D. Gardner

What do I believe? and do I tell others what I believe?

I’ve read from several different authors that telling stories is one of the most effective ways to help people remember your points, in this case my beliefs.

What are my stories that help me remember my beliefs and help me explain to others what I believe?

They may have gotten that idea from the Bible, or maybe just the example of Jesus Christ.  Christ use parables with great skill to teach and help people remember those teachings.

Yesterday was the beginning a conference for my local congregation of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints.  The theme was taken from Doctrine and Covenants 62:3 which states;

Nevertheless, ye are blessed, for the testimony which ye have borne is recorded in heaven for the angels to look upon; and they rejoice over you, and your sins are forgiven you.

I thought about this passage as the meeting progressed and I listened to people testify of their beliefs.  I asked myself the question, “What do I believe?”

Kurt Larson, on of the congregations leadership, brought up another scripture from Peter 3:15 which states;

“..be ready always to give an answer to every man that asketh you a reason of the hope that is in you..”

After hearing this I thought, ” I have stories that I use to help explain what I believe.”  I also thought as an added measure I should probably write these down here in my journal.

As these stories come to mind I will write them down hear in my journal.

The first experience I had that changed my life and my belief occurred as I was in the mission training center in Provo as I was getting ready to serve in the Micronesia Guam Mission.   I was just barely 19 but I had been participating in the the Church of Jesus Christ most of my life.   I was baptized at 8, and ordained to the various offices in the priesthood as I got older.   And while I believed there was a God, Jesus was the Savior of the World, and they had sent prophets to testify of him, I was not sure what the foundation of that belief was.

Then one day as we were being taught to be effective missionaries, the instructor asked us if we could identify the Spirit of the Lord, or in other words the Holy Ghost,  as it testified of truth.  The instructor then explained the influence of the spirit was always present in the training center.  He then asked us to sit silent and think about how each of us felt.  I remember realizing I was, and had been from the time I entered the training center,I felt really happy, I felt excited and I also felt a great sense of peace and calm.  He explained that is the influence of the Holy Ghost in our lives letting us know what we are doing is right and this same influence will let us know what is right and true.

I then realized I had had this feeling many times during my life.  As I was in sacred places, as I was helping people,  as I was doing good thing.  I had felt this happiness, peace and calm.   I then realized this was the influence of the Spirit of the Lord in my life.

Since then I have had many other experience were the Spirit has touched my life.   Sometimes through my own experiences and sometimes through the experiences others have shared with me.

John 14:26 “But the Comforter, which is the Holy Ghost, whom the Father will send in my name, he shall teach you all things, and bring all things to your remembrance”

One experience that has had a profound experience in my life was on my mission.  I was assigned to serve in the Chuuk Lagoon(formerly called Truk).  We had to learn the local language to communicate with the people.  I have been out over a year and was able to communicate fairly well with the people.  I was however learning new words all the time.  One day we were teaching a family and discussing tithing and I was asked something I did not know how to answer.  The phrase, or word, for tithing used in the scriptures was “eu n engon”  And so that is the word I used when teaching the principle.  Eu is one. and Engon is ten.  But the “n” in the middle I was not so sure what that was about.  But i used it and hoped people would understand.    Well during the discussion the father of the family asked “Met wewen Eu N Engon.”  Without hesitation I started to speak, but the speaking was not me.  I said “Eu N Engon awewen Eu me nein Engon.”  Directly translated I had said “Tithing means one among ten” Which makes so much sense in their language.  He was nodding his head in understanding and I was almost overcome because of the spiritual experience I had just had.