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VIEW PERSONAL BELIEFS
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POSTED BY:
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Sonagolese
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DATE:
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21.11.2012 |
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SUBJECT:
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Testimony of my Conversion |
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LOCATION:
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Deer Park, United States
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On April 17, 2009, I entered the waters of baptism and became a member of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints. In reality, I cannot honestly say that I was converted on that day. To me, the term conversion refers to a change in which one adopts a new religion, faith, or belief in exchange for a belief that was not quite true or as spiritually fulfilling. While April 17, 2009, does stand as an important date in my mortal and spiritual life, I don't believe I can claim that on that day I threw off the shackles of a former, less fulfilling faith to adopt a new and more enlightened belief. To me, it was the culmination of an evolutionary process that began long before I was born.
To help you better understand what I'm talking about, I believe that I need to give you some sense of my background. I am a member of the Munsee Band of the Delaware Nation (Lenni Lenape) of which my father was the last hereditary chief. From the time he was five years old he was taken from his mother to be taught by the elders who would prepare him for the day when he would bear responsibility for the physical and spiritual well being of his people. It was during this time, as had been done for hundreds of generations previously, that our religion, our history, and our cultural traditions were entrusted to him. When the time finally came for him to step into the role for which he was prepared, it was incumbent upon him to confront issues that posed the greatest physical and spiritual threat to his people. At the time, most of us were content to live a very sheltered existence on our tiny reserve in Ontario, Canada, and not venture very far from home. There were those who were more adventurous, however, who would leave and we would never see them again or if they did return, it was as if their souls had been consumed and all that remained was an empty shell. My father decided that he had to find out what this demon was that devoured the spirits of our people. So, toward that end, he took my mother and all his children and left the reserve.
We settled in the small town of Jacksontown, Ohio, about 45 miles east of Columbus. I was very young at the time, but I can remember was how lonely and frightening a time it was for us. All we had known of the non-Indian world was the horrific memories of hatred and persecution that drove us into Canada just a hundred years or so before. It was here, far removed from our tiny reserve, that I and my brothers and sisters were taught as much as my father could think to teach us. He had come to believe that if he could teach us all the good things of his culture and if we could learn all the good things that your culture had to offer, perhaps we then would be better prepared to confront the demon who would consume our souls.
One of the most valuable lessons that we were taught was this:
If a man lose all he has--his wealth, his country, his hopes--and still may keep a secure knowledge of himself and his worth as a link in the chain of life, he has a rock to build upon. If all things be added unto him--wealth, position, fame, and power--but he has not the anchor of his heritage, he is an empty canoe upon the waters of life.
And so the story of our ancient past was revealed to us...of a time when the joy of things we hold most sacred was freshly engraved upon the hearts of our people. My father would exclaim that in those days, "the Great Chief of Heaven spoke to us and called us His children. He sent His beloved, the Morning Star, the Healer, to teach us to live in love together. My father told of our downfall in those ancient days. In the fair land where the bounties of the Supreme Being were spread for all people. Jealousy, greed, and suspicion possessed the people until each man's hand was lifted against his neighbor and the land became one vast battlefield. And he said that the Great Father-of-all looked upon His children with sadness and the prophecy was given:
"This is my fair land. With my hands and my heart have I made it and it is dearer to me than all the lands of earth. If you cannot live by my laws, sharing in the gifts that I have given, then I will cause such enemies as you have never seen to come upon you, and they will put their feet upon your necks and grind your faces in the dust."
But, he said, a promise was also given.
"Some far day you will begin to lift your heads, and you will climb to the mountain and lift your arms saying as one voice, 'Father, we are here!' And I will remember."
I remember that he spoke to us of the memory of sacred plates that had been lost long ago, which had been found by a young boy and that these plates told part of our story. He said that when it was learned that these most sacred stories were found, there was great anger among our people until they learned that this child had been shown these things in a dream. So you see, the wonderful stories that you find in the Book of Mormon were not unknown to us. Before he passed away in 1959, my father made an impassioned plea for his people to awaken...to come to a remembrance of our fathers and the true glory of our past.
It has been more than fifty years since my father passed away. Although the memories that he taught to us were always in the dim reaches of my mind, I didn't speak of them often. I had a very successful career much of which was in service to Indian people throughout this nation. Following my retirement from the Bureau of Indian Affairs, my wife, Astrid, and I came into south Pend Oreille County, Washington, and landed in what seemed to be the very heart of Mormon country. While I have had encounters with Mormon missionaries over the years, it occurred to me that in my entire life I had never once set foot in a Mormon church. The question was how to do it. Does one barge into it without an invitation? I thought not. Unbeknownst to me, my wife approached our good neighbor and asked him if he would be so kind to invite me in. In the months that followed, in the quiet hours of the evening my father's words beckoned to me...calling upon me to awaken and renew my covenant.
And so began a rekindling of the fire and that had been lit so long ago. So now you have become part of my story and I have now become part of yours. Thus are we joined as a covenant people who share the same history and the same destiny.
I have often heard it exclaimed that this is the one true church insofar as God, our Creator, has bestowed a more complete understanding of the truth of his gospel. I can testify to you that it is true that God has bestowed upon us a great gift -- The Book of Mormon. To lay claim to be the true church, however, requires more than a declaration. It means that we recognize and accept the joyous burden that He has place upon us to bring a remembrance of our fathers and of our covenant with the God of Israel. I testify to you that by God's power and grace, we have come into the promise. Let us together lift our heads and our voices, my brother. It is my fervent prayer that we not falter, but stride forth with vigor to fulfill our destiny and perform our happy duty. I pray these things most humbly in the name of our lord and savior, Jesus Christ.
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