It Starts Simple
It
has always been difficult for me to pinpoint exactly when I received a
testimony of the gospel…it just always seemed to be there. I loved my parents…I wanted to be like
them…they believed…so I believed…pretty simple.
It wasn’t until I was older that I realized the blessing of this
gift…the gift of “knowing.”
For all have not every gift given unto
them; for there are many gifts, and to very man is given a gift by the Spirit
of God.
To some is given one, and to some is given
another, that all may be profited thereby.
To some it is given by the Holy Ghost to
know that Jesus Christ is the Son of God, and that he was crucified for the
sins of the world. (Doctrine & Covenants 46:11-13)
Where’s My Gun?
My
earliest memory confirming my faith in God and Jesus Christ takes me back to
when I was a young boy. I probably was
not more than 4 or 5 years old and had lost a toy gun that I was desperately
looking for. My friends were waiting to
play outside, and I couldn’t find my toy gun.
After searching all over the house, I was completely at a loss. I found myself in my parents’ bedroom. I knelt down at their bedside and said I’m
sure as simple of a prayer that one at that age could muster. I opened my eyes, looked over at my parents
dresser, and there just underneath the dresser was the toy gun. It was clearly out of sight from anyone
walking by. But when kneeling down, was
clear as day. From that day forward, I
realized that many answers to life’s problems would be answered from my knees.
I Don’t Fear
Thunderstorms
As
a pre-teen and teenager, life wasn’t too complicated. I went to school, studied and played. My testimony never seemed tested. Sure, I had challenges. But they were pretty simple challenges, and
never regarding things that were spiritual.
I never questioned going to church, attending seminary, or accepting
different priesthood responsibilities.
It probably wasn’t until I approached my mission that the weight of
things spiritual began to set on my mind. It wasn’t so much my questioning the church or
questioning anything of a spiritual nature, it was questioning how prepared was
I to share those things with others.
After
graduating from high school, I began to realize how real a mission was. I was 18 years old and knew that within 12
months I would be leaving home for 2 years.
I decided that time away from home would be helpful in that
preparation. I didn’t have the opportunity
to leave home for school, so I found a summer job a couple of hours away from
home just outside of Prescott, Arizona.
This was a summer camp for children, many of whom were troubled
kids. The summer camp was actually a
school, run as a private school during the school year, but during the summer
it brought children in from all over the world.
Along with more seasoned camp counselors, junior counselors were brought
in to help. That was me…a junior
counselor. It paid room and board…no
money. This worked fine for me. It helped me prepare myself to be away from
home, but also provided me a place where I could train for my upcoming freshman
year at Glendale Community College before I left on my mission.
It
was my goal to finish the Book of Mormon that summer while away at the summer
camp. I had a number of different
responsibilities as a junior camp counselor.
I coached the swim team, taught archery, and accompanied various
counselors on regular horseback rides.
While meeting my different responsibilities as a counselor, I also
worked diligently to keep up on my Book of Mormon reading. On one particular evening, I was assigned to
stand watch over the boy’s cabin area while the boys and girls were at a dance. It was late in the evening, and I was alone
in the camp sitting outside on one of the porches with my scriptures out. It was a warm summer evening. The darkness was almost overwhelming. I was reading in 3 Nephi Chapter 8 by
flashlight. My surroundings fit
perfectly with the events unfolding in the scriptures. I read Nephi’s words:
3“And the people
began to look with great earnestness for the sign which had been given by the
prophet Samuel, the Lamanite, yea, for the time that there should be darkness
for the space of three days over the face of the land.”
5“And it came to
pass in the thirty and fourth year, in the first month, on the fourth day of
the month, there arose a great storm, such as one as never had been known in
all the land.”
As
I looked up from my reading, the darkness was broken with periodic flashes from
a storm off to the east. It was a quiet
thunderstorm…an incredible lightning show off in the distance. I wondered if that night for Nephi began
something like what I was seeing. As I
watched the storm in the distance, I continued to read the rest of 3 Nephi
Chapters 8 and 9. After an incredible
storm and tempest, Nephi relates in Chapter 9 Verse 14 that “…if ye will come
unto me ye shall have eternal life.” It
was then and there, through the power of the Holy Ghost, that I was reminded
that Jesus Christ was the Savior of the world, but more importantly, my
Savior. At that moment, I understood the
message that I would take on my mission, to invite others to come unto
Christ. From that day on, I haven’t
feared thunderstorms as they are a reminder to me of the comforting love of a
Savior.
It’s The Little
Things
I
haven’t seen a vision or heard the Saviors voice. I suppose that the Lord knows that I don’t
need that to know Him. I may not have
been blessed with many spiritual gifts, but I have been blessed with at least one,
“…to know that Jesus Christ is the Son of
God, and that he was crucified for the sins of the world.” That gift is given by the power of the Holy
Ghost, and one I cannot deny.
Maintaining that gift comes from the little things that I’ve seen,
experienced, and felt. The examples of
parents that have lived the gospel and who have endured to the end have
strengthened my testimony. Having a
family at my side, a wife and children to encourage me to choose those things which
are good have strengthened my testimony. Having grandchildren that love me have
strengthened my testimony. And finally,
through opportunities of service, and having felt the Holy Ghost testify to me
that Jesus Christ is our Savior and that through him we can return to live with
our Heavenly Father have strengthened my testimony. Of all the gifts, the gift of “knowing” is
the gift I cherish the most.
Rick
Smith
December
6, 2015
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