I Know He Lives

By Elder Bangari India, New Delhi Mission

I Know He Lives

By Elder Bangari

India, New Delhi Mission

At the age of seventeen, I happened to meet two young men who, although close to the same age as me, seemed so very different. They radiated something special; they were diligent, cheerful and filled with love and light. I was deeply impressed and felt drawn to them. As I inquired, they told me their names were Elder Holst and Elder Muthabathula and that they were missionaries from The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. We arranged a time when we could meet and over several weeks they taught me about the restored gospel of Jesus Christ, the plan of salvation and the Book of Mormon. Everything they said was new and exciting and yet seemed very familiar, even though I had never heard it before. I remember feeling that it all made sense and seemed very right.

When they introduced the Book of Mormon to me, I told them I would read it and pray to know if it was true. I will never forget the experience of receiving my witness of the Book of Mormon as promised in Moroni 10: 4

“And when ye shall receive these things, I would exhort you that ye would ask God, the Eternal Father, in the name of Christ, if these things are not true; and if ye shall ask with a sincere heart, with real intent, having faith in Christ, he will manifest the truth of it unto you, by the power of the Holy Ghost.”

After reading one night I closed the book and knelt in my small room and implored with Heavenly Father to know if it was true. To my surprise, the confirmation of the Holy Ghost came upon me just as promised. My heart was filled with a deep joy and peace that I had never felt before ; this feeling was different. That night, I knew that God heard my prayer and through the power of the Holy Ghost I learned that God the Father and His Son are real and did appear to the Prophet Joseph Smith. It was at that moment that I decided to be baptized and become a member of Christ’s Church.

Following my baptism I felt that my sins had been forgiven and that I was approved by my Heavenly Father. Most of all, however, I knew that He loved me. His love for me has shown me how to love my fellow man. I live by what the Prophet Joseph Smith taught,

“A man filled with the love of God, is not content with loving his family alone but ranges through the whole world anxious to bless the whole human race.”

This love and knowing the great worth of souls in the eyes of God made me excited to go with the missionaries to teach the restored gospel to investigators. That experience changed my life completely. I decided to serve a full time mission out of gratitude to my Heavenly Father for bringing the gospel to me. When my mission call came it was to serve in the India, New Delhi Mission teaching fellow Indians the principles that have changed my life. Each and every day I feel the Lord’s love and mercy as I do His work and each and every day my testimony becomes stronger and stronger.

We are all in the process of becoming something. I have chosen, and I would encourage all young men and women to choose, to become like the Lord Jesus Christ. The gospel and the teachings found in the Book of Mormon together with my mission have helped me to be on the path of becoming like Him. There is perhaps no better way of expressing thanks and gratitude to Almighty God than to follow His teachings and to serve a full time mission. Of myself, I know that God lives, that Jesus is the Christ and that the atonement is real.