Glen

Let me give you some background on Glen. He works in our environmental department making sure our company stays in compliance with all the state and nation laws. He is known for his knowledge of the regulations, his attention to detail and his hard work. His sense of right and wrong is black and white there is no gray. Glen routinely reads and studies the Bible. He is a devout Christian and attends a local Church of Christ. He knows that I am LDS is respectful of my beliefs.

Glen stopped by my office on Friday to inform me we were the last two in the office and that he was going home. He mentioned something about job security in today’s uncertain economic environment. I told him that I believed in the promises of tithing. He was not familiar with the promise. I did not have the Bible with me but I did have a B of M that I had previously marked. I remembered that Jesus quoted Malachi when he visited the Nephites. I opened it to 3rd Nephi 24 and read to him verses 8-10. I closed the book and we started talking about something else. He said his bible study this past week was on what happens to your spirit when you die. Does it go back to God or some other place? He had not come to any conclusions, as the bible was not clear on the subject. He did note that the Catholics believed that the spirit went to purgatory prior to the resurrection.

I asked Glen if he knew what the B of M was. He knew some bits and pieces. I asked him again “Do you know what the B of M was? He responded that he did not. I asked him if he had 5 minutes for me to tell him about it.

I asked Glen how he would explain to me what type of book the Bible was if I had never heard of it or of Jesus. He explained it very well and his answer revealed his depth of knowledge. I opened to the map of the world and told him how I would explain the Bible and then we talked about the B of M. I kept my explanation short and did not go into much detail beyond what was written on the picture. I told him that the B of M did not contradict the Bible but rather it complimented the Bible.

I asked him if he believed that he lived before he was born. He said that he did not believe that he did. I turned to the picture of the plan of happiness. We talked about each item on the picture. I remembered his interest in life after death and turned to page 308 and read to him the verses I had marked. I then turned to the pictures at the front of the book and explained a second time how two families left Jerusalem, built a boat and came to the Americas. We talked about Christ’s visit to the Americas after his death and resurrection in Jerusalem and how Moroni hid the gold plates.

I turned to Joseph Smith’s testimony and explained that in 1823, at age 17, he was visited by an angel. The angel told him about the gold plates and how they were buried near where he lived. I pointed to the bracketed paragraphs and told him that this is Joseph’s description of the angel.
Four years later in 1827 when Joseph was 21, the angel gave him the gold plates and instructed him to translate it into English. The translation took less than 2 years. I told him that they did not have word processors back then and that everything had to be written by hand. While Joseph translated someone else would write. I turned to the testimony of the 3 witnesses and pointed to Oliver Cowdry’s name. I explained that the hand writing of the B of M manuscript was primarily Oliver’s. We then talked about the 3 and 8 witnesses.

I turned to the first page of the B of M and pointed to the summary of 1st Nephi. I again briefly explained about two families leaving Jerusalem, building a ship and coming to the Americas. Glen then asked to see the book. He looked at that page for what seemed like quite a while, as he appeared to be reading it. When he finished I asked him to follow the note at the bottom of the page and turn to page 6. After reading 1 Ne 3:7 he seemed to be in agreement. I asked him to turn the next marked scripture on page 57. He read the marked scriptures and then re-read them a second time. We continued through the scriptures I had marked.

Sometimes Glen would just read the description and other times he would read all the verses. At times he seemed to read and re-read the verses over and over again. As he read I would ask him questions. I asked him how he would define faith and then we would turn Alma 32:21 (pg 289). I asked him if he believed in the physical resurrection. He believed that we would be resurrected spiritually. I asked him about Jesus’ physical resurrection and then we read Alma 11:40-44 (pg 236). I find it is easier for me to remember the page numbers rather than the chapter and verse.

By this time our 5 minute discussion had lasted an hour and 15 minutes so I jumped to Moroni’s promise. We discussed this a little and then I offered him the B of M. He said that he had one at home somewhere which he received +10 years ago. He did not want to take my marked copy but said he would like to transfer the markings over to the book he had. I told him that I share my belief in Christ by marking B of Ms giving them out. He said he would accepted it if I would write my name in it. I wrote a short testimony about prayer and the B of M.

I have wanted to introduce Glen to the gospel for years but never could find the right time. We routinely pray for missionary opportunities in our personal and family prayer. This was a wonderful experience. I do not think this would have ever happened had I not had a marked copy in my backpack.