Some years back, while I served as a district president, I made it a point of duty to meet regularly with the seminary and institute teachers because of my deep love for the youth of the Church. In one of these meetings, I felt inspired to ask the teachers to visit the homes of their students to thank their parents for allowing and supporting their youth in attending classes. At this time my dear wife, Sister Akudo, was one of the seminary teachers in the district. While trying to carry out this assignment, she requested that I accompany her, an invitation I gladly accepted. As we moved from house to house, I sat quietly as she expressed her appreciation to the parents of her students. I listened as the parents evaluated their youth’s participation in the seminary class, many of which were positive. Sometimes I was invited to bear my testimony, which I did.
Of all the visits, one has remained clear in my mind since that time. At one particular home, we met the mother of two young women whose mother was not a member of the church. Rather than listen to our appreciation, it was she who expressed appreciation for the work the church had done in the life of her daughters. She related to us how her daughters had become ardent students of the scriptures. She also shared how happy she was to come home sometimes and find her daughters studying the scriptures. Each time this happened, her daughters would tell their mother that they were doing assignments they had received from their seminary teacher which they would later share with the class. On one particular day, she decided to look at what they were studying only to find out that they were studying a passage from the Old Testament in the Bible. She paused and asked, “Do Mormons use the Bible?” To her amazement the daughters chorused, ‘Yes”.
In relating this experience to us, the mother told us that she had lived close to our chapel for over ten years and had been fed the wrong and false story that we did not use the Holy Bible, rather that the Church had a secret book that was not available to the public. For this reason, she had turned down several invitations by her neighbors who are church members to participate in Church activities. I bore testimony of the Book of Mormon and how it compliments my understanding of the Holy Bible. By the time I finished, her eyes were sober and she felt better about the church.
I have many times observed how we can use simple opportunities to correct the stereotypes and false information spread about the Church. As Joseph Smith and Sidney Rigdon were told in Hiram, Ohio, “Wherefore, confound your enemies; call upon them to meet you both in public and private; and inasmuch as ye are faithful their shame shall be made manifest.” D&C 71:7.
The adversary is attacking the Church because it is true. If we, who have accepted it, will remain resolute and committed and seek opportunities to share our testimonies, hearts will be touched and God will bless us.