This weekend I was at a training meeting for our Sunday School teachers and leaders. As part of that training we were to come prepared to discuss the following: "What inspired question posed by Jesus in the scriptures has made a lasting impact on you?" It was a great meeting to be a part of. At first, my mind went blank. I couldn't think of any questions. As I continued to ponder, more and more questions came to my mind. Others in the group brought out even more questions. I wrote down as many as I could.
"Whom say ye that I am?"
"What manner of men ought ye to be?"
"Lovest thou me more than these?"
"What seek ye?"
"Could not thou watch with me one hour?"
As I sat and pondered, it suddenly occurred to me exactly what my question was. It did not occur long time ago and is not actually found in the Bible. My story starts several years prior to reading this question but it has changed my life forever. It starts in the high Sierra Mountains of California on a backpack trip with my father. The following is from my personal notes:
"What a beautiful day! The sun shone brightly through the trees. My steps seemed light and easy. It sure beat carrying that heavy pack on my back. I climbed on one boulder and jumped easily to the next. Over the ridge I could see the tall jagged mountain beckoning to us, inviting us to climb its heights. Being out in the majesty of nature took my breath away. Looking across my shoulder, Dad was taking the day pack off by a large fallen tree. “This looks like a great place to stop for lunch, Mike, come on over.” I hopped over quickly, grateful to eat our backpacking morsels. I don’t think that I ever tired of eating dried apricots, sharp cheddar cheese, cashews, tuna fish and snicker bars. If we climbed high enough we’d even be able to make real snow cones with our lemonade, the best kind of yellow snow.
Between bites, Dad queried, “What’s your favorite Book of Mormon story, Mike?” Although I was only nine or ten, I knew right away what my answer would be. You see, we had done this before. Dad had a tradition of taking us boys backpacking at least once every year. We would usually leave on a Friday night and camp at the trailhead. Saturday would be spent hiking into the lake where we would be staying. Sunday would be a rest day. We would enjoy the campsite and take a day hike up to the highest near-by peak. Up in the tops of the mountains overlooking the majesty of God’s creations Dad would share with us his favorite stories from the Book of Mormon and then we would share ours with him.
“My favorite is the story of Ammon.” I then told my dad about the great faith of the missionary who completely trusted in the Lord and was blessed to do what no other man could do. He converted thousands of his people’s most bitter enemies and defied the robbers who would steal from the king. I had not as yet read this in the scriptures, but I knew that it was my favorite. It was one that I learned from him. His favorite was “Nephi and the Broken Bow.” Later, when I did sit down and read the Book of Mormon on my own, those stories were extra special. I still remember the chills going down my spine as I started reading Alma 17 and realized that I was now going to read the actual scriptural account of my favorite story. I love the scriptures because I knew that my father did.
His love of the scriptures, and the Book of Mormon in particular, really began as a missionary. He didn’t leave right away when he turned nineteen like most other missionaries. He wasn’t sure if that was what he wanted to do. Prior to going on a mission, he was in a BYU singles ward and his bishop was Steven R. Covey. I don’t know the particulars of their interaction together, but I do know that he had a profound influence on Dad. He has said before that Bishop Covey was largely responsible for encouraging him to serve a mission. In fact, my younger brother is Stephen Richard Fuller, named in part after this great man.
Dad was called to the Central States mission. He served in parts of Colorado, New Mexico and Texas. Quite an area really. Since he decided to go somewhat later than most, he felt like he hadn’t prepared himself as well as he would of liked. He especially felt behind in the knowledge of the scriptures. He began setting his old “Baby Ben” alarm clock at 5:00 AM so that he could get in extra study time. The temptation to roll over, swat at that infernal clanging time-piece and go back to sleep was at times too great, so he hung the clock by a string from the ceiling in the middle of the room. This forced him to get out of bed to turn it off and made it harder to go back to sleep. I’m sure that his companions loved him for this. I used this same clock on my mission. It was horribly loud, but quite effective. I had one companion who liked to sleep in, so I just let it ring on for a while. He got the message.
It was during these early morning study sessions that Dad grew to love the Book of Mormon. The spirit touched his soul and he knew that it was true. He understood, as Joseph Smith and President Benson taught, that “the Book of Mormon was the most correct of any book on earth, and the keystone of our religion, and a man would get nearer to God by abiding by its precepts, than by any other book.” Dad put it this way, if the Book of Mormon is true, then Joseph Smith had to be a prophet and as such the church is the Lord’s true and living church here on the earth. It all falls into place. Whenever he felt his strength wavering or his testimony faltering, he would “go back to the Book of Mormon,” and he would have his testimony renewed. As a young boy I knew that he had a testimony and in my mind it never faltered. In my heart he planted the seeds of a desire to know for myself. The fact that my little seed of faith was able to grow, I give credit to my parents who helped cultivate the soil of my heart from my infancy.
"Behold, a sower went forth to sow; and when he sowed, some seeds fell by the way side, and the fowls came and devoured them up: Some fell upon stony places, where they had not much earth: and forthwith they sprung up, because they had no deepness of earth: And when the sun was up, they were scorched; and because they had no root, they withered away. And some fell among thorns; and the thorns sprung up, and choked them: But other fell into good ground, and brought forth fruit, some an hundredfold, some sixtyfold, some thirty fold" (Matthew 13: 3-8).
“I want you to help me teach part of the lesson, Mike. We are going to talk about recognizing the spirit. Here, you read this scripture and then we’ll talk about.” We were preparing to go on a hometeaching visit. I opened to Doctrine and Covenants 9:7-9 and read, “Behold, you have not understood; you have supposed that I would give it unto you, when you took no thought save it was to ask me. But, behold, I say unto you, that you must study it out in your mind; then you must ask me if it be right, and if it is right I will cause that your bosom shall burn within you; therefore, you shall feel that it is right. But if it be not right you should have no such feelings, but you shall have a stupor of thought that shall cause you to forget the thing which is wrong.” “How does it feel for you bosom to burn, Dad?” That must have been a hard question to answer because I don’t really remember his response. I remember thinking, though, that my answers to prayer would come in the form of some kind of spiritual heartburn. I wasn’t sure what to expect, but I figured it would be something quite grand.
This incendiary chest sensation was on my mind as I completed the Book of Mormon for the first time front to back. I was about fifteen at the time. I remember reading Moroni 10: 4-5 and thinking, “OK, this is it. I’ve have now read the Book of Mormon and I will now be able to ask God if it is true.” I longed to know for myself, just like my father found out, that it is His word. Dad suggested that I fast prior to going to the Lord in prayer. We lived in Connecticut at the time and my room was in the attic. I knelt down beside my bed and I prayed. Not much happened. I continued to pray and I did my best to listen and try to feel an answer. No fire was forthcoming. I do remember quite clearly that my mind felt at ease, at peace. I certainly knew that I didn’t have a stupor of thought. I went away from the experience feeling a little disappointed. I felt like I could testify that I knew that the Book of Mormon was not false. It felt too right, too good. Because I didn’t feel my “bosom burn” within me, I somehow felt that I couldn’t boldly proclaim that it was true. At the time, though, it was enough and I continued to walk in the faith that I had at that time and even decided to serve a full-time mission for the church. While in the MTC, I was reading through the Doctrine and Covenants, our book of modern day revelations. An early leader of our church, Oliver Cowdery, asked Joseph Smith to go to the Lord to receive a revelation in regards to his early testimony of the church. Joseph recorded Jesus' response to Oliver, “Verily, verily, I say unto you, if you desire a further witness, cast your mind upon the night that you cried unto me in your heart, that you might know concerning the truth of these things. Did I not speak peace to your mind concerning the matter? What greater witness can you have than from God?” (D&C 6:22-23). As I read these verses my mind cried out, “yes! This is how I felt.” The words jumped off the page and spoke directly to my heart. I knew immediately that I had received my answer; I just didn’t realize it. The Lord truly spoke peace to my mind. How excited I was to learn to recognize the spirit in my life and to know with confidence that the Lord answers my prayers."
"Did I not speak peace to your mind concerning the matter?" "What greater witness can you have than from God?" These are the two questions that changed my life. I read them on a page but I felt the Lord speak them directly to my heart. Interestingly, the asking of the questions was the answer I had been seeking for many years.
What questions have made a difference for you? How has the Lord spoken to you?
