How I Got My Testimony of the Book of Mormon

This is a true story. I've told it in whole or in part to several people, and I've recorded it in a couple places in my journal. This is how I know the Book of Mormon is the true word of God.

After having dated Orion a few months, I began to wonder more about his beliefs. Why did he spend so much time at church? What was it that made him different from everyone else? And how could he be so fired up about religion? At first, I decided to throw myself wholeheartedly into the church I was attending with my parents, the Deep Park United Methodist Church. I went on youth retreats and tried to make it to youth group as often as I could. I made myself go to church, and I began reading my Bible at night time. When I was asked to play the flute at church on Sundays, I agreed.

However, even though I tried so hard to go through all the actions, I still didn't feel as close to God as I should have, and could have. I found myself going to church not because I was excited to learn about God but because I was gonig to play the flute, or I had promised someone I would be there. I wanted to have that fire Orion had. I wanted to have a testimony, but there was still something lacking. I began praying for God to help me find a way to be closer to Him, because it was obvious that what I was doing was not working at all. I did some research on other religions, getting sort of an overview to what the other Christian religions believed.

Finally, I decided to turn to Orion and find out what he believed. I started asking him questions - tons of questions. In the meantime, I set about earnestly to read the New Testament, deciding that after I had done so, I would ask him for a Book of Mormon. I also looked at the Church's website and read the story of the First Vision. Now, ordinarily, when I had read religious stories and experiences, I took them with a grain of salt. There was something about this one, though. Instead of discounting it like I had all the others, I found myself reading eagerly. I was amazed at what was there instead of being skeptical and cynical.
I asked Orion about the Book of Mormon, and he told me this same story, and he told me what was contained within the Book of Mormon: a record of the Savior's dealings with the people in America. I asked him to bring me a copy and he agreed.

He brought me my triple combination (Book of Mormon, Doctrine and Covenants, and Pearl of Great Price) on January 18, 1998. In the front of the book was that same story of the First Vision. I read it eagerly, and I saw that it was continued in Joseph Smith-History. I read that quickly too, and then I didn't really know where to go from there. As I thumbed through, I noticed that the Doctrine and Covenants (D&C) seemed to pick up around the time where the Joseph Smith-History ended, so I began reading that. I found myself wanting to read as much as I could, and whenever I read it, I felt this amazing peace. I used to bring it along on ski trips, and I would be sitting in the middle of a ski lodge with 10 teams running around trying to get their bibs and tickets passed out and their ski clothing ready to go, but I would be able to totally shut it out. I had no idea what it was, but Orion later explained to me that I was feeling the Holy Ghost.

I finished the D&C on February 6 and was pretty impressed with it, but I still didn't know. A lot of it didn't make sense to me. Orion was pretty amused that I had chosen to read that first, and he encouraged me to read the Book of Mormon. I agreed, especially after attending church with him that day. At first I was reluctant, because it seemed a lot like the Old Testament, and the parts that I had read up to that point were incredibly boring. I gave it a go, and it wasn't long before I was just as ensnared in the Book of Mormon as I had been in the D&C. I was learning so much, and the more I learned, the more I wanted to know.

Finally, I was practicing my flute solo for "Amporita Roca" one day, and I was just getting so incredibly frustrated. I decided to put down my flute and read a bit more from the Book of Mormon, to calm my nerves. As I began readiing, I was riveted. I finished reading Mormon, and I skipped over Ether to Moroni so I could finish the story. I read page after page, and I felt like I just had to finish it right then. I finally got to the promise in Moroni:

3 Behold, I would exhort you that when ye shall read these things, if it be wisdom in God that ye should read them, that ye would remember how merciful the Lord hath been unto the children of men, from the creation of Adam even down until the time that ye shall receive these things, and ponder it in your hearts.
4 And when ye shall receive these things, I would exhort you that ye would 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.
5 And by the power of the Holy Ghost ye may know the truth of all things. (Moroni 10:3-5)

I knelt down to pray, the first time in my life where I had actually been on my knees when saying a prayer. (Before I had always sat or laid down.) I asked God if it was true, and I felt this burning sensation. It felt like it was in my heart, but it wasn't just there. It filled my whole chest and my whole body. It was warmth and joy, but not quite. There's not really any good words to describe the exact feelings, but I felt like I was going to burst.

Along with this feeling was the absolute surety, the perfect knowledge that the Book of Mormon was true. This is kind of hard to describe as well, but when this popped into my head, it was so strong - stronger than most thoughts that had ever entered my mind - and it wouldn't go away. It was like this big island popping up in the sea of swirling thoughts - those changed and swirled, but this was solid.

In addition to knowing that the Book of Mormon was true, I also gained a testimony of the existence of Heavenly Father and the Savior. I had always had a suspicion they were there, but as I described before, I didn't really have that fire within me. I wasn't really sure, and I admit that I had looked at other religions and wondered if they were the right ones, or if maybe none of it was true. But now I knew, for I had prayed and He had answered my prayer.

Throughout the following months, when my parents persecuted me and I desperately wanted to be baptized, I clung to this experience. No matter what anyone said, no matter how many anti-Mormon arguments they brought up, no matter how bleak it seemed, I had not made this up. God had indeed told me that the Book of Mormon was true, and to deny what He had specifically told me would be the height of foolishness.

I know the Book of Mormon is true. It contains a powerful witness of the divinity of Jesus Christ, and there are so many lessons we can learn from it. It has changed my life in ways I never could have dreamed of, and for that I am so thankful. If you have not yet read the Book of Mormon, I invite you to get one of your own and find out for yourself, just as I did. If you have, then I invite you to read it again, and prayerfully consider the truths that it contains within. I leave this testimony and invitation with you in the name of whom it testifies, even Jesus Christ. Amen.