·
There is
Power in the Book” by LeGrand R. Curtis, (October 2016).
How were you introduced to the Book of Mormon, and how did you gain a testimony regarding its power and truth?
We are so blessed to be living in a time and in a country that allows us the religious freedoms to read the Book of Mormon and worship freely. Elder Curtis told of the "Freeze" in Ghana in the 1990s, when the government in Ghana banned the Church, restricted all religious meetings, and seized all Church property. Elder Curtis told of a young policeman who had been given the task of guarding a Church meetinghouse at night. Nicolas Ofonsu-Hene said that the building was in disarray, with papers and furniture scattered everywhere. In the midst of the disorder he found a Book of Mormon. He tried to ignore it because he was told that it was "evil." Ofonsu-Hene had been strangely attracted to it, when he finally picked the book up he was compelled to read it. He read through the night and with tears running down his cheek he read: 2 Nephi 25:26, " And we talk of Christ, we rejoice in Christ, we preach of Christ, we prophesy of Christ, and we write according to our prophets, that our children may know to what source they may look for a remission of their sins."
After reading this verse Nicholas Ofonsu-Hene felt the spirit so strongly that he started to sob. He realized that in the course of reading the Book of Mormon he received several spiritual promptings that this book was scripture, and was the most correct book he had ever read. Nicholas and his family joined the Church after the "Freeze" had ended, he was later promoted to Police Commander and was made President of the Tamale Ghana District of the Church. He later said that "The Church has transformed my life...I think the Almighty God for leading me into this gospel." And it all started with a book.
In Elder Jeffrey R. Hollands General Conference Talk, "Safety for the Soul," he testified that, "The Book of Mormon is one of the Lord's powerful keystones in this counteroffensive against latter-day ills, [it] begins with a great parable of life, an extended allegory of hope versus fear, of light versus darkness, of salvation versus destruction... Love. Healing. Help. Hope. The powers of Christ to counter all troubles in all times- including the end of times. That is the safe harbor God wants for us in personal or public days of despair. That is the message with which the Book of Mormon begins, and that is the message with which it ends, calling all to "come unto Christ, and be perfected in him."
Bishop Green has asked each of us to read the Book of Mormon as a Ward within the next 70 days. He reminded us this morning in Sacrement Meeting that there is indeed "Power in the Book," and that reading it and abiding by its precepts are life changing.
