Why am I a Mormon?

My name is Kacey Leavitt, but my current church title is Elder Leavitt since I am a missionary. I have attended the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, often called the Mormon church, since I was really little. I am still a faithful member of the church. I will forever love being a Mormon!

So, what is it about the LDS church that I love so much? It is far more than tradition or years of being brainwashed that keeps me going to church every week. When I was younger, probably about 7 or 8 years old, I decided that I wanted to know for myself if the Mormon religion is true. I had been told at church that a prophet named Joseph Smith translated ancient American records into English in the 19th century. This book has come to be known as The Book of Mormon: Another Testament of Jesus Christ. I was also told that if I read and prayed about it, God would tell me that it is true through my thoughts and feelings. I would then know that Joseph Smith was a prophet of God and that the Mormon church is true.

I decided to read the Book of Mormon. I was a little bookworm at the time, but no book had ever touched my heart like the Book of Mormon did. At the end of the book, I read a marvelous promise given by a prophet named Moroni. He said:

"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" (Moroni 10:3-5).

I still have never had any words strike me as powerfully as those words did. They penetrated my mind and heart. I knew that, even if the rest of the Book of Mormon was a fraud, there was eternal truth in the concept that, if we ask God in faith, He will teach us truth.

I got down on my little knees and asked God if the Book of Mormon is true. I felt feelings of peace, joy, love, and power and knew that the Book of Mormon is true, Joseph Smith was a prophet of God, and this is God's true and living church upon the earth today.

Since then, many powerful, life-changing spiritual experiences have reaffirmed and strengthened my faith. I will forever rejoice in my knowledge that I am a member of Christ's true church!

Visit https://www.mormon.org/free-book-of-mormon to get your own free copy of the Book of Mormon. Then, read and pray about it. It will improve your life!