"Oh that I were an angel, and could have the wish of mine heart, that I might go forth and speak with the trump of God, with a voice to shake the earth, and cry repentance unto every people!
Yea, I would declare unto every soul, as with the voice of thunder, repentance and the plan of redemption, that they should repent and come unto our God, that there might not be more sorrow upon all the face of the earth."
Alma 29: 1-2
This scripture describes the feelings that reside in me and have been there since my early childhood. I don't share this information with you to pat myself on the back or to exalt myself. I know I'm not perfect. I can say, however, that I am a work in progress and I've come a long way and am still climbing. I don't give up. I'll give myself that much credit.
Yea, I would declare unto every soul, as with the voice of thunder, repentance and the plan of redemption, that they should repent and come unto our God, that there might not be more sorrow upon all the face of the earth."
Alma 29: 1-2
This scripture describes the feelings that reside in me and have been there since my early childhood. I don't share this information with you to pat myself on the back or to exalt myself. I know I'm not perfect. I can say, however, that I am a work in progress and I've come a long way and am still climbing. I don't give up. I'll give myself that much credit.
I share this scripture with you so that I can tell you this story. This is the story of true conversion. This is the story of how my best friend Kent Richards came to hear and accept the gospel of Jesus Christ when he was 11 years old.
As you can surmise from previous posts, Kent and I had many adventures together back in Fairfield, Ohio in the 70s. In some ways it was an idyllic time for us. We were very young and our minds were open. We could learn new things. We could accept new truths. The spirit could communicate with us because we were pure hearted boys. We hadn't corrupted ourselves and
weren't shackled down by dogmas or societal prejudices.
That's what it was like when I started to tell Kent what I knew about the gospel. It started slowly at first between football games and army battles. Between dirt clod fights and expeditions I began to open my mouth and it was filled with words. Words about an ancient people that lived in the Americas. Words about how God had led them here and how they believed in Christ, the Messiah, even though they were Jews that had escaped from destruction in Jerusalem 600 years before He was born. I talked about how this group split into two, one that consisted of believers and the other that rejected that belief. I talked about how Christ had come to visit them after his resurrection. I spoke about these things like I knew them, almost like I had been a witness to the events themselves.
I spoke to him about a young 14 year old farm boy in New York named Joseph that lived back in the 1800s and how he had been searching to know which church he should join. I spoke about the miraculous appearance of God the Father himself, and his son Jesus Christ to this young man, how they told him to join none of them. I rehearsed to Kent all about how Joseph was led by an angel to some gold plates which he later translated in to the Book of Mormon which contained the story about that group of Jews from Jerusalem that came to the Americas.
Later on I told Kent about things like the Word of Wisdom, which urges people not to drink alcohol, use tobacco, or consume hot drinks ie. coffee and tea etc.
The interesting thing about Kent was that he never challenged my words. He just listened and asked a few clarifying questions here and there. The more I spoke, the more he listened. He seemed to take it all in like he had heard it before, like it all made sense. He didn't seem to grow tired of listening to my stories of the Book of Mormon, nor my invitations for him to pray about what I said and to be baptized if he learned it was true. I remember that I often spoke with him about these things and I had no doubt that what I was telling him was true.
When I look back on it now I realize, Kent and I had been given some spiritual gifts:
"To some it is given by the Holy Ghost to know that Jesus Christ is the Son of God, and that he was crucified for the sins of the world.
To others it is given to believe on their words, that they also might have eternal life if they continue faithful."
One fine day my parents received a knock on the door. My mother opened it and standing there was Jean Richards, Kent's mom. She introduced herself and explained that she had been talking to her oldest son. He had been saying some very peculiar things and she wanted some clarification. Apparently when offered a nice cold glass of Coca Cola Kent had refused. "Sorry Mom." he said. "When I grow up I think I'm going to be a Mormon, so I might as well stop drinking Coke now."
That was the beginning of a fabulous story that brought a beautiful young family into the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints. For the rest of the story, I invite Jean Richards to post the next edition of "Conversion" to tell from her perspective what transpired for the Richards family in the 70s in Fairfield, Ohio.
Click here to read Kent's version of the story written for the Friend magazine in 1977. It's called "Our Lives Changed."
3 comments:
That just proves that you can be a missionary even as a kid; great story!
When Jean came asking questions about the Church I was so very nervously excited. Here was the missionary opportunity one dreams of! Would I say the right things? Would I "blow it?' Jean and I were neighbors but not much more. It was a polite friendship. As we discussed the gospel our friendship became real. Everything I said she internalized. She was hungry for more and more. We talked many times for hours. Nothing frightened her. All seemed to make sense. She read everything I could supply which was not a small amount. When the missionaries began to teach her she was well prepared and ready. What a blessing it was and is for both families. We have become one.
I gotta tell ya man...you're doing a great job of capturing what it was like back in the "day". Everything really was like one big adventure. It truly was a formative time in my life. My views and perspectives on friendship, family, spirituality,health,women humor,movies and life in general seemed to all originate at that paticular time and place.
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