I was filled with a joy, a warmth, a love, and a sensation of such overwhelming mental clarity that it left me tired and weak afterwards.

I was completely unprepared for the experience that followed.

I explained to Him that I’d just read part of the Book of Mormon, and that I didn’t know if it was true or not. So, I got down on my knees-I asked God to forgive me my sins. I pictured them as a bit sad, but not angry. I had, I think, decided that if this went on for a while with no reply, I’d tell my parents that I didn’t know. And, even if I was answered, would I recognize it? And, would my worries about the implications of not getting an answer lead me to manufacture a reply? I knew it entirely possible that I wouldn’t get an answer, and wondered what I would do if I didn’t. It was a lonely moment.Īfter spinning the matter in my mind, I concluded that such a momentous question (for so it suddenly seemed) would probably take many weeks of struggling and prayers to settle, at best. I didn’t talk about this with anyone I didn’t explain it to my parents or anything-partly, I think, because I had the sense that I didn’t want to be biased by their reply. This lightning bolt rather quickly led me to the realization that I had gone along with the idea because my parents had taught it to me, but why would anyone else? I knew people talked about prayer for this sort of thing, but wondered if you might just “want it” to be true to the point that you could “create” your own answer. It came to me with great force how incredible this whole tale of Joseph Smith’s was, and how we Mormons were the only people who believed all this stuff: angels, gold plates, Christ in America. As I did so, it struck me for the first time just how radical this book and its claims were. In May 1983, I first read the Book of Mormon with any seriousness.

Scientist greg smith genius