December 2004 Ensign - The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day ...

10
BOOK OF MORMON
PRINCIPLES
With great gratitude
these many years,
I have felt strength
radiating from
the words that
are recorded in
the book of Ether.
How Could
I Testify?
BY ELDER HANS H. MATTSSON
Area Authority Seventy
Europe Central Area
Many years ago my twin brother
and I left our home in Göteborg,
Sweden, to serve the Lord as fulltime
missionaries in England. During our
flight to London, numerous thoughts ran
through my head. For one thing, my brother
and I would have to separate in London, and
for the first time in our lives we would not
be together every day. But the thing that
worried me most was that I didn’t know the
English language well. At that time missionaries
from Sweden did not receive language
instruction or any other training; they were
sent straight from home to the mission field.
I thought of my twin brother, who was gifted
in languages. My interests leaned more
toward technical subjects, and for this reason
I had not spent much time studying
languages in school.
After I arrived in London and then finally
in Birmingham, the headquarters of the
England Central Mission, the mission president
and his wife greeted me with huge
smiles and all possible warmth. Everyone
I met at the mission office was happy and
enthusiastic and spoke with me about things
such as study guides, tracting, companions,
and so forth. But I could not understand
much because their language was new and
foreign.
Despite the kindness of the people
around me, I felt overwhelmed. How could
I ever testify of the gospel in this strange
language? I spent much of that first night
on my knees, asking Heavenly Father why
He had sent me here and if there had possibly
been a mistake.
The following day an assistant to the mission
president showed me a scripture—Ether
12:27. I got out my Swedish Book of Mormon
and read: “If men come unto me I will show
unto them their weakness. I give unto men
weakness that they may be humble; and my
grace is sufficient for all men that humble
themselves before me; for if they humble
themselves before me, and have faith in me,
then will I make weak things become strong
unto them.”
If anyone had a weakness, I did.
Questions arose in my mind: Do you believe
what is written in this verse? If so, do you
have the courage to exercise the faith
required? And can you humble yourself
ILLUSTRATED BY GREGG THORKELSON