Frequently, people who are most familiar with the Bible easily recognize the teachings of the restored gospel and the truths in the Book of Mormon. These people are familiar with the teachings of Jesus Christ, and they diligently search for a religion that embraces these teachings and answers the questions which the Bible seems to leave unanswered.
Sister Albertina Sithole grew up in Ixopo, a small town in the midlands of KwaZulu-Natal, South Africa. Her father was a very busy preacher, but he took the time to teach his children. As Albertina remembers, “Every evening he would sit with us and tell wonderful stories. Sometimes he would read from the Bible and ask us questions. Then he would go to his room to read the Bible by himself. Without his knowing it, I would follow him and play nearby, not making a noise.
“After watching my father for a long time, I realized that he was not reading. Instead, he was just sitting, looking so sad. I came to him and took his hand gently, just the way he used to take mine. Then I asked if I had made him angry. He smiled at me and said, ‘No, my little one. You did nothing wrong. I am sad because there is something I cannot find in the Bible. Something is missing, and I cannot find it.’ Then he took my little hand again and said, ‘You know what, little one? One day you will be the one to find this missing thing from the Bible.’
“I didn’t know what to look for, but every chance I got to be alone in my parents’ room, I’d try to find the missing thing. I didn’t say a word about it to my sisters because I wanted to find it myself, since my father had said I’d be the one to find it.”
Eventually Albertina gave up her search and forgot about her father’s prediction. It wasn’t until she was a grandmother that she found the missing treasure she had been searching for. She had moved with her daughter and grandchildren to Mayville in 2000, and she lived right across the street from Margaret Dlamini, a member of the Church. Albertina recalls, “She told me that she came from Ixopo and that is where I came from, too. She seemed to be a very good person. I liked her a lot.”
At that time in her life, Albertina spent most of her time reading novels, but because she liked Sister Dlamini, she welcomed her visits. “Sister Margaret came every day to talk to me about this church. She even brought me the booklets and asked me to read them. She said that she would explain anything that I didn’t understand. I had many questions for her, and she gave me good answers. Everything she told me was new, and I liked what she explained. Then one day she told me she was going to give me a book because I liked reading. She said the book was called the Book of Mormon. The next day she brought the book and told me about it. She told me to read the book and pray to God to understand it.
“I told myself that I’d just look at the book for a second or two and then go back to my novel. It was about two o’clock when Margaret left, but the seconds I spent reading the Book of Mormon turned into hours. It got dark, and my supper became cold, but I couldn’t put the book down. I was still reading when the sun came up the next morning. That was the end of reading novels all the time.
“When Sister Margaret gave me the Book of Mormon, I knew that I had found what my father had been searching for—the missing parts of the Bible.”
Sister Sithole was baptized on October 10, 2010, and she discovered she had grandchildren who were already members of the Church. She has experienced miracles as she collects the names of her deceased relatives, especially her parents, and does their temple work. She is sure her father is especially pleased to have found the missing parts of the gospel he had wanted so desperately.
Excerpted by Marnae Wilson