The road to a testimony

As I mentioned previously, I have made listening to LDS General Conference and other church talks a regular part of my drive-time routine.

Today, I was listening to a talk about church doctrine and there was an interesting story about a young man who was called to be a seventy at age 15 and a stake president at age 23. As the story goes, when having a conversation with Joseph F. Smith, who would go on to become the 6th president of the church, this young man confided that even though he was called as a stake president, he could say with certainty that the gospel was true.

President Smith then remarked that the young man need not worry. "You just don't know that you know," was what he told the young man.

This young man, by the way, was Heber J. Grant, who went on to succeed Joseph F. Smith as President of the church.

I mention this here because there was a time when my testimony of the truth of the gospel was tenuous. Finding out that even a prophet of God had an uncertain testimony is somehow comforting to me.