There has never been a time when I have questioned if God lives or that Jesus Christ is my Savior. I feel their presence and believe they are real. They have spoken to me through the Holy Ghost.
As a young boy, I felt the Holy Ghost tell me not to go swimming with friends. I didn't know what the feeling was, but my mom did, and she taught me. That was the first experience I remembered having with the spirit but it was unmistakable. I was too young to conjure it up on my own; nor would have I. I wanted to go.
I was called to serve a mission to Hong Kong and to learn Cantonese. Having been an average student in an average school, this was shocking.
About a week into the mission, it was clear, my progress compared to others was lacking. This made me question my belief in myself and the Church. After several difficult days, I knelt in sincere prayer and opened my heart. I told Heavenly Father that I was not sure the Church was true. I was not learning the language and I had been told through church authorities that I would. If I couldn't learn the language then the Church and all that went along with it, the Book of Mormon, living prophets, Joseph Smith, the entire thing may not be true. I told him I was unwilling to spend nearly 2 years preaching something I didn't know was true. I could not do that. Nor was I willing to just go along with it because that was what was expected. In the prayer, I said, "I don't know if the Church is true". It was then the Holy Ghost said to my mind, "You don't know that it ISN'T true". This came as a surprise. I had never thought about it that way. The thought did not come from me. And it was right. I didn’t know the Church was not true.
I decided to do my part; to strive to read and study the scriptures with real intent every day, repent of my shortcomings and really give the gospel a try. If things didn't improve, I would have a clear conscience leaving the mission field and the faith. This decision made sense to me. So that is what I did. I was obedient living mission rules and I prayed, studied and pondered the Book of Mormon with real intent. (Moroni 10:3-5). To be clear, I had never considered not believing in God or Christ. That was firmly in place, which is why I prayed in the first place.
There was never "a moment" that I saw angels or had a vision but after setting things in order and making a sincere effort to live the faith, learning the language vastly improved. Several days into this effort, one of the missionaries I was studying with asked what had changed. I didn't understand. He asked again in a different, yet sincere way. What had I done to progress so quickly in the ability to learn the language and the gospel material? Immediately, I knew. I had given the gospel a real try. I had read the Book of Mormon with a desire to know if it was true. It was and is.
My mission to Hong Kong remains one of the best experiences of my life. I learned to love the people and I continued to turn to Heavenly Father to help guide me.
There were many, very difficult days in the mission field, almost overwhelming days of struggle but I never, ever considered leaving. I had received an answer to sincere prayer, and it worked. That experience has been the difference in my life. Gospel principles as taught by the Church bring happiness, peace, and assurance. The gospel of Jesus Christ is true. It is beautiful. It works.
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