At 13 years old I started taking Seminary in 9th Grade at Tooele High School. (I was young because I skipped first grade.) The topic for the year was the Book of Mormon. Although I was born into the Church and had great, active parents, I had never read it before. But I had an awesome teacher, Brother V. Alan Curtis, who was so fun, kind, and motivating. (He was also a counselor to my father when my father was bishop of the Tooele 5th Ward.) I kept up on the reading assignments, but there was something Bro. Curtis wanted us to do that really bothered me. He kept telling us that we needed to have a spiritual experience by putting Moroni 10:4-5 to the test and asking God if the Book of Mormon was true. The words “spiritual experience” scared me. I was so young that I was still sleeping with my head under the covers because I was scared of bogeymen. I didn’t want to experience any spirits! So, I kept putting off this challenge.
It seems that several months went by. Then, one night, I was sitting on the couch in our family room, reading 2 Nephi Chapter 27. Mom and Dad weren’t home. I was really struggling with trying to understand these Isaiah chapters in the Book of Mormon. I got so frustrated that night, that after reading verse 28 and still understanding nothing, I finally decided to kneel down, ask for help, and put Moroni’s and Bro. Curtis’s challenge to the test. I wondered somewhat fearfully if I would see some spirits, but I still decided to go for it.
I knelt in the middle of the family room and offered a sincere prayer, asking for help to understand, and also asking if the Book of Mormon was true. I waited a little, didn’t see any spirits, and got up and went back to my reading. I flipped over the page (the old blue soft-cover edition of the Book of Mormon in 1969), and the first verse on the next page was 2 Nephi 27:29. As I read the words “and the eyes of the blind shall see out of obscurity and out of darkness,” I sensed a strange feeling coming over me. I suddenly realized that this verse was telling me that my blinded eyes were going to start to see the truth. The feeling intensified until it felt like my whole body was being filled with a warm, tingly substance or power. I kept reading the verses on that page, and the words seemed to leap off the page and go right into my understanding. This was truly an experience unlike anything I had ever felt, and I knew that it was the “spiritual experience” that I needed to confirm to me that the book was true.
That was the ice-breaking spiritual experience for me. It taught me what the witness of the Spirit felt like, and how to get answers to prayers. I could truly testify with power that the Gospel was true! I am so indebted to Brother Curtis for teaching me this great principle and motivating me to pray for answers. Since that first night, I have experienced countless spiritual experiences and miracles, most of which are documented in my journals. I went on to serve a full-time mission in Germany, marry a beautiful woman in the temple, become the father of 5 children and 11 grandchildren (as of today), and serve in numerous capacities in the Church, including Elder’s Quorum President, Young Men’s President, Scoutmaster, counselor in 3 Bishoprics, Executive Secretary, Ward Mission Leader, Stake High Councilor, Bishop, and First Counselor in the Stake Presidency. All of these experiences have enhanced that testimony that I received that one solitary night in 1969, over 45 years ago.
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