, he never denied that experience. He was a man of faith and I am beyond grateful for him!
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There is an old proverb of the Cherokee tribe of Native Americans that says: “Don’t judge a man until you have walked a mile in his shoes.” This was stated a little differently by Atticus Finch in To Kill a Mockingbird when he said: “You never really know a man until you understand things from his point of view, until you climb into his skin and walk around in it.”
Well, the 14-18 year old youth in our Stake this past week spent some time walking around in the shoes and in the skin of some of their actual or adopted ancestors – the Mormon Pioneers. They spent three days in the mountains east of Cedar Hills re-enacting portions of the pioneer’s westward trek from Nauvoo, Illinois to Salt Lake City, Utah during the 1840’s and 1850’s.
The youth spent some time before their “trek” researching their ancestors and finding stories of how these ancestors joined the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints and learned of the difficulties they faced in their life. On the first day of Trek, the youth participated in building a replica of the Church temple in Nauvoo. The replica was 24’ x 16’ and was nearly 30 feet tall. Many of their ancestors had assisted in building the original temple at great sacrifice. Then, just as happened in the 1800’s, not long after the temple was completed, the mobs came and they were forced to leave their city and their temple. The youth loaded their belongings in handcarts and, over the course of the three days, pulled those handcarts 16 or 17 miles through the mountains above Heber. It was not all drudgery though, as the youth ate well, made friends, and of course deepened their appreciation for what their ancestors must have experienced.
Through it all, the youth realized what it must have meant to build such a beautiful city and temple and then have to see it destroyed and have to leave it. And, although the youth only pulled these handcarts a small portion of the 900 miles the real pioneers pulled them, they definitely came away with an appreciation of the conviction and testimony these early pioneers must have had to endure the trials they did so faithfully.
Please see an article written about this experience and view a time-lapse video of the building of the temple at this link
The Nauvoo Temple replica built by the Cedar Hills Utah West Stake stood 27 feet high. The Angel Moroni — which was donated through a miraculous connection — was 6 feet tall. (Evening Photo by Matt Bennett) (Photo of construction Jeremiah Daniel McLerran)
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On May 14th the Deseret News published an article about this blog and our digital mission to find individuals interested in The Gospel of Jesus Christ. This is a humble “how to” from the Cedar Hills West 10th ward. The steps and techniques we share is not an exhaustive list or a complete manual but they are a start to a system that can be followed to start your online digital mission.
First let’s cover the spiritual aspects and responsibilities of the digital mission. The biggest secret to success in a digital mission is obedience just like in a regular full-time mission. This starts with strict obedience to modern revelation given to us on the why, the what, and the how to do online missionary work, and following your bishop’s counsel as he directs the digital mission. Your bishop is the head of missionary efforts within a ward, therefore all ward digital efforts should be coordinated through him; in addition,all posts and approval of posts should follow an outline prescribed by the bishop, ward mission leader and the ward council.
Obedience to the promptings of The Spirit, who will lead the work in your ward just like in the full-time mission, is imperative. Remembering back to the day when the idea of starting a blog was introduced we thought “this is crazy”, but we knew that it was The Lord’s will and we went forward not knowing before hand what we would do. It took faith to believe He really wanted us to start this mammoth undertaking and do it right and stick to it.
This is hard work and THE WORK in a digital mission comes in many forms; from “knocking digital doors” to preparing a plan for when those doors will be opened. The more we knock the more elect and prepared individuals we find. Consistency and regular effort can never be underestimated just like in a full-time mission. Faith without works is dead and so it is with your digital mission.
Every digital investigator needs certain things to progress and it always requires multiples not just one person to provide that support. Not unlike a full-time mission will include efforts like we have with companionships, district leaders, zone leaders, and mission presidents. In the digital missionary world, it will include every resource the ward has. The resources are in charge of many moving parts including in our case Google Plus following (knocking digital doors), immediate follow up to engagement like a comment, a like, a plus, or a question on a post (an open door), multiple assignments for long term follow up and assisting the investigators (discussions). Every good investigator needs good friends so finding people in your ward with like minds and interest for each digital contact should be considered.
Something that does not work is posting on your social media time lines your testimony ad nauseam. Like in the real mission field where we do not set up podiums on the street and shout from those podiums to find the elect. The same applies to social and online mission work we do not spam our testimonies on our personal facebook and other social platforms. Our personal profiles should be used to amplify our efforts on the mission blogs and properties which are set aside for the “virtual discussions”. Again everything starts and ends with the blog. If you want to help the digital mission then ask yourself how you can write or help with the blog. The social media part is the easy part that includes “shout outs” or sharing of the work that goes into your ward blog. A shortcut, but not always the most effective, is amplifying via your social media The Churches blogsvideos and posts. People will be more interested to read posts from your blog when they are written by people in your ward sharing real life experiences that are simple yet meaningful to them. Blog posts do not need to be a completely polished and perfect presentation.
This is not to say that your facebook can’t be used 100% for posting and reposting your testimony. We have not seen that be a successful technique. However knowing this is empowering to many. The digital mission will provide everyone a platform to use that is not personal to bear testimony. This allows so many who have the fear to tell the world how they feel and the blessings that have come from living the gospel.
First step, make a list of all the resources available in the ward or branch. In each ward every member should fall into one or more of these missionary categories:
Bloggers including wordpress, blogger, and other CMS’s
Social Media Influencers including people who know Facebook, Twitter, Pinterest, SnapChat, Tumblr, Google+, and the list goes on.
Technical experts including people who know hosting and DNS.
Writers including English majors, at home moms who love to write, and anyone willing to edit or help with collecting and soliciting new posts regularly.
Individuals with testimonies
Video editors including those that have smart phones and are willing to use them to record and document activities
Doctrine experts
Journal writers who are willing to share their entries
Individuals giving talks on Sunday willing to share what they wrote addressed as a blog post
Scouting scribes
Youth willing to share the day in day out successes and challenges of life as a youth
Leaders willing to write epistles to the ward
Second step, buy a domain or secure your digital missions name/URL on blogger, or wordpress and if you are super committed, a registrar. The Blog is the heart of digital missionary work. Seldom should you lose focus on that. When you write, you write for the blog. When you talk about strategies and content, it should be to place that content on your blog and make it extraordinary.
Third step, register with social media sites, such as Facebook, Facebook groups, Tumblr, Twitter, Google, Pinterest, Instagram etc. These social media sites, in addition to the primary blog site, will be the assets of the digital ward mission and primarily used as supplementary tools to direct traffic to your blog site. These social media profiles should tweet and post whenever the blog is updated and like, follow, subscribe, plus and pin anything virtuous, lovely, or of good report or praiseworthy.
Last step, get all your social media handles secured, with the same names if possible Don’t be afraid to pick names that are not covered by all the digital properties. It’s only important you have them, not that the names are the same necessarily.
HINT You are always able to hide behind the handles of the digital mission social profile, but those handles are sacred and should be treated as such.
HINT Buy off on commitment by the entire ward is imperative and success will be directly correlated with the efforts of the ward, and the obedience to the ward mission plan. Using full-time mission experiences and allegories are very helpful. The closer you make this to a real mission, the more success the ward will have. The great part about this is that most of us have had 18-36+ months experience to draw on. The Digital Mission is very much a parallel to the full-time mission.
HINT Every person should be looked at from the lens of what can she/he do to help the Digital Mission? Everyone adds something unique and special. When everyone is committed and willing to help the work takes huge steps forward.
HINT Digital knocking doors is finding individuals in the world that already have like interests to Latter Day Saints and/or have been introduced to The Mormons already. The best tool for searching and finding are using URL’s like search.twitter.comhttps://plus.google.com/communities There are many other tools we have not tested that you may find success with for example: http://www.social-searcher.com/
HINT The best converts are those already introduced to The Gospel previously or have a positive impression of the Church, so follow on your social media profiles people who use mormon keywords. The worst case scenario of doing this is expanding your digital mission network with LDS members who can provide you comments on the blogs and social posts.
Brother Wilhite, the ward mission leader, says:
“At completion of the development of the Cedar Hills 10th Ward blog and the other social media platforms, we began to post articles and comments about the gospel and other personal thoughts and experiences. In the spring of 2014 we one day received and inquiry from a person named Rachel from the country of Scotland. Our first thought was is she for real? She asked about the Church and wanted to know if we could provide a pen pal her own age to answer questions of what the Church was all about. We were concerned that she would be negative with one of our own young women if we provided one for her.
We took the time to completely vet her and that was accomplished by two of our sister ward missionaries. They made several contacts with her through facebook and e-mail and concluded that she was sincere. In prayer I was prompted to call one young woman to write to her and become a friend to her and answer her questions about the gospel and how it applies to a young teenager. They developed a strong relationship which continues today through Skype and Twitter and Facebook. Contact was made with the missionaries in Scotland and as she enrolled in LDS Institute classes they began to teach her the lessons. She was baptized in February 2015. Her friends and associates in the college there have fellowshipped her and she is now a solid member of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. She is currently the 2nd counselor in the Young Women’s Presidency of her ward.”
Sister Mitzi Robins says:
Making sure she was who she said she was and how we knew she was genuine?
Legitimacy was a big concern for us as we contemplated contacts we might receive from a religious blog. We wanted the members participating to be safe and have positive experiences. Our blog is not open to public comment, which helped us feel that people who had to go a step further and email us might be more serious and avoid trolling. When we got the email from Rachel we were still learning how to run things and since our blog was rather new we were slightly unprepared in this area. She had also asked for a pen-pal her age so that made us even more cautious about securing her legitimacy before turning her over to a young woman. I sent her the first few emails and was really touched by her responses. I became friends with her on Facebook and found nothing alarming on her page. However, Lana and I felt a personal contact by missionaries would be the best, not only for us to make sure she was real but to help Rachel. We emailed a friend of Lana’s who happened to be serving in Scotland. We felt this was really the most appropriate course of action for any and all contacts we received. With Rachel’s permission we gave her email to the missionaries and they also began correspondence. Beth’s parents were also highly involved in the beginning to make sure it was real and she was safe.
My unique experience in communicating with her online?
I was the first one to contact her through email. I was so impressed with her maturity and I could hear her sweet Scottish accent. She asked very insightful questions and it was such a testimony building experience for me to ponder on how I needed to answer. I let her ask all the questions and it was so interesting to see what was important to her. As we discussed different things I was so thankful the missionaries were there in person to support her. There were many times I just wanted to reach through the computer and give her a big hug. I was so impressed with her strength, courage and diligence. She did everything she could to build her testimony-she seized every opportunity and spent a great deal of time studying and praying. I learned what it really means to hunger and thirst after righteousness after watching Rachel’s example. That was quite a lesson for me because I thought I knew so much having been a member since I was 8!
What was it like to do missionary work like this?
Digital missionary work is wonderful in that it reaches people all over the world with little physical effort. It also provides an opportunity for all members to participate. I have to admit it was nice to have the questions posed and then have time to deeply consider responses. In full time missions with face to face contacts that is completely opposite and I think a bit intimidating for many members. I personally really wished for the opportunity to talk face to face because I feel I learn more about the person when I can observe their nonverbal communication. This kind of missionary work I believe is essential because of the number of people it can reach and the potential for involvement by every member. But I feel balance is important and kept reminding myself that there are still real people all around me and I can’t be so involved with the computer that I neglect my neighbors.
What did you learn or take away from the whole experience? How did the experience strengthen your testimony of missionary work?
Not having served a full time mission, I was thrilled with the opportunity to serve as a digital missionary. It was a new thing so there was a lot of innovating involved as we set things up. We did struggle to get the members of our ward excited about sharing on the blog. It is something that takes time and evolves slowly as each person thinks about what they can contribute and how often. I learned that the Lord works in mysterious ways and I just need to keep on doing what He has asked and things can and will happen. None of us expected to have a successful contact so soon after setting up the blog. But that has greatly encouraged us to continue. I really believe that every member is an important missionary and has so much to offer others who are searching for the truth. We all have unique experiences, talents, insight and access to the guidance of the Spirit that help forward the work of the Lord. I learned that my offerings are significant and helpful and I didn’t feel that as strongly before this experience. Everyone has something valuable and important to share! And the only way to get better and feel more comfortable with it is to do it! I know the Lord helps us when we ask for it and then try.
Sister Stewart says:
I feel so blessed since I have had the opportunity to work as a digital missionary. Prior to this experience I never thought Facebook, twitter, Pinterest, Google +, or a ward blog as being an effective missionary tool. I felt as we met as a committee we each had special interests that together were we able to combine to create an effective and successful missionary committee. I remember as we discussed how we each felt we could contribute we understood that each person called had a special talent that would help launch our missionary project. Some of our members were computer experts, some were eloquent speakers and some were excellent writers.
As we began our quest with direct guidance from our Bishop and weekly committee meetings to make sure we were each on task as to the goals we had set the previous week our ward mission began to come together. We involved others in the ward that was artistically talented to help put together our blog.
I think our effectiveness really took off when we presented our goals to the ward. For a few months we presented and discussed to each organization to get them excited and want to participate in our quest. We prepared presentations for Elders Quorum, Relief Society, Sunday School and even the Young Men and Young Women wanted to participate. We did a presentation explaining each site we had created. Ryan was mainly responsible for the ward blog and discussed the overall numbers we were reaching with each new posting on our ward blog. Mitzi and I each shared information about our Facebook pages, Cedar Hills 10th Ward and Youth Standing Strong and also our Pinterest account.
I loved how our ward grasped and became excited about the opportunity to write for our ward blog. Without everyone participating our goals could have never been met. We have had several ward members’ author testimony bearing articles for our blog.
Through Google + and the blog we were able to reach a young 17 year old girl in Scotland. Rachel wrote seeking pen pals to share her interest when she was investigating the LDS Church. We began exchanging emails and through many miracles and divine intervention Rachel decided to be baptized. I feel that we had a small part in her decision to being baptized. Our lives have each been blessed by knowing her and an eternal friendship has been built. I have gained a stronger testimony of missionary work by being blessed with the opportunity to serve as a digital missionary. I know that digital missionary work is the way of the future. We have to each be committed to being a good example by what we write, how we act and by what we choose to say. You never know when you can make a difference in one person’s life. Cedar Hills 10th Ward Mission
I know for myself that the Savior lives. When I was becoming a deacon, I prayed that I would know if the Savior really lives. I went on a week-long camp out with the scouts shortly after turning 12. We went on a 22-mile hike and we got lost and separated. We ran out of water and we were all very thirsty. One of my fellow scouts even had heat stroke. We got lost and it was getting dark. We said a prayer and right when we said “amen”, I felt a strong feeling of peace and reassurance come over me. That is when I knew for myself that God the Father lives, as does his son Jesus Christ and the Holy Ghost.
Stephen
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