Moroni 10 - Farewell

Reading this chapter brought back a lot of memories. So, more than a commentary, this entry is my personal testimony of the Book of Mormon.

On January 2, 1974, while I was a Junior in high school, I finished reading it all the way through for the first time. I remember kneeling at my bedside, with my (now well worn Book of Mormon) laying on my bed in front of me opened to Moroni 10:4-5. For several days leading up to this moment, I'd read with anticipation, wondering what kind of answer I'd get when I took "Moroni's Test."

No sooner than I'd started praying, I found out. Imagine the heat you feel in your face when you're majorly embarrassed and are blushing. Now, move that "heat" sensation to your chest and expand it so it fills your entire body. That's about what it was like for me. It went on for minutes. How many I don't know, but I lingered in the prayer because I didn't want it to end. That's about as close as I can come to the feeling, but even that doesn't do the experience justice.

Suffice it to say, it changed my life. The next day, I had a similar though less pronounced ( as in shorter duration ) experience witnessing to me about Harold B. Lee and Spencer W. Kimball. The question there was, "are they prophets?" The answer... a resounding, yes.

So, for me, the promise worked spectacularly well. Since that time 'till now, I've had a lifetime of other experiences with the Spirit that have strengthened my testimony and revitalized my memory of that evening. In many ways, it has proven again and again Joseph Smith's observation that a man can get closer to God through this book than any other.

FYI, I will start over with 1 Nephi and go through at least to Helaman to cover the entire book in this blog. After that... we'll just have to see. Thanks for coming along with me on this journey so far.