“…first seek to obtain my word, and then shall your tongue be loosed; then, if you desire, you shall have my Spirit and my word, yea, the power of God unto the convincing of men.”
(D&C 11:21)
My parents were baptised as members of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints in the DRC when I was 2 years old, and they raised me in the gospel. I was baptised at the age of 8. We studied the gospel as a family and I enjoyed learning in Primary and Young Men’s classes and activities. I have always read the scriptures, and as a Young Single Adult, I enrolled in the Institute of Religion.
I like to learn, so I ask a lot of questions. In my first year in Institute, I discovered many truths that I did not know about the nature of God - Heavenly Father, Jesus Christ, and the Holy Ghost: “The Father has a body of flesh and bones as tangible as man’s; the Son also; but the Holy Ghost has not a body of flesh and bones, but is a personage of Spirit. Were it not so, the Holy Ghost could not dwell in us.” (Doctrine and Covenants 130:22-23)
The Institute of Religion has helped me to study the scriptures instead of only reading them; to understand the teachings of the prophets as if they were speaking to me personally, rather than just reading a general talk, and I received my own testimony of the gospel, the restored Church and the Book of Mormon. I began to understand the scriptures, not as stories told, but as answers to my questions.
I am preparing to serve a mission by working hard and magnifying my current callings as a second counsellor in the Young Men’s program and as a ward missionary. I am completing the recommendation form for missionary candidates and hope to be called as a full-time missionary soon. The Institute of Religion has strengthened my faith in Jesus Christ.