Line upon Line

By Janet Peterson

Reading the Book of Mormon and asking God “if these things are not true,” (Moroni 10:4-5) is the usual and sure way to gain a testimony of it. There are instances, however, when the truthfulness of the Book of Mormon is manifest by its very presence.

Elder H. Bryan Richards of the Seventy related the story of a woman who gained a testimony of the Book of Mormon through touching it. Elder Richards said, “I recall an experience with a zone leader in England who came to me during the lunch break at zone conference. He said, ‘We are teaching a lady who is blind and nearly deaf. She wants to know if the Book of Mormon is true. What shall we do?’ I did not have an answer at that moment, but I said, ‘I will let you know after our conference.’

During the afternoon session I had the distinct impression come as to how to help her. After the meeting I said to the zone leader, ‘Have this sister hold her copy of the Book of Mormon and turn its pages very slowly. When she has done this, have her ask if it is true.’ 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.” ^[i]

Many years earlier, Zina D. H. Young (who married Brigham Young and later served as the third general president of the Relief Society), gained her initial testimony of the Book of Mormon by holding it in her hands. In the 1830s, Zina’s family lived in Watertown, New York, about a hundred miles from Palmyra. Her father, William Huntington, had spent many hours studying the Bible, praying, and searching for the church that had an organization similar to the primitive Church.

When he heard of a so-called prophet who had a “new and golden Bible,” Zina’s father was anxious to obtain such a book. Not able to travel to Palmyra himself, he sent a friend, who met Joseph Smith, gained a testimony of the truthfulness of the restored gospel, and returned with a copy of the Book of Mormon.

Zina, then in her early teens, recalled:  “One day on my return from school I saw the Book of Mormon, that strange, new book, lying on the window sill of our sitting room. I went up to the window, picked it up, and the sweet influence of the Holy Spirit accompanied it to such an extent that I pressed it to my bosom in a rapture of delight, murmuring as I did so, ‘This is the truth, truth, truth!” ^[ii]

Zina D.H. Young

Gracia Jones, a great-great-granddaughter of Joseph Smith, was the first of his descendants to join the Church (other than his children who later started the Reorganized Church).  Growing up in Montana, she knew very little about her great-great-grandfather and nothing about The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. The word Mormon had never been spoken in their home.

As a teenager in 1955, Gracia babysat for a Latter-day Saint family. The mother, Dee Lederer, not knowing Gracia’s heritage, began telling her about Joseph Smith the Prophet and about the Church. When Gracia finally revealed that she was a descendant of Joseph, Dee shared more about the Prophet’s life and arranged for Gracia to meet with missionaries.

Gracia recalled: “Dee Lederer informed the missionaries in the area of my relationship to Joseph Smith. These two young men, Elder James Waldron and Elder Dean Richins, were serving full-time missions for the Church in Montana. They were eager to present me with a copy of the Book of Mormon. Dee invited me to her home, saying, ‘The missionaries want to give you a gift.’ Naturally, I was curious and interested. I could not imagine what they wanted to give me.

“When I walked into the room, one young man handed me a small black book. He said, ‘This is the Book of Mormon. It was translated by the gift and power of God, by your great-great-grandfather, and it is true!’

“As my hands closed around the book, a tremendous thrill went through my entire being. It seemed as if there was a light inside me, and in my mind I distinctly heard the words, It’s true! It’s really true!“ ^[iii]

Gracia Jones

I also experienced the power of the presence of the Book of Mormon.  Bill Cortelyou has been a taxi driver in the Boston area for more than twenty-five years. A convert to the Church in his thirties, he did not have the opportunity to serve a full-time mission. Nevertheless, he found his own way to introduce people to the Book of Mormon. Bill has given away more than 6,000 copies of the Book of Mormon and 10,000 pamphlets of The Prophet Joseph Smith’s Testimony to his passengers.

Because Boston is a center for medicine, technology, finance, and education, people from all over the world gather there. Since Bill’s route includes Logan International Airport, he transports visitors from such places as India, Nigeria, China, Bolivia, and Italy. Among his passengers have been scientists, doctors, Nobel Prize winners, priests, rabbis, and government officials from many nations. He has given away copies of the Book of Mormon and Joseph Smith pamphlets in more than thirty-five languages, including Polish, Thai, Greek, Swahili, and Vietnamese. Ready for missionary opportunities, Bill carries materials in numerous languages in his cab. “Rarely do I encounter somebody who speaks a language that I don=t have something for,” he said.

While visiting our daughter and son-in-law, we met Bill, a member of their branch in Revere, Massachusetts. Impressed by this courageous missionary, I asked Bill if I could write an article about him for the Ensign. ^[iv] He agreed, and during our interview, I was very touched by his unfaltering dedication and financial sacrifice in sharing the Book of Mormon with thousands. When I asked him how he paid for all those books and pamphlets, he replied that he didn’t need a lot materially and that this was his way of building the kingdom. He mentioned that other people often helped buy books as well. My husband and I wanted to assist him, too.

One afternoon at the Distribution Center in Salt Lake City, I started filling my basket with copies of the Book of Mormon or Selections from the Book of Mormon in Fijian, Chinese, Tagalog, Norwegian, Cambodian, Fante, Hindi.  As I did so, I turned pages and looked at words and characters that were completely unfamiliar to me. I emptied my two baskets onto a counter so that I could assess what I had chosen. As these forty or so copies of the Book of Mormon were spread out before me, I had an overwhelming feeling come to me that the Book of Mormon was indeed written for all of God’s children and that this testament of Jesus Christ would bless people in every part of the globe. Tears welled up in my eyes as I thought how these very books that I would be sending to Bill might possibly be handed to passengers whose hearts would be receptive to truth. Just by the very presence of these books, the Spirit testified to me as it did to the blind and deaf sister, to Zina D. H. Young, and to Gracia Jones, “It’s true! It’s really true!”