I came across this beautiful guest post written by Marie on:
STANDING FOR SOMETHING
a faith inspired dossier for the thinking woman
(with their permission, I am re-posting it for you to enjoy! I invite you to stop by Standing For Something and leave a comment letting her know you're visiting from rise Above Your Limits)
BELIEVING THE
PROPHET, JOSEPH SMITH
I said goodbye to my Mom, boyfriend and best friend and never
looked back. I had just entered the Missionary Training Center in Provo,
Utah where the over 60,000 missionaries all over the world train before
serving. My life changed the minute I walked in the building and handed
over my luggage and received my dork dot (a little red sticker saying
signifying you were NEW). I left my familiar life to be cradled by the
spirit that envelops you when you are about the service of our Heavenly Father.
I was given my missionary tag, scriptures, class schedule and dorm room
assignment. I was now a missionary. I was official.
The weeks passed of 10
hours a day of classes, endless trips to the cafeteria and lifelong friendships
based on fear of the unknown…and spiritual bonding. It was spiritual boot
camp. And there were some days when I think real boot camp might have
been easier.
I was about a month from
my departure date when I remember fear setting in. Did I really believe
all of this was true? Would the simple testimony of my youth based on
girls camp experiences, youth conferences and primary lessons allow me to teach
a stranger the gospel?? I panicked. I prayed. And then I
prayed again, hard. I remember walking around the MTC like a zombie;
wondering if should even be there. I was afraid if someone made direct
eye contact with me, they would know I was hanging by a thread, and a possible
fraud of a missionary.
That night our teacher
was having a hard time getting us to settle down. After studying all day
and trying to speak another language we were a bit “hyper” to say the least.
He took us out of class and found a quiet classroom that had a piano.
We sat down and he told us that he was going to play some hymns that
would bring the spirit into our little group.
We sang, “I am a Child of
God” and “I Know That My Redeemer Lives” and then “A Poor Wayfaring Man of
Grief.” Before our teacher played the last hymn, he told us that this
hymn was sung to Joseph Smith and his brother Hyrum on the night they were
martyred by the Apostle, John Taylor:
A
poor, wayfaring Man of grief
Hath often crossed me on my way,
Who sued so humbly for relief
That I could never answer nay.
I had not pow’r to ask his name,
Whereto he went, or whence he came;
Yet there was something in his eye
That won my love; I knew not why.
My head hung heavy after
the hymn was over. Tears fell down my cheeks and chin and made there way
to my black missionary tag. My tag had my name and the name of Jesus
Christ on it. I represented him for the next few years and I would do it
with honor. I couldn’t speak. I couldn’t look up. My simple
prayer to know if what I was teaching was true was answered in that hymn.
Not the words, but the spirit confirming to me that Joseph Smith was a
prophet of God and that the Church was true.
I never forgot that day
as I entered into the mission field. And after having the privilege of
serving our Heavenly Father in New York City, the spirit of truth confirmed to
all who would listen the truthfulness of the Joseph Smith story (excerpt):
On a spring day in 1820,
14-year-old Joseph Smith sought solitude in a grove of trees and prayed to know
which church was true. God the Father and Jesus Christ, “two Personages, whose
brightness and glory defy all description,” appeared and spoke with him by
name.
Wondering which of the many
churches to join, Joseph had followed the counsel in the Bible’s book of James:
“If any of you lack wisdom, let him ask of God.” The Lord told Joseph “that all
the religious denominations were believing in incorrect doctrines” and that he
was to await further instructions from on high. ”In a state of calmness
and peace indescribable,” Joseph left that sacred grove knowing the reality of
our Father in Heaven and His resurrected Son, Jesus Christ.
Whether this story was
taught to someone affluent or lived in the projects the spirit confirmed the
truth just the same, each and every time. It didn’t matter where we were,
and this little story shows just that.
My missionary companion
and I spent our day walking through an area of Long Island that had been
tracted many times over. We felt like two people with their feet stuck in
the mud. Everyone had heard or seen missionaries…and no one was
interested in our message. But still we went on, knocking on house after
house…rejection after rejection. We attempted to laugh our way through
day since laughter made our heavy hearts feel lighter. We knocked on a
rather strange looking house that was essentially falling down. It looked
abandoned. The front porch was full of boards barely nailed together and
we weren’t quite sure which door to knock on, since there were two of them.
We knocked and knocked. Finally a young man came out of the house
and kindly asked us what we wanted. We said we were missionaries from The
Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, and asked if he had heard of us.
He nodded. We asked if we could share our message about the Book of
Mormon and Joseph Smith. He agreed but because the house had quite a few
occupants we needed to teach him out on the front porch.
In our broken Spanish we
told him about the nature of God, Jesus Christ and about prophets. It was
my turn to share the story of the First Vision, and I looked down at my
missionary discussion to make sure I said everything correctly. As I told
the account of Joseph Smith and how he had seen God the Eternal Father and
Jesus Christ…it was silent. Not just quiet…but a silence that enveloped
the three of us. The young man stared at us with eyes wide and spirit
touched, he knew what we knew. That what we had told him was
true.
This was one of a few
beautiful experiences I’ve had teaching the Joseph Smith story. I am
grateful for it, for it is the grounding of my testimony. And the best
part is that anyone can know if Joseph Smith was a prophet for themselves
whether you are a missionary in a foreign land, falling down house or kneeling
down by your bed. Your prayers will be answered.
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