As Miriam points out in her blog “The Process of Conversion,” it doesn’t matter if you’re born into the Church or join later. You will need to come to a point where you have decided for yourself that the Church is true. It’s not enough to lean on your mother’s testimony or your father’s conviction, or your spouse’s faith – you have to know it for yourself, independently.
However, knowing that the Church is true doesn’t necessarily mean that you automatically accept every principle of the Gospel. For most people, there will be one or two things that don’t make sense. Most common of these are:
Was Joseph Smith really a prophet?
What about polygamy?
Why do we have to pay tithing?
What’s wrong with breaking the Word of Wisdom?
The way to gain a testimony of the principles that may seem a little “out there” to you is the same way you gained your testimony of the overall truthfulness of the Church. You must pray about it sincerely, asking the Lord to help you understand.
I remember very plainly the day I received a sure witness that Joseph Smith was truly a prophet of God. I had always believed it, but on this day, I knew it. I had the chance to go to Nauvoo with some family friends, and to walk the same streets he did. I was standing in the Red Brick Store when suddenly, it just hit me like a lightning bolt, a true and calm assurance that yes, he was everything he said he was. Later, as I visited Carthage Jail, I was struck by the knowledge that he did what he came here to do, and that we as members of the Church are forever indebted to him.
If there are principles you struggle with, there’s no reason why your answers can’t be as strong and vivid as mine were. The Lord loves to answer questions for those who seek Him out with an honest heart, wanting to know the truth. There are many mysteries of the kingdom – we’ve been told that, but we’ve also been told that we can know the truth of all things. Let us strive to make our conversion to the Gospel complete, with a testimony of each and every facet.
Related Blogs:
General Conference: Ye Must Be Born Again