By Marcie Jessee
*Sunday afternoon session
H. Bryan Richards of the Quorum of the Seventy shared experiences from his life that helped him in his journey to gain a testimony of The Book of Mormon and challenged members of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints to embark on a similar journey to strengthen their testimony.
Elder Richards said one of the first pieces of counsel that he received in his patriarchal blessing was to remember the teachings of his father. Elder Richards said following that counsel proved to be a great blessing in his life.
?His love of the Book of Mormon and counsel to me to study and ponder over it were the beginning of a journey with that sacred record that is the foundation of my personal testimony today,? Elder Richards said. ?It is a journey each of us must take.?
Elder Richards said he can still recall hearing his seminary teacher share her testimony of The Book of Mormon and how she gained it. He said her experience helped to shape his own testimony and influenced him in his journey to discover the truthfulness of The Book of Mormon.
Elder Richards shared an experience from his youth, working on a construction project for the summer, away from home. Elder Richards said he spent his evenings lying on his bunk reading from The Book of Mormon. That experience was one of many that Elder Richards said helped him to feel the power of The Book of Mormon and gain a true testimony of it.
?From those experiences there burns in my heart today that divine witness of the message of The Book of Mormon of Christ as our Savior and Redeemer, and of the restoration of his church in these latter days,? Elder Richards said.
Elder Richards said he was able to witness a similar change in his son as he prepared to enter the Missionary Training Center. His son told his dad that he was going to read The Book of Mormon twice before he entered the MTC. Elder Richards also took the challenge and saw his son grow in his testimony of The Book of Mormon before leaving for his mission.
?I want to share with you some of the great blessings The Book of Mormon can bring to us. The Book of Mormon can, and does change lives,? Elder Richards emphasized.
Elder Richards shared an experience that he had while serving in England. A woman who was blind and almost deaf was investigating the church and wanted to know of the book''s truthfulness. Elder Richards advised a concerned zone leader to have the woman hold her copy of The Book of Mormon and just turn its pages slowly and ask of its truthfulness. ?Though she could not read nor hear the words she felt the spirit and power of The Book of Mormon and it changed her life,? Elder Richards said.
Elder Richards presented a challenge to members of the church to begin, or continue upon their own journey in strengthening their testimony. Elder Richards gave three invitations to Latter-day Saints to help them feel the power and spirit of The Book of Mormon.
The first invitation was for church members to study the account of Helaman?s army. Elder Ri-chards illustrated the faith of the stripling warriors, and said they were firm and acted with the power of God as their mothers taught them. Elder Richards asked church members to find out what their mothers taught them.
The second invitation was about Alma?s teachings on faith being like a seed. Elder Richards asked that saints discover specifically what ?the word,? or ?seed,? is and plant in in their hearts.
?You will have to go to Alma Chapter 33 to find it, and when you do your faith will take on a whole new dimension,? Elder Richards said.
The last invitation was for church members to turn to the account of Helaman counseling his sons. He said Helaman asked his sons to remember certain principles, and he challenged Latter-day Saints to discover what Helaman asked his sons to remember and then in turn to teach them to their children.
Elder Richards stressed that every saint needs to feel the power of The Book of Mormon, he said that Satan is fighting against it and that is because what it teaches is and it will help you to gain a testimony of the truthfulness of the Savior and his atonement and the restoration of the church in the latter days.