Palmyra Question Answered

 Three years ago, I took Ella to upstate New York to the Sacred Grove, the Priesthood Restoration Site and the other nearby church history sites for her 12th birthday.  A friend of mine who hadn't really been active for years was pretty angry with the church over several issues but specifically about things she had learned about Joseph Smith.  Many of the things that made her angry were things I had known about for years and while I don't pretend to fully understand some things I wasn't troubled by some of the things that made her angry.  But as I read the gospel topic essays, I realized that the process of translation was different than I had understood it to be.  And some parts of it seemed pretty strange, especially putting a seer stone into a hat and looking into the hat to translate.  I still absolutely had a testimony and I knew that Joseph Smith was a prophet.  But I did have some questions about the process of translation.  I wanted to understand and I wanted to be reassured that he did translate through the gift and power of God.  

While Ella and I were visiting these sites, a wonderful sister missionary at the priesthood restoration site spoke about the translation.  She explained that Joseph would place the seer stone into a hat and then place his head down by the rim of the hat so he could read the words that would appear on the stone.  Her words were essentially what I had read that had troubled me.  And yet as she said it and bore testimony that through God's power, the words of the Book of Mormon would appear on that seer stone for Joseph to read and for Emma or Oliver to scribe, the Holy Ghost bore witness to me that it was true.  I don't fully understand how a seer stone works or why he needed the seer stone but I trust that it was done in and through God's wisdom and knowledge.  And I KNOW that Joseph Smith was and is a prophet.  I KNOW that the Book of Mormon is true.  The spirit has borne witness to these and many other truths many times.  Even if I don't 100% understand everything, I know the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints was restored by God through the prophet Joseph Smith and I'm so grateful for this knowledge.

LESSONS LEARNED:  Perfect knowledge/understanding isn't required to gain a sure testimony of truth.

The Spirit can help us find answers to our questions and doubts if we seek in faith.

Missionaries are often led and guided to know exactly what to say and how to say it to touch people's hearts.  (And that sweet sister missionary has no idea that just sharing her knowledge and testimony touched me so deeply that day.)