Gaining a Knowledge of the Truth

by Robert Rosskopf
I doubted the existence of God, yet still kept an open mind. On the one hand, I couldn't see God, and it is hard to believe in something unseen. On the other hand, it seems natural to believe in both authority and design as opposed to chaos and entropy. The universe, as we experience it, is truly a fascinating place, and it really shouldn't be if chaos and entropy were the guiding principles. I read a story bible as a child. I look at the bible primarily as a record of the relationship that mankind has had with this ultimate authority. Parts of it seemed like myth or fiction, but other parts seemed to be the genuine testimony of actual men. Following the example of my parents, I was baptized into the LDS church. I was baptized at eight years of age. I covenanted to keep the commandments of God, and felt like my sins had been forgiven. My family fell into inactivity shortly after that, and my brushes with the church became infrequent. When I was 14, our family moved to California. I started a new school, Norco Junior High. On the first day of school, after Algebra class, a young lady approached me and asked if I was a Mormon. I was quite amazed that she would talk to me, and that she would ask me such a question. It seemed an odd and arbitrary question to ask. I admitted that I was a member of the LDS church, and she invited me to attend Mutual, a program for teens in the church, and offered to give me a ride. I started attending this one meeting, and got to know the other kids. At school, I was accustomed to being bullied, shamed, embarrassed, mocked and ridiculed. School was a nightmare for me. But these new friends were nothing but kind. They were shining examples of what the other kids at school could have been, but weren't. I looked forward to attending Mutual every week, and went on several camp outs with the scouts, and attended other activities that included both the young men and the young women. It was the best part of my life. At some point, I became very concerned about the religious aspects of my association with the church, as I was not even sure there was a God, let alone if this was his church. I had very black and white thinking. I wanted to know the truth. I wasn't willing to have further involvement without some evidence of authenticity.

I learned of a simple test that I could do, to find out that there was indeed a God, and whether a certain book of scripture was true. The scripture was the Book of Mormon, and the test was something called the Book of Mormon challenge. I was told that if I read the book, and prayed about it, that I would know whether it was true or not. I was somewhat skeptical - it was hard to believe that God would answer me. I decided to take the challenge. I didn't want to keep going to church, if the church was based around false beliefs, despite my new found friends.

It took about three months to read the Book of Mormon, at the rate of three or four chapters a day. Afterward, I couldn't really recall much of what I had read. It didn't seem to have much of an effect upon my life. Never-the-less, I knelt down, in the privacy of my room, and asked God, in the name of Christ, if the Book of Mormon was true. I didn't see a burning bush, or lightning or angels, but I instantly knew without any doubt that it was in fact true. I was astonished, and couldn't figure out how I suddenly knew. This had never happened to me before. Somehow, God had kept the promise implicit in the Book of Mormon challenge.

With a new found faith in God, I decided to find out everything I could about the Mormon church. I read their various scriptures and popular books, and talked to the various members about their beliefs. It was like I suddenly had a hunger for the truth, and I needed to know as much as I could as fast as I could learn. Non-members tried to persuade me not to believe in the church, or its prophets and scriptures. Many times they made accusations against the church that sounded valid, and I had to go back and ask the members to see if there was any validity to the accusations. In every case, there was a reasonable refutation. I have discovered after many years of research that the vast majority of faith-killing accusations against the LDS church are without merit. In the mean time I have experienced the power of God in many ways, from the forgiveness that I felt at baptism, to the spirit of the Holy Ghost which has taught me many things throughout the years. I have seen miracles, and not just those that could be ascribed to an overactive imagination. I hold them very sacred, and have some reluctance in sharing them, but to me they are absolute proof of the existence of a higher authority, a God who answers prayers. I was once given a very specific knowledge of a future event during prayer, which I used to my benefit. I don't know how God knows the future, but I am a witness that he does. I have been filled with great joy, and privy to wonderful things. Active membership in the church has truly opened a new world for me, a world in which God really does exist, and takes an active role in leading us towards a better society, without depriving us of our agency. I know that God lives, and that Jesus is his son, and that he sends prophets to the Earth to guide us.