All In

A few weeks ago I met with a member of the stake presidency to discuss my worthiness to enter the House of the Lord. All of the temple recommend interview questions are really asking about two things:

• Do you have a testimony of the core teachings of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints?
• Are you living your life in a way that is consistent with that testimony?

I was glad on that occasion to answer yes to both of these questions in every way that they were asked.

When we had finished the interview the stake presidency member said to me, “Brother Sanderson, I can tell that when it comes to the gospel, you are all in.”

I nodded my head in agreement.

Then he asked me, “How did that happen?”

I didn’t need any time to think of my answer: “It was the Book of Mormon,” I said.

I then told him about the scripture reading challenge my older brother gave me around the time I turned 18, and how I spent about an hour every day for months on end reading the Book of Mormon.

This was the hinge point of my life. In those months I repented of my sins, prayed like I really meant it, attended the temple as often as I could, and started to take my religion seriously, even on days that weren’t Sunday.

In short, I determined that I would be a disciple of Christ and would walk on his covenant path. My missionary brother who gave me this reading challenge was trying to prepare me for my mission, but he did so much more than that. The positive decisions I made during that year started a chain reaction that is still amplifying more than 25 years later. How do you think I feel about my big brother? I love him.

In the fall of that amazing year I submitted my application to serve as a full time missionary. My mission call arrived in the mail on Christmas Eve, and I felt at the time that I was offering a Christmas gift to the Lord by going on a mission. He had blessed me so much by snatching me from my fallen state that I was determined to show my gratitude by consecrating my life to him.

Of course, you can’t really pay back the Lord for the blessings he gives you, because your efforts to be faithful are always somewhat inconsistent, and the more you serve him the more you are blessed again anyway. You can’t pay off a debt to the Lord, but you can pay it forward.

The next Christmas I spent in King’s Lynn, a small town about 100 miles north of London. I was serving with Elder Brown, who was one of my very favorite companions. We were teaching an old man who lived near a river, and one evening we arrived at his house a few minutes early for our appointment. We decided to walk down a short path by the river to fill up the time.

It was dark outside. The sun goes down around 4:00 in England this time of year. We stood near the river gazing up at the stars, and in my heart I began to pray. I sensed that God was close to me that night, and that he was listening to my prayer. So I asked him a simple question: “Heavenly Father, are you really there?”

A moment later my heart swelled with a powerful feeling of love, so forcefully that I could hardly breathe.

I already knew that God was real, or else I would not have been where I was that evening. But the depth of reality I experienced on that occasion was more than I had ever known before. The knowledge that God knows me and loves me is the greatest Christmas gift I received that year, and maybe ever. (Although my son’s birth in December about a decade later was a pretty awesome gift too.)

Following the Lord is so much easier than going it alone through life, but the covenant path is hardly smooth-going. There have been and there continue to be severe challenges to my discipleship, but the Lord has been with me through it all and is still helping me today.

Why did I share this story?

First, because it is Christmas. I want to add myself to the chorus of voices who testify that God is real and that he is still doing miracles in the world today. He is willing to let you know that in his own way and in his own time.

And second, because I want to invite you, dear reader, to start a positive chain reaction in your life. Read the Book of Mormon. It is true, and it will change your life, especially if you feel like your connection with heaven is weak right now.

The greatest blessings are found on the Lord’s covenant path. Be all in on his gospel, and miracles will happen for you just like they did for me.

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Alan B. Sanderson, MD is a member of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints and is a practicing neurologist.