61. Testimony

Excerpts from an account I wrote of a talk given by fifteen-year-old Michael on Sunday, September 11, 1988, in the sacrament meeting of the Bountiful Twentieth Ward, Bountiful Utah South Stake. This account is taken from the October 1988 issue of the Family Journal. Michael at the time was a sophomore at Bountiful High School.

“There are at least three elements to a testimony,” explained newly turned 15 Michael as he spoke in sacrament meeting on September 11. “First, that God lives and Jesus Christ is His Son. Second, that Joseph Smith was a prophet of God and restored the Church. And third, that The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints is the only true church on the earth.”

Michael defined testimony as a revealed knowledge from God that something is true. It comes in response to prayer. He quoted from the Book of Mormon:

“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.

“And by the power of the Holy Ghost ye may know the truth of all things” (Moroni 10:4–5).

He concluded his talk by sharing a story of a missionary in Germany in 1928:

“As I spoke with a woman at the doorway to a nearby apartment, I heard someone coming up behind me. I turned and saw a policeman in uniform. I continued to talk, believing he had business with someone upstairs.

“To my astonishment, he dropped a heavy hand on my shoulder and turned me around to face him.

“‘You will have to come with me,’ he said quietly. ‘You’re under arrest.’

“ . . . ‘Why am I being arrested?’ I asked the policeman. He told me that I was accused of burglarizing an apartment and carrying off a valuable heirloom watch.

“The officer explained that my accuser had found the watch missing the morning before. He contended that I had been the only person other than himself and his family to enter the building.

“ . . . At the police station, I was ushered into the chief’s office. A police court, consisting of several plainclothes and uniformed policemen, was waiting for me. In the corner sat seven people who said they had witnessed my entering the building.

“During the hour-long interrogation, I answered every question honestly and directly, with a prayer in my heart that the Lord would help me.

“Then the seven witnesses testified against me. All stated that, except for family, I had been the only person to go to the third-floor apartment the day before. It began to look as though I might spend several years in a German prison.

“The police chief asked me if I had anything to say in my defense. I prayed fervently for assistance, then began speaking, hesitantly at first, in my broken German. I told those in the room why I was in Germany and explained my mission. Suddenly I began to preach the gospel. A strange feeling came over me. I gradually lost control of my tongue, my arms, and my facial muscles.

“The Holy Spirit had come to my rescue. I began to speak the language fluently, with confidence and power. When I concluded my testimony forty-five minutes later, I nearly slumped to the floor in exhaustion. There was complete silence in the room for at least a full minute.

“Then the police chief said simply, ‘This man didn’t take the watch.’

“He asked me many questions about myself and the Church. The hostility in the room had vanished. Then he turned to a detective and said, ‘Go with this young man to his room and search his belongings. If you don’t find the watch—and I’m sure you won’t—let him go. End this foolishness’” (Walter M. Horne, “You’re Under Arrest!” in Ensign, Aug. 1988, 67–68).

60. The Influence of the Book of Mormon

A report published in the October 1988 issue of the Family Journal on nine-year-old Anna’s participation in the Primary sacrament meeting program in the Bountiful Twentieth Ward, Bountiful Utah South Stake, on Sunday, August 21, 1988. Anna at the time was just about to begin her fourth-grade year at Bountiful Elementary.

In the Primary children’s sacrament meeting program on Sunday, August 21, Anna was assigned to talk about how the Book of Mormon has influenced her life. Despite a lot of suggestions and coaching during the week or two before the program, no one knew what she was going to say. No hints. No rehearsing. Nothing.

As she stood at the pulpit, looking out over the vast congregation, Anna simply said: “If it wasn’t for the Book of Mormon I wouldn’t be here because my mom and dad wouldn’t have gone to Brigham Young University and they wouldn’t have met and got married.”

That was all. Short and sweet. And the congregation loved it.

59. He Just Said "No!"

A talk given by six-year-old Camilla Cleverly on Sunday, March 20, 1988, in the Primary of the Bountiful Twentieth Ward, Bountiful Utah South Stake. Camilla at the time was in Kindergarten.

Once there was a boy, and his name was Michael. He had a cold. He wanted to go out and play in the snow. He went and asked his mom. She said no.

He remembered what he learned in Primary about Heavenly Father answering prayers. He prayed to Heavenly Father that Mom would change her mind.

Then his friend came over and wanted him to play outside in the snow. Michael said, “No, my mom said I can’t. But come back after lunch because I prayed to Heavenly Father that she’d change her mind.”

He came back after lunch, and Michael asked, “Mom, can I go outside and play?” She still said no.

His friend said, “I guess Heavenly Father didn’t answer your prayer.”

“Yes, he answered, but he just said no.”

Heavenly Father always hears our prayers and answers them but sometimes not in the way we want. In the name of Jesus Christ, amen.