First Testimony and the Witness of the Holy Ghost at the Palmyra Sites - 9.11.10

September 11, 2010

Today, I went to Palmyra, NY- about an 1hr and 30 mins from Buffalo and had an experience that I will never forget.  While I was watching the video of Joseph Smith's life - There was a part of the movie where Joseph Smith was reading a verse from James 1:5 which states "If any of you lack wisdom, let him ask of God that giveth to all men liberally, and upbraideth not; and it shall be given to him" and he went into the Sacred Grove near his home in Palmyra, NY to kneel down and pray to God the Father which Church was true.  The part where God and Jesus Christ came down as two personages and spoke to Him is where I began to feel something I could not describe.  I could not move, I could not breathe, I could not talk - I felt something so powerful I could not even deny it.  I understood more of what I felt after I watched the movie and went up the Hill Cumorah where I read this verse:  "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" Moroni 10:4.  The Holy Ghost revealed to me the truth today and I cannot deny the power that was instilled in me today and it would almost be impossible to say it is a lie. I realized that a whole new opportunity to know more about this Church and about who Jesus Christ and who the Heavenly Father is.

Back in 2008, I became a Christian through InterVarsity Christian Fellowship - a non-denomination group that intends on uniting believers of all backgrounds.  I started off going to Southern Baptist Church where I met a couple of great friends and a great Pastor. A couple of months later, I decided that since I was going to be a pilot (how random right?), it would be wise to stay near my hometown area because I really did want to go back home and I had the opportunity to work on my career there.  Returning to New York City and living my life at home has been one of the worst experiences I can imagine.  Sin seeped through my blood and I cursed the name of God.  The temple of my body was so unclean that not even the world’s greatest and strongest supply of Clorox could wash away the stains that I left in my temple.  Lust was the reason why I lost my faith in New York.  I gave into the desires of the flesh and not of the Spirit of righteousness.  I was extremely rebellious against God and everything about Him that I was bitter to anyone who brought up the subject.  I started realizing this was getting worse and worse and eventually I would need to put a stop to it.  Not even my mentors, or my Church could do anything about it.

Towards the end of my time in NYC - I realized that I needed to go back up to Buffalo. I felt a strong calling up there.  I was planning to spend 4 weeks in Buffalo to hang out with friends - get used to living with my roommate and adjusting to life in Buffalo as I was preparing to live on my own in January of 2011.  I found I could fly for half the price up in Buffalo and still attend college up there.  I was planning to attend Niagara University but it was a very expensive option and I knew I had more options in Buffalo - since it is a larger city and there were more opportunities for work and the commute from the East Side to the West Side wouldn't be so bad.  I also thought about my faith- I knew that I had to do something about it.  I don't remember or recall if I had said a prayer  or not but I somehow knew that if I went up back to Buffalo – my faith would be restored.  I went up to Buffalo and stayed there for a couple of days until I realized that I had a strong feeling in my heart that I should stay.  I didn't know whether to reject it or not but I went along with it as I knew it would be more reasonable to start attending school in Buffalo as well as finding a couple of jobs to make and save money for pilot school.

I started attending my roommate's Church and I wanted to learn more about the Mormon religion and what its beliefs were.  I was set up to meet with two young fine Elders named Elder Wilson (19) and Elder Lewis (23).  I was very skeptical of them at first because they were throwing in a whole new set of teachings that contradicted many of the mainline Christian ideas which I later realized had an absolute connection with the mainline Christian ideas.  After meetings and meetings with these fantastic Elders - who have taught me so much about what Mormonism truly is and the values for which it stands for - I realized that it wasn't such a bad Church. They taught me what I needed to know about Jesus Christ and God and about the Church and learn that I could have an opportunity to grow even CLOSER to them as I obey the commandments and receive the ordinances necessary for salvation.  Because Jesus Christ holds the keys to Salvation – I knew that keeping his commandments and being obedient the laws of his gospel would provide the gateway for salvation for all those who truly follow Him. I started to realize that their teachings were making a little more sense to me.  

This morning, before I went to Palmyra, I had a conversation with God and talked with Him at length about all that was going on.  I asked the Father to reveal to me what the truth of the matter is.  So many beliefs and ideas and such were thrown at me that I didn't know how to handle them so that is why I specifically asked to Father to reveal to me what the truth is. I told him how scared I was about advancing in my faith and perhaps this was an opportunity to do so as I learned that many people, many Christians do not favor the teachings of the Mormon Church but no one can seem to answer the question of why they are the fastest growing Christian Church in the world.  While I realize that a Church that has multitude of members is not a valid reason -- by many Christians who argue against the trueness of the Church -- that the Church is true.  The Church members’ testimonies are an absolutely valid reason to argue that the Church is true. I tried the best of my ability to ensure that my prayer was sincere enough so that God could reveal to me the truth and within a couple of hours - the truth hit me hard like never before.  Never had I felt such power the way I felt it today in my life. This is what I have to testify, take it or leave it, I'm sticking to it.  The Book of Mormon is absolutely true.  I believe that God has revealed, continues to reveal, and will reveal the very things pertaining to His Kingdom and although I don't understand everything, I know that God will eventually make the things I don't understand known to me whether in this life or the next.

I know that through the power of Jesus Christ - I will be made a better man.  My life has transformed so much after I first became a Christian but it didn't last long.  I believe that following the teachings of the true Church of Jesus Christ will make me a greatest man I will ever be and advance me in my faith more than I can ever imagine. This is the new chapter I am starting in my life and through Jesus - I will demonstrate the love and the passion he showed to his people and I have made a promise or WILL make a promise if I had not been sincere enough yet to follow Jesus and endure until the end.  God, through Jesus has restored the faith that I had lost in NYC and I know that I will be a strong man of God.  I say these things in the name of my beloved Savior, Jesus Christ. Amen.