I spoke in Church last weekend and I promised I would put my talk on here so folks could read it. I'll add my comments at the end . Here's the talk - although I did not stay exactly with this outline.
My Journey With The Book of Mormon
By Rachel Campbell
February 23, 2014
Good Morning Brothers and
Sisters:
My name is Rachel Campbell
and I am grateful for the opportunity to speak to you this morning. I pray that
the Spirit will be with me as I share a few thoughts with you and will bear
witness of those things that are true.
Many years ago, I was born in
Maine. Yes, I
am clearly a long way from where I started. I wasn’t brought up in an LDS
family and didn’t have a clue about the Church at age 8, when most LDS children
are baptized. I grew up knowing God, Jesus Christ and on the occasion we went
to a Church, it was usually Mass with other family members.
My mother joined the Church
when I was 10 years old, and my sister Kelly joined with her. And I wasn’t
ready – at all. I was still figuring
things out for myself. During that next
year, I read passages in The Book of Mormon still not convinced that I needed
to join the Church. And then one day, I knew I was ready and remember asking my
Mom if “ those guys could come back and give me the lessons like they did with
you.” While I did not know much about
it at the time, I felt the Spirit touched my heart when I was reading the Book
of Mormon and I liked how that felt. I was baptized on June 26, 1977 at 11
years of age. And thus began the
influence of the Book of Mormon in my life.
I went through an unusual
amount of teenage angst as we moved from Maine
to Utah. It
was a very difficult time in my life and I was mostly inactive when it came to
Church…I will say that my Mother earned every single one of her gray hairs
during my teens and that I am the successful person I am today because she
never gave up on me.
My scriptures had been on the
back burner for a while – but I didn’t forget them entirely. My Book of Mormon,
the familiar dark blue cover, words printed on the side would always stand out,
no matter where they were in my room. I believe that those tender feelings as a
child have attached me to that book of scripture like none else.
I found myself making less
than stellar choices at 19 years of age, but gratefully I was employed and
taking care of myself the best I could. One night, in the quiet of my room, the
outside light illuminated my bookshelf
and I could see the gold
letters from across the room. It had
been a while since I had opened the Book of Mormon, and randomly opened a page:
Alma 37: 37
“ aCounsel with the Lord in
all thy doings, and he will direct thee for bgood; yea, when thou liest down at night lie down unto the Lord, that he
may watch over you in your sleep; and when thou risest in the cmorning let thy heart be
full of thanks unto God; and if ye do these things, ye shall be lifted up at
the last day. “
I wept. And I continued on my
path for a little longer. That scripture would come back in my life in a way
that I had not expected.
I’m still inactive, and
somehow I find myself at the Oakland
Temple. I am sitting on
the grounds of the temple and have this distinct impression: “If you ever want
to be in there, you will have to change what you are doing out here. “ I knew my heart was being touched and was
reminded again of the scripture in Alma.
“Counsel with the Lord in ALL thy doings”.
Was I doing that? Did I even
know he cared? Did he care that I wasn’t in Church? Did I matter?
I went home that night and
prayed like I had never prayed in my life. If
God cared about my life and my journey and wanted me to make the changes
that needed to be made, I was going to need help. I laid out my “ wish list”
and went to bed, assured that
nothing was going to change.
The very next day my “ wish
list” had be fulfilled and I kept my part of the bargain, and left the life I
was currently living and walked away from what was keeping me from being an
active member of the Church. I was and
am a living proof that answers come from the Book of Mormon. My life is a
miracle.
As I turned the corner in my
life and made all the necessary changes, I felt prompted to want to serve a
mission. After receiving confirmation that was the Lord’s will for me as well,
I entered the MTC on March 16, 1988 in Provo,
Utah. I was going to the Switzerland Geneva Mission
and I was going to speak in French. Our
MTC President gave us a challenge upon entering the MTC. He asked us to read the entire Book of Mormon
while at the MTC, and to pray about it. The wall behind his desk had all these
pictures of Book on them that said “ I took the 30 day Book of Mormon
challenge”.
I’ll be honest – until this time, I
had NEVER read the Book of Mormon from cover to cover. Let alone in 30 days. Mind you, I knew it was true a long time
before, but I had never had that experience of reading it cover to cover and
following Moroni’s
promise at the end:
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.
I knew that I wanted and
needed to read the entire book. I wanted to get to the end so I could put that
promise to the test myself. I wanted
that witness.
I diligently read every
chance I could. I would read and then read some more. And it didn't all sink
in. But I knew that I was going to have to work hard to attain that goal. I
found stories that spoke to my soul. The first time I read the story of
Abinidi, I cried. He was not leaving until he delivered his message. And here I was, a 22 year old missionary
heading to Europe to share my message. Would I
have his strength ?
I read the book of Jared –
and his endless questions of the Lord. I loved that the Lord put the solution
back on him. Oh my goodness, is that me!
And then I read the Savior’s
visit to the Nephites. And we’ll read
that because it is one of the most profound moments in the Book of Mormon.
** Read 3 Nephi 11 1-15 **
I could only imagine what it
would have been like to be in the presence of Jesus Christ, to watch him
come. The entire image brings tears of
joy to my eyes. And to hear the Father
introduce him to the people, in such a beautiful way.
It is one of my favorite
chapters in the Book of Mormon.
On the 30th day of
the challenge, I have the entire 10 chapters of
Moroni to read…and okay so he is going to pass away, and he wants to
preserve the record and then he talks about charity, am I ever going to finish this ?
And then, I get to Moroni 10: 3-5.
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.
And once I finished that
chapter, I went to my room to have a prayer, to ask my Heavenly Father if what
I read was true. And no sooner had those
words come out of my mouth, there was a warmth and a feeling that came over me
that was undeniably not my own. I KNEW it was TRUE! And what I realized is that I had always
known it was true. But this was MY experience. And I wanted others to have it
and to know about the life changing things that had come because of this book.
During my mission, we
followed a program called “ Flood the Earth with the Book of Mormon”. We carried these heavy books everywhere. In
our backpacks, on buses, trains, bikes, in cars. We shared the love for the
Book of Mormon in a park, at a pizza place, walking down the street and in the
quiet humble circumstance of many who would listen. It was 18 months of testifying of this book.
And my testimony strengthened. And we
saw many come unto Christ and were baptized as members of the Church of Jesus
Christ of Latter Day Saints.
The Book of Mormon has been the stabilizing force in my scripture reading. As I read it and cross reference it with the other scriptures, I am able to get a better sense of the messages found therein and it strengthens my testimony that His words are found in more than one book of scripture. " By the mouth of two or three witnesses shall every word be established."
As a member of the La Crescenta Stake, we are
asked to read the Book of Mormon during the year. We have had repeated counsel about reading it - and I hope many of you have taken up that challenge.
I will add to that that
specifically the Book of Mormon will strengthen you. I have felt its strength
in my life as I read it, I have felt more emotional support during my
challenges and trials, and I have a greater sense of love for those around me.
I have found specific answers to my prayers from the Book of Mormon. However you are able to read it, read it.
Listen to it. Have someone else read it to you. Read the children’s version of
it , if the adult version get confusing. Read it in your homes, with your
children, with your spouse and pray for the strength to continue to read. Allow
the witness of the Holy Ghost to act in your life and in your heart.
I know that Joseph Smith was
a prophet of God, called forth in the latter days to translate the Book of
Mormon. I know it is the word of God and
by reading it and the other scriptures, we are better able to handle the
challenges that life throws to us. I testify that Jesus Christ is the Son of
God and that he visited the Nephites to fulfill prophesy. And I know that we
too await the day of the Savior’s return. May we prepare by daily reading the
Book of Mormon, is my prayer in the name of Jesus Christ.
Amen.
** Now my message ends and I am going on to my other classes. I hope that it has been something of use to those that listened. One of the Sister Missionaries approaches me and shares with me a story about her investigator, who is 10 years old. She listened intently as I related my experiences, but of particular interest to her was the fact that I read from the Book of Mormon at only 10 and 11 years of age. She asked the Sisters if she could have her own copy to read - and that brought tears to my eyes. If my message was important to no one else, it was important for that little girl. Such a blessing to be an instrument in God's hand for a brief moment.
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