You just know

I remember when I was young, and dreaming of the day I would find the man of my dreams, and I wondered how on earth I would know he was the one? I remember asking older people I knew who had married, or friends in college who were getting married and asked them that very question. How did you know he was the one? And the answer I HATED getting was that they "just knew". Now what the heck kind of answer is that??? How on earth would that help me?

When I met Tony, we were on the same folk dance back-up team. We were friends for two years before anything progressed from friendship into something more. And I remember the obvious, kind of "duh" moment I had when I knew he was the one. It wasn't dramatic, or explosive, or anything like that. It was just a peaceful, calm, completely positive, no doubt about it feeling I had. I know when choosing your life/eternal companion, it is a very BIG decision, and one you don't want to take lightly. I know so many people who have to pray about it, and even fast, to be sure their choice is the right one. I remember thinking maybe I should do that too. To be sure.But it was almost like I felt silly to ask something like that, when I already knew the answer so clearly. So, of course when this happened to me, the answer of "I just knew" made complete and perfect sense to me.

Now, on a different note, but one related to this story, I challenged myself at the end of last year to read the Book of Mormon in it's entirety beginning Sep. 1 and ending on Dec. 31 2011. I started it and was doing well, and then fell off the wagon for almost a month.Yikes!I ended up being quite a bit behind my reading schedule. So, when I finally got myself back into gear to accomplish my goal, I had a lot of catching up to do! I had to read like 6 chapters a day to catch up. Well, I did it. And I loved it. And the whole time I read, I was anxious to get to the end of Moroni where he states his promise in chapter 10 verses 2-5.

2 And I seal up these records, after I have spoken a few words by way of exhortation unto you.

3 Behold, I would exhort you that when ye shall read these things, if it be wisdom in God that ye should read them, that ye would remember how merciful the Lord hath been unto the children of men, from the creation of Adam even down until the time that ye shall receive these things, and ponder it in your hearts


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.

5 And by the power of the Holy Ghost ye may know the truth of all things.

I kept thinking about that as I read, but a funny thing happened. As I read each day, I knew that was I reading was true. I "just knew". Every day during my reading, I would have powerful feelings that were testifying to me continually that what I was reading was true. It was peaceful, calm, completely positive, and I had no doubt.
So when I got to the end on December 30th, I didn't feel the need to kneel down and ask God if what I had read was true, because I already knew.

A friend of mine from the Folk Dance team recently posted her profile on mormon.org She talked of her testimony of the truthfulness of the Book of Mormon. As I read her words, I got so excited, because she described my own experience exactly!! This is what she said:

I felt as I read each page something inside of me shouting out, "It's True! It's True!" When I got to the end of the book where the ancient prophet Moroni exhorts the reader to pray and find out for himself the truth of it, I took up the challenge. Here was the feeling I had as I prayed, "Haven't I been telling you all along?" Yes. I knew it was true. I had known it at every turn of the page.

We all have different ways of feeling when the Holy Spirit speaks to us, confirming things to be true. I have read the Book of Mormon from start to finish only a handful of times in my life. But the first real testimony of it's truthfulness I gained while reading the Book of Mormon in 17 days, while participating in the Hill Cumorah Pageant. I was 21, and it was the summer of 1998.

Here it is, 13 years later, and I once again wanted to gain that witness that I first had in 1998. This time it was so much clearer and I didn't need anything else going on around me to convince me of the amazing power and knowledge and truth in it's pages. I "just knew".