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Chapter Eight:

                     The Testimonies of Twenty...


This chapter contains the experiences and testimonies of twenty people. Eighteen are police officers. Two are wives of police officers. Like the three soldiers, they too are members of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. All testify to the truthfulness of this Church. Some of the officers I work with on a daily basis. Others I may not see but once a year. The City of Mesa is about twelve to fourteen percent LDS. Our department is probably representative of that. I could have asked dozens of LDS officers to share their testimonies because I know a lot of good LDS cops. But there just wasn’t enough room in the book. Like those called to serve in the LDS Church, there were no volunteers here. Those I did ask, I asked because I felt prompted to ask them. When you read what they say, you will know why. I knew some personal experiences about some of the officers, and so, asked them to include that personal experience. But other than those few isolated stories, every person was given a free hand to write what they felt in their hearts to say. Currently, three of the eighteen officers are retired. But at the time I asked and received their personal testimonies, all were still in service.

All were working cops. Fifteen still are.

Police officers deal with people from every walk of life and every definition in the law book. We deal with those who are the victims, who did nothing to deserve the suffering they went through. We deal with those who are the suspects, the one’s who delight in making other people suffer.

        Though we enforce the laws and try to make things better,
                             it’s always the victim who has to bear the suffering caused by evil.

                                                                                     Samuel

The officers are listed in the order of their Years of Service
(YOS, as of: 010198)

Most people don’t realize that the cop that arrested them today,                    
is the same cop that is willing to risk his life for them tomorrow.

           “Courage; is the ability to move, when all around you are frozen in fear,
                                             ...and no one would blame you if you did nothing at all.”
                                                                Captain Benny Click, 1978,
                                                                Phoenix. P.D. Class 151

In Chapter 8, all other police stories have been moved to "Police Stories"
All except mine. Mine was left behind because it finishes the book.

My name is Sam Jeppsen

I grew up in an LDS home, having been raised by goodly parents. My dad is a full blooded Dane. He said because I was part Danish, I was stubborn. A quality that was both good and bad. Not stubborn enough and I could be easily swayed. Too stubborn ...and I could miss the boat. The secret was to know when to be stubborn and when to yield. My mom, born and raised in the islands, is half Tongan and half German. She said because I was part Tongan, I would have great faith, because the Tongans are people of great faith. I’ve always been proud of my ancestry.

My parents taught me the gospel throughout my youth. Being raised in Salt Lake City, Utah, I
remember thinking that everyone was LDS. It was not until I was sixteen, when Doug, one of my best friends, came to me and told me the only reason I was LDS was because my parents were LDS, did I stop to think and question my beliefs! Thinking about what he said, I realized that I had several friends who were very good people and yet, they were not LDS. In fact, my very best friend, Olin, was not LDS. Yet, Olin was and is, one of the most straight up guys I’ve ever met in my life. Suddenly, for the first time ever, I began to ask, “Why was I, LDS?” From that time forward, I began to investigate the LDS Church. But it was not until late ‘95, when Julie and I were called on a Stake Mission and confronted with an onslaught of anti-Mormon literature, that the investigation moved into high gear. Because of where the anti-Mormon literature was coming from, I felt forced to investigate it. So during that time period, I collected, read and investigated all the anti-Mormon literature I could get my hands on.

I have never been afraid to be wrong, and I wasn’t afraid to be wrong then.

Everything was examined. I had great faith in God and in His Son Jesus Christ. Christians the world over, like to believe that they can believe what they want. That any form of Christianity is fine. But  I could not get my mind to accept that idea. I knew that Christ was my Savior, the Son of God and my mind was too logical to believe that Christ could head several Christian churches, all of which teach conflicting doctrines. Logic told me that Christ, Creator of the world, Creator of the universe, Savior of mankind, could not be the perfectionist He was and yet so nonchalant and contrary in His religious teachings to us. Unless He was the God of confusion, there had to be one true church.

The prospect of there being no God, no Creator, was totally illogical to me. I could no more believe that there was no designer of the universe, this earth, our physical bodies and everything else we see, than I could believe that there was no designer of the automobile. I haven’t seen God, but I had not seen Henry Ford either and yet the evidence of Henry Ford’s existence was everywhere. Likewise, the evidence that God existed was everywhere and in virtually everything I looked at. The Swiss watch preciseness of the universe and everything in it was too coincidental to be coincidental. There had to be a creator and that creator had to be God.

As I began my search for the truth about God, even the teachings of science were looked at. On one occasion, I was watching The Learning Channel (TLC). The program was about light. The scientists were explaining sunlight, rainbows and mirages. Then, one scientist began explaining that Christ’s walking on water as reported in the Bible was merely a mirage and that Christ did not walk on water. But because of a mirage, it looked as if He were walking on water.

The police officer in me told me to look at the crime scene itself and the witness statements of those who were present. Matthew had reported that several of the “disciples” were in a ship and that the ship was “in the midst of the sea, tossed with waves.” And, “in the fourth watch of the night Jesus went unto them, walking on the sea.” Peter, being one of the eyewitnesses, asked Christ if he could come out of the ship and walk to Him. Peter then tried to walk on the water himself but sank instead. Peter, crying for help, was pulled out by Christ. The entire incident took place within speaking distance. Too close for a mirage to occur and the events too impossible to so easily explain away.

I had heard other scientific rationales for unexplainable religious phenomena like this before. Though I knew that much of what science taught was true, I also knew that like the ancient Greeks, quite often, science made up answers to questions they didn’t have answers to. I also knew that science was not the only one who was doing that. I knew that those churches that were not the true church, were doing the same thing. Though much of what they taught was true, like science, quite often, they were making up answers to questions they didn’t have answers to. So the question, more than ever was, “Where was the truth and which church was the true church?”

From age sixteen to age forty-three, I developed a strong testimony of the truthfulness of this Church. But all that was aside now. I stepped away from my personal beliefs, to conduct the most important investigation I would ever conduct in my life. Each issue was dealt with fairly, impartially, factually and reasonably. Arriving at the truth was the total and complete goal. So I put everything on the table and I let the chips fall where they may because, I, ...Samuel Jeppsen, ...was going to be a member of Christ’s true church, ...if I did nothing else right in my life.

The more I investigated, the more sure I was, that this was in fact the only church that even had the possibility of being the true church! A bold and arrogant statement ...unless, it’s true. But my investigation did not give me a testimony of this Church. It only made my prior beliefs more firm in my mind and in my heart. I believe God is an active participant in His Church. I do not believe that God would leave something as important as His Church in the hands of a few preachers who teach the word of God as they see it, each conflicting among themselves. I believe in a church that claims divine beginnings and I do not understand why people would believe in a church that didn’t.

How could a church that was not started by divine beginnings,
be a church that was started by God?

I believe God is an organized God. I believe in a God in whom I am created in His likeness. I believe in a God who is a loving Heavenly Father. A God who is the Father of Jesus Christ. I believe that when Jesus Christ said, “If you have seen Me, you have seen the Father,” He meant that He looks like His Father, acts like His Father and does the will of His Father and not that He is His Father. I believe that when Christ hung on the cross and said, “Father forgive them for they know not what they do,” that Christ was talking to His Father and not to Himself. After all, how could a sacrifice to Himself, be anything but pointless?

                 I believe the confusion does not come from God,
                                         nor do I believe it comes from Christ.
                                                                           I believe it comes from man!

I believe in The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints because it teaches us that God is our loving Heavenly Father and He loves us as a father would love his children. I believe in this Church because it teaches us that Jesus Christ is His Son, our older brother and our Savior. And that if we follow Him, it is through Him and through His atonement and by His grace that we are saved and that it is through Him and because of Him that we are able to return unto our Heavenly Father.

I believe in The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints because I believe in eternal progression and I believe that families can be families forever. I cannot believe that God would offer us less in the next life than He offers us here in this life. Yet, unless He takes away the strong love I have for my wife, my children, my mother and my father, without my family, I could never be happy in the next life, no matter what He offered me as a consolation prize.

                   Why would families be so important here,
                                                             only to end with death and disappear?

I was working one afternoon and a “suspicious person” call came over the air. The complaint was that, “a black male adult about thirty-five years old, wearing a green coat and gray pants, was hanging around the eastbound on-ramp of Ellsworth Rd. and U.S. 60.” The chopper did a “fly over” and told me his location. I drove out there and sure enough, there he was. He was sitting down, off the side of the road in some weeds about head high. I got out of my car and began walking up on him. As I was doing so, I was looking him over to see what I was getting myself in for. But he was obviously just a transient. His coat and pants were old and ragged. They were also filthy, grimy, dirty. The kind that only comes from wearing the same clothing for a long period of time without washing them. Alongside him was a little duffle bag. It was open and inside were all his worldly possessions. He was sitting down in the weeds and was reading out of the Bible, in Second Corinthians. I smiled and said, “Hey partner.” But he didn’t say a thing. He never looked up. He just sat there as if I was not even there. I spoke to him again a little louder and more aggressively, “Hey partner.” The second time, just like the first time, he just sat there. Not a word. Not a move. The third time I spoke to him very sternly but as before, it was as if I wasn’t even there. I was certain I had a wise guy. Now, ready for and expecting a physical confrontation, I bent down and got real close to his ear and said very sternly,

                   “You don’t have to talk to me,
                                  but you do have to get up and get off the right of way.”

His failure to respond this time would have resulted in his physical removal and or arrest. But at that he slowly closed his Bible, rose to his feet and then he slowly turned and looked at me. Even though my stern facial expression never changed, the look he gave me melted my heart. I was no longer an angered man, ready to do battle. As we stood face to face, I realized that I had been wrong and that this guy wasn’t a wise guy at all. By the look he gave me, I could tell he’s had several police officers walk up to him in his life and say, “Move along son.” And now, I was just another one of many. In his eyes, the windows to his soul, I could see that this guy was a very sad and very, very, lonely man. I could also tell that this guy’s mind had stopped keeping up with his body a long time ago. This guy wasn’t a man, he was just a boy. ...Just a young boy.

Neither one of us said anything for a few moments. We just looked at each other. Then he reached into his right front pocket and pulled out a wrinkled up piece of paper. He reached into his left front pocket and pulled out a pen and he wrote, “I don’t have no place to go.” My heart went out to him. I’ve always been afraid of that terrible loneliness that I knew he was living. When I’ve seen people like this guy, I’ve often wondered why this was his lot in life and not mine. I thought and said the only thing I felt to say. I said, “Where’s your family?” He just shook his head and shrugged his shoulders. I asked, “Where’s your mom?” He wrote, “Dead.” I said, “Where’s your Dad?” He shook his head and looked away! I said, “Where’s your brothers and sisters?” He wrote, “I don’t have any!” I asked, “Who takes care of you?” He smiled and wrote “God!” I smiled back. There was a pause and then his eyes began to tear and he wrote “I wish I could be with my mom again!”

Instantly, I felt the love and the need I have for my family. Instantly I became so grateful for my family and my belief that a family can be a family forever. The belief that death only separates a  family for a short time. So grateful for the peace the gospel brings to my heart. So grateful for the love my mother and I have for each other. I wanted to tell him that there was a way that a family could be a family forever.

I wanted to reach out and grab his arm and say, “Hey man,
haven’t you heard the good news?”                   
                               “Don’t you know that families can be families forever?”

But I was a cop and I was there on business. This wasn’t the time or the place to tell him what I felt in my heart. So in my infinite wisdom, I looked up at him and said, “Well pal, I don’t know what to tell ya!” He looked at me for a few moments and then he wrote, “Yes you do!” I looked back up at him and asked, “I know what to tell you?” He shook his head yes and beckoned an answer with his hands. My heart went out to him. So, I told him the things that came to my heart to tell him. I remember those words as if I said them just minutes ago. I told him, “I know that Jesus Christ lives!  I know that Jesus Christ loves you! I know that He watches over you! And I know that He allows your mother to watch over you, ...even still! So on those nights when you’re cold and all alone, and there is no friend for you,

        remember that your mother loves you! That she watches over you!
               And that she does her best, to protect you, and to comfort you, ...even still!”

Those words just seemed to be there for me and I felt in my heart to say them to him, so I did. Almost immediately, his eyes filled with tears. He took a step forward and threw his arms around me and began to hug me. He laid his head on my shoulder and began to cry. I was very touched by the moment, but I was also a police officer. So I gently held him back and gave him a warm smile. Had I not been wearing the uniform, I would have hugged him and let him cry. Later, the thought of it gave me a warm chuckle!

                    Me, in my L.A. Blues, standing alongside the freeway
                              in the middle of the afternoon, hugging some guy!
                                                                 What would the neighbors think now!

We became friends and we talked in the same manner for a few more minutes and then I asked him, What’s your name? A big ole grin came across his face and he wrote, “My mom called me Mikey.” I smiled back. I told him my name was Sam. We shook hands, conversed for a few more minutes and then I told him I had to go. As I turned to walk away, he reached out and grabbed my arm and stopped me. With a smile on his face and tears running down his cheeks he wrote,

“Tell me again, about my mom.”

I’ve never seen him since and I don’t know where he went, but I will never forget Mikey. I will never forget his terrible loneliness. His desperate need for a family. The tremendous love and need he had for his mother. I will never forget the tears on his face, the sadness in his eyes when he wrote about his mom. I really believe in my heart, that she was there that day. So how can a Christian religion teach and believe that families are separated after death? That the family ends as we pass on into the next life! Has Mikey’s mom stopped loving Mikey? Has she stopped wanting to be his  mom? Has she been turned into a genderless angel? If she has, how can she have the love for Mikey, that only a mother can have for a child?

I believe in this Church because I believe in modern day miracles. I do not believe that God is too busy to listen to us or to answer our prayers or that He is too busy to become personally involved in our lives. Many people refuse to recognize the hand of providence in their lives. I believe that miracles happen to those who believe in miracles. Life is full of simple miracles and not grandiose miracles. They are just big enough that the believer will readily recognize them and yet small enough that the non-believer can readily explain them away.

In 1972 and 73, I worked construction in Alaska. Every chance we got, Pete and I would go fly-in hunting or fishing. On one particular caribou hunt near the Denali Range, I would learn a lesson that would impact my life forever. After loading our gear for a three day hunt into the plane, the pilot and I took off. Pete was a lot bigger than I was. According to the pilot, “Pete was a load all by himself.” So I went first with all the gear. Pete would come afterwards with the food and light items. The pilot landed on the lake and dropped me off on the shore. When he lifted off, a big gust of wind flipped his plane sideways and he almost crashed. The wind continued and unbeknown to me, he decided to wait for the wind to die down before he brought Pete in. While waiting for Pete, I climbed over the hill to scan a herd of caribou we had seen on the way into camp. I then took a long hike around the herd on the back side of the hill and crawled up over the hill, behind them and down wind about 150 yards away. I picked the trophy I wanted and with the press of the trigger, my 300 Winchester dropped the animal in one shot. I was really proud of myself. I had gotten my trophy within two hours of being dropped off. But the wind kept getting stronger and stronger. It was getting difficult to stand or walk.

When I started to clean the animal, I realized I didn’t have a knife. I hurried back to camp to get Pete’s knife but Pete was not there. The pilot never dropped him off. At camp, we were supplied with a six foot by eight foot cabin of sorts. The sides were of wood slats three feet up, with a canvas covering over the rest. It had no door, just an opening. The wind began blowing so hard that I was sure it was going to rip the canvas top off. It began to get very, very cold. I couldn’t make a fire because the wind was so strong. Finally night began to fall. I put on all the clothes I had and crawled into my sleeping bag. Even though I was cold, I left the sleeping bag open and took my 300 Winchester to bed with me. I kept the barrel pointed at the open door in case a bear came in. I had lived in Alaska long enough to know that that was a real possibility.

The wind never died down. It increased. By morning, there was a fresh layer of snow on the ground. I stayed in my sleeping bag trying to stay warm. At about 1100, I heard the sound of an airplane engine. I jumped out of my bag and ran out of the hut. They saw me and flew off. The wind continued and my day and night was as before. Pete had all the food. All I had was one sandwich and a package of Fig Newtons. The next day I woke up to find a big marmot eating my Fig Newtons. At about 1100, I again heard the plane. I again ran outside to wave the plane down. They saw me, turned and flew off. I returned to the hut and my sleeping bag. For three days all I did was stay in my sleeping bag, watching the doorway and gripping my 300 Winchester. During those three days, I had a lot of time to think about my life and to think about my dependency on my God. I had a lot of time to realize how small and helpless I really was and how quickly and easily the circumstances in my life could be changed.

At home it was easy to feel confident and in control of my life.
But now, my smallness, my helplessness ...had become uncomfortably obvious.

In my normal life, it was easy to feel independent and in no need of the Lord’s Help. Like the guy who slips and falls and begins to slide down a steep roof. As he get’s nearer to the edge, he begins to pray for help. Suddenly his belt catches a raised nail and it stops him. Now safe, he yells out, “Never mind Lord, I got it myself.” Like this man, when there are no problems in our lives, it’s easy to forget about how dependent we are on the Lord. During those three days, I spent a lot of time praying and contemplating my helplessness as I stayed in my sleeping bag, listening to the wind and the flapping of the canvas while gazing out the opening. I learned a very valuable lesson on that hunt. I realized just how much we actually do live by the grace of God. I realized just how quickly we can go from independent to dependent on our Lord. Humbled, I prayed I would be watched over and protected. That the wind would die down and I would stay warm. I was too cold to eat my sandwich and the marmot ate my Fig Newtons.

On the following day the wind died down and the plane came back and this time landed. We loaded my gear back onto the plane. The hunt was over. I asked him why he kept flying over and not landing to get me. He said it was too windy and that they were just doing welfare checks on me. They figured as long as I came out of the hut every time they flew over, I was OK. I asked the pilot, “What about my caribou?” He replied, “Don’t worry about it, it’s bear food. It kept the scent away from you and probably saved your life.”

He said no more and I thought about what he had told me as we flew back. I was told when we
landed that when they were doing welfare checks on me they had spotted a bear close to my camp and they had seen my downed caribou. They said the bear made his way over to the caribou and made lunch out of him. My prayers had been answered. I returned to my wife safe, sound, hungry and a little slimmer, but very humble and thankful to my Lord and Savior for once again, watching over me.

My Lord and Savior has not only protected me throughout my life, but many times He has literally guided me, step by step through troubled times. When I have been worthy of blessings and guidance, He has not left me alone to be afraid. He has given me the comfort of the Holy Ghost as a companion. The words of my mother have come back to me many times when she would recite Psalm’s, 23:4, that says; “Yea, though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death, I will fear no evil: for thou art with me...” Sometimes good fortune is just the luck of the draw, but these experiences, along with many others in my life, have taught me that,

              when things are too coincidental to be coincidental,
                                                                               it’s divine intervention!

I believe in miracles and I believe they happen today just as they happened in the days of the Bible. Only a few people in the Bible ever saw grandiose miracles such as the healing of the blind or the raising of the dead or the parting of the Red Sea. Everyone else saw the same kind of miracles you and I see. The little day to day miracles in their own lives. People lose sight of that fact and feel miracles have ceased to happen or only happen to other people, but that just isn’t the case. They happen to all of us and they are scattered throughout our lives. To the faithful, there are always coincidences that are too coincidental to be coincidental. To the faithful, they are readily recognized, and the warm peaceful feeling of being watched over by a loving Heavenly Father fills your bosom. These small miracles are all around you.

                So if you can’t walk forward on faith,
                                                                then walk forward on the evidence.

I believe in this Church because I believe that the true church would be a missionary church. The true church would send out missionaries throughout the world. Why wouldn’t the true church do that? Why wouldn’t the true church send out missionaries as the apostles of old, spreading the word of God and asking all who would listen to “...Come unto Christ.”

“Our ability to touch others with our warning voice matters to all who are covenant
disciples of Jesus Christ. Here is the charge given to each of the members of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints: Behold, I sent you out to testify and warn the people, and it becometh every man who hath been warned to warn his neighbor. (D&C 88:81)”
                                             Henry B. Eyring

Julie and I are fortunate enough to have a son who is on a mission for our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ. Shortly after our son’s nineteenth birthday, Clay received a mission call to the Poland Warsaw, Mission. It was a great day for the whole family. Clay was set apart by President Farmer, as a missionary for The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. During the blessing, one of the many things President Farmer said to Clay was that, “If you are obedient, you will have the protection of the Holy Ghost.” What a comforting thought for Clay, Julie and I.

On 120496, Julie and I brought Clay to the MTC. (Missionary Training Center) in Provo, Utah. There was a small orientation for the parents who could come. The speaker welcomed us all and told us that they were welcoming 627 missionaries that day. They told us a new group arrives every Wednesday and every Monday a group leaves. They told us the MTC currently teaches forty-eight foreign languages. They said language trainers from all over come to the MTC to learn what is it the LDS Church does to have such success in teaching foreign languages in just two months. We were told that after they study the techniques, they still cannot figure out or explain how the missionaries learn as much foreign language as they learn in such a short time. The speaker then said, “It’s because they don’t understand the power of the Lord.”

At the end of the twenty minute orientation, they gave us just a few minutes to say goodbye to our sons and daughters, not to see them again for two years. What should my last words be to a son I won’t see for two years? So with a pause and a smile, I began to speak the words that came to my heart. I told him that I knew the church was true. I told him to serve with honor and to return with honor, as a missionary, as a man, as an elder in Israel, and as a son of God. I told him I loved him and we embraced. Clay said his goodbyes to his mother and his sister Holly. He then turned to walk toward the exiting door for the missionaries. As he began to walk through the door, he turned back, looked at us with a warm smile, and with his left arm, he raised his hand and made a sign. His little finger, forefinger and thumb were extended. His second and third fingers were folded inward. It was the sign in sign language for love. As I stood there with tears in my eyes and watched as he disappeared through the doorway, I couldn’t help but think of all the family fight calls I have responded to in the last twenty years. Seemingly countless family fights where the mother, father and son were screaming words of hate to each other. And yet, there we stood watching our son leave on a mission for his Lord and the last two things we saw was a warm smile on his face and his hand raised toward us making the sign for love. How many mothers and fathers would give half their life for a son like that.

I believe in this Church because I believe in the Book of Mormon. I believe in the Book of Mormon just as I believe in the Bible. My dear Brother and Sister, the Bible is the word of God.

But does your greatest loyalty lie in the Bible that God caused to be written?
Or does your greatest loyalty lie in the God that caused the Bible to be written?
If your greatest loyalty lies in the God that caused the Bible to be written,
...then why couldn’t He cause another Book to be written?

If your father wrote you a letter, then later on wrote you another, would you read the first but throw the second away? Saying to yourself, “I already have a letter from my father.” Like the Bible, the Book of Mormon teaches the pure gospel of Jesus Christ. Faith in the Lord Jesus Christ, repentance, baptism by emersion for the remission of sins and the laying on of hands for the gift of the Holy Ghost. Verse for verse, it speaks of Christ more than any book on the face of the earth.

The truthfulness of this Book is there for any seeker of truth to find. I have read it and I have pondered it. I have prayed about it with a real desire to know the truth and the Spirit of the Lord has made manifest to me that like the Bible, the Book of Mormon is from the hand of God.

But most of all... the final and foremost reason I believe this church to be Christ’s true church is because I’ve prayed about it. I had to know for myself, so I asked my God in Heaven. All Christian religions are too conflicting in their beliefs and teachings to say all are true. Every religion teaches truth! But not every religion teaches all truth! Unless God is the author of confusion, one church would have to be the true church. Why? Because the true Christ would not be like a used car salesman with something for everyone. The true Christ ...would have one true church.

I’ve studied and pondered the information, I’ve prayed about it and I’ve received an answer. No, the room didn’t shake, the ceiling didn’t crack and a bright light didn’t come in from above. No, I didn’t hear a voice from heaven. But the unmistakable and powerful peace, calm and joy that came over my soul, a man desperately wanting to know the truth, did bear witness to my spirit that this is the true Church of Jesus Christ. I know that with every fiber of my soul.

                      So ask yourself this:
                                1) If Jesus Christ really does have one true church,
                                                                  would I want to know about it?
                                                                                         Would I want to join it?

Several years ago, I went hunting for deer in the Kiabab Forest in northern Arizona with my brother-in-law. This was my first time in the Kaibab. I am a person with an uncanny sense of direction. I have the ability to know where north is, inside buildings, on vacations, in strange towns, at night, on cloudy days or whatever. I’ve never been lost in my life. Even as a child. I have the ability of going someplace once and I can usually find my way back again. Something I have always been proud of and something my wife has always been amazed at.

One day, toward evening, my brother-in-law and I decided to make a sweep of an area before heading back to camp. We were only to be gone about an hour or two. It was mid-afternoon and the sun would be down soon. We drove to an area and I began my walk of what I thought was a half-moon sweep that would lead me back to the little dirt road and back to the truck. I was in an area of high flatlands. The trees were thirty to forty feet high, all having trunks about six to ten inches in diameter. All were very high trunks with very few low branches. As I finished my sweep, I realized that I had missed the road. So I headed back the way I came and in the direction of the truck. I passed a small pile of downed trees. I looked up and realized that a very heavy cloud cover had moved in and I could no longer see the sky, nor could I tell where the sun was. The cloud seemed to be sitting on the tree tops. In the Kiabab during deer season, night comes early and it comes cold. I was dressed in just a thin shirt and jeans.

The temperature was dropping rapidly. I was more than ready to get back to the truck. About forty-five minutes later, as I was walking in the direction I knew the truck was in, I passed that same pile of downed trees I had passed before. When I saw that, I began to become afraid. I was walking in circles and I knew it. For the first time in my life, I was lost. I stopped and looked in every direction but all directions looked the same. Even the ground and trees looked the same. There was nothing different about any direction. Night was falling fast and the air was heavy and damp. I pulled my matches out of my pocket but they had become damp also. Even the grass, leaves and fallen wood was damp. My boots and lower pant legs had become damp as well. I yelled for help but heard nothing. I yelled again and again but heard nothing. I knew I was not in any of the camp areas and I would see no camp fires as night fell. I also knew there would be no other hunters in the forest after dark, as it is illegal to hunt after sundown. With the heavy cloud cover, there would be no moon or star light. Night fall would be a total black-out. I knew I could not stand the cold of the night. I was sure I would die of hypothermia. I figured I had less than a half hour of any light at all. Less than a half hour to solve this problem. I was scared. So I knelt down and offered a fervent prayer to my God in the name of my Lord and Savior, that I be directed out of the woods. After the prayer, I stood there and listened for the prompting of the Holy Ghost, to give me the direction I had asked for. As I was standing there waiting for the prompting, I contemplated the consequences. I knew I was totally lost. It wasn’t a matter of choosing north or south or east or west, because I had no idea where any of those directions were. It was a matter of choosing one degree out of a 360 degree circle. I knew the odds of ending up deeper into the forest were far, far greater than being able to find my way out.

               I knew it would take total faith in the Lord
                                        and that I could not veer off the path He gave me.

Suddenly and peacefully the feeling came. I looked in the direction I was to go and I lined up three trees that were about fifty feet apart. Trees don’t grow in a perfectly straight line and there were so many trees, but I never took my eyes off the three trees I picked out. I was even afraid to blink. I walked to the first tree and then picked out another third tree that lined up as much as possible with my first two trees. I walked to the next tree and picked out another third tree. I always had two or three trees lined up and I never looked right or left. I focused on those lined up trees, repeating the process time and time again until I came to a small dirt road. The process seemed to take twenty or thirty minutes. At the road, I looked to my left and saw nothing. I looked to my right and about sixty yards up the road was my brother-in-law’s 77 blue Ford truck.

          The Lord will guide you out of the forest as well.
                    Yet, He will not take away your free agency either.
                              The decision to search for the truth, has to be yours.
                                        So listen closely my Brother and Sister,
                                                  ...and He will speak to you too, ...Spirit to spirit.

I am a member of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints because I believe in prayer and I honestly and earnestly wanted to know if God the Father and Jesus Christ live and if They have one true church. And then to guide me out of the forest of religions and to the one and only true church of Jesus Christ. That’s the key to it all. You have to want to know for yourself.

          If you are looking for a good religion that teaches good principles,
                    then any religion will do because they all do that. But if you have even
                           the slightest desire to know if God does have one true church,
                                                          then any religion will not do.

If you seek Him honestly and earnestly, with an open mind and an open heart, He will guide you out of the forest as well, and He will guide you to His true church. So it’s up to you. Only you can answer these questions. If Jesus Christ really does have one true church, would you want to know about it? If He really does have one true church, would you want to join it?

“I say to all parties, I have no quarrels with you, no contentions, but I am willing
to exhibit my belief before you, for it is the doctrine of the New Testament,
which is also the doctrine of the Book of Mormon, and the Book of Doctrine
and Covenants, which books contain the revelations of Jesus Christ.”
                         Brigham Young. July 24th, 1853, Salt Lake City Tabernacle.

My mind has reflected many times on the words quoted by Keith McMullin when he said, “Truly of all the errors mortals could make, God’s plan of salvation is the wrong thing to be wrong about. No error could be more erroneous or everlasting in it’s consequences.” So the questions remain, if Jesus Christ had one true church, would you want to know about it and would you want to join it?

At the end of WWII, children were heard to say, “Mom, Dad, what did you do in the great war?” As great as that war was, it was only part of the greatest war since time began as we know it. That war, the greatest war, continues even today. That being: the war between Jesus Christ and the adversary. Between good and evil, right and wrong and doing what is right for others. The soldiers are lined up on both sides, yet all the soldiers are children of God. We are all brothers and sisters. God is our Heavenly Father and Jesus Christ is the Only Begotten of the Father, the Son of God and our Lord and Savior. When we return to God, when we stand before Jesus Christ, that question will be asked of us. “What did you do in the great war?” On that day, no one is going to care how many arrests you made or how good you were at buying dope or working in an office shuffling papers. No one will care how good you were at fixing cars, building homes, running races, flying planes or whatever it is you do. No one is going to care how much money you made, what success you achieved, how tall, short, fat or thin you were. Those things are nice and some are even important, but on that day, none of those things are going to make a difference and in the big scheme of things, most of them won’t matter at all. The only things that will count for anything are:

                  Are you are on the right track?
                              Did you help your family get on the right track?
                                           And how many people did you help along the way?

I’m grateful to Jesus Christ for showing me what that track is and what is expected of me. In placing my trust in Him, I have found the easy road through life. I have learned to work hard, believe big, don’t fret, and to allow Him to take the lead. In doing so, I learned that I may not always get what I want, but I will always get what is right. And actually, that’s exactly what I want. I have also learned that if I pray to my Heavenly Father, have faith in Him and the Lord Jesus Christ, if I listen to the promptings of the Holy Ghost and follow them,

if things go badly, not to lose faith, ...because they will not end badly.

I have learned that it is after the test of our faith that we see the miracle. I have found that when I need something very very much, when I feel really good in my heart about it but things just keep going wrong; don’t quit. Because when I get to the end and then look back, I am always able to see that everything was put in place for me to succeed. And had I lost faith and quit,

...I would have quit on a sure thing.

Because we all return to God upon death, knowing God, knowing His Son Jesus Christ, knowing Their will and knowing Their teachings is paramount. In the midst of all the confusion in the world, I’m grateful for a church that not only teaches good Christian values, but one that is actually the restored gospel of Jesus Christ. One that is actually the ancient Church of Jesus Christ. This is that church.

The words latter-day, merely mean our day. The word Saints is used as it is used in the Bible. It
means followers and believers. We are the followers and believers of Jesus Christ. If you have a
strong love for your Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ, then sooner or later you will see it too. Not because we are right and you are wrong, but because Jesus Christ is a God of order and He really does have one true church. And sooner or later, your love for Him will overcome your stubbornness and you will seek the truth for yourself.

“Our religion measures, weighs, and circumscribes all the wisdom in the world--all
that God has ever revealed to man.” “If the Christian world would follow the instructions
of the New Testament, they would believe the doctrines of the Latter-day Saints...and
we should hail each other as brethren. All quarreling upon these plains would
come to an end, and all desire to injure each other would cease.”
                                              Brigham Young

God lives and so does His Son, Jesus Christ. They are not Gods of confusion and they are not on separate paths. They are as one, as the Scriptures say they are. They have one true path for us to follow. It is there for the seeker to find it. Don’t be afraid. Trust Them. Seek the truth.

“...the Spirit of truth is come, he will guide you into all truth...”
                                      John 16:13

Go to God in prayer and the day will come when you will see it too. In that day, it will appear as plain and obvious as the nose on your face. It will feel like an old and comfortable coat. One that you have worn before. I know this is Christ’s true church because there is no other church in the world that teaches more about Jesus Christ and His teachings, His greatness, His glory and His saving grace, than this Church, so appropriately named:

“The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints.”

“Behold, I stand at the door and knock; if any man hear My voice, and open the
door, I will come in to him, and will sup with him, and he with Me.”
                                  Revelation, 3:30

These things I say, this book I end, this testimony of the truthfulness
of this gospel I leave, in the name of my Lord and Savior,
Jesus Christ, Amen.


                                          Officer Samuel Jeppsen Badge #3751
 

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