I know why we're here

This week the subject at Zone Conference was The Restoration.  We were taught about the historical events leading up to the Restoration.  We heard testimonies and were invited by Sister Bunnell to submit our own testimonies of the Restoration for compilation.  She was really inviting the young Elders and Sisters but I felt impressed to record mine.  Here it is........

Thirty plus years ago we lived in Boise, Idaho.  Our Primary had about 100 children and I was the Primary Chorister.   Due to the size of our Primary we met in the chapel for Sharing Time.  That year for the Sacrament Meeting program the children were supposed to learn “Oh, How Lovely Was the Morning” (At that time, that was the title of the hymn).   Primaries were just starting to learn hymns and it was difficult for them and for me.  Members of the ward who wandered back and forth across the back of the chapel while we were practicing often commented on my efforts to teach the children, not always in a positive way! 

               

                But obedience brings blessings!  That September, as those 100 children stood in Sacrament Meeting and sang “when within the shady woodland Joseph sought the God of love” the Spirit filled the chapel and Holy Ghost testified in a powerful and unforgettable way of the truth of the First Vision.

  To this day when I sing that hymn my heart overflows with that same spirit and testimony.  I love all the words to this hymn and the testimony they bear.  It is my hope that when those 100 children hear this hymn today, they too remember that sweet, sacred moment when they sang and the Holy Ghost testified.

I am so grateful for the privilege of living in the latter days when the fullness of the Gospel has been restored and for the yearning of a young boy to know the truth; for Joseph Smith’s sacrifice to this great cause from the moment he knelt to pray in the Sacred Grove.  I know his testimony is true, in the name of Jesus Christ, Amen.  

And that's why we are here, in the  Belgium/Netherlands Mission :)