The Lovell Family: (from left) Richard, Katharine, Bernice, Jacqueline, Lily and Andrew.
I have been a member of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints my entire life — I guess technically since I was baptized when I was eight-years old. I was born into a family that was active in the Church, and some of my earliest memories are of my Sunday School class when I was 3 or 4 years old. My childhood friends were friends from those classes, and I knew them before I started school.
I was taught from an early age about Jesus. I was taught that I could pray to my Father in Heaven and my prayers would be heard and answered. One of the clearest memories from my childhood was when I had lost a dollar (a huge sum of money to me at the time), and after looking all over without success, I decided to pray for help to find it. No sooner had I finished that prayer when the thought came to me to look in my shirt pocket. There it was! The simple faith of a young child had been rewarded, but more importantly, the foundation of the power and intimacy of prayer was begun. That experience has also made me realize that I had been taught about prayer long before the moment I decided to ask for help that day. I don’t remember anything specific, but my parents and teachers at church had helped me to understand about prayer and helped me to develop a faith and trust in God long before that day that so clearly still stands out to me.
I learned at the age of 8 the powerful lesson on the need for and power of repentance. A friend and I had been at the 5-&-10 store, and we thought it would be OK to steal something from the store. I picked a plastic pocket knife. A day or so later Mom figured out that my story did not add up, so we had a chat that resulted in my sobbing like a baby and confessing the entire story. She worked out a plan for me to earn the money (a dime), and then took me to the store so I could confess to the store manager and pay for the ill-gotten toy. That experience has stuck with me to this day.
I was also taught to give service to those around me. In my youth I didn’t initiate very many acts of service on my own, but at least I did participate when pressed into service. I particularly remember having to go with Dad as he gave service to those around him. Both of my parents were wonderful examples of one who gave service to those in need.
So while I was always exposed to the Church and the Gospel of Jesus Christ, and I grew up believing in the teachings of the Church, I have to admit that I was not strongly converted to the Gospel. I had not had a change of heart that Samuel the Laminate talked about when preaching to the Nephites on the city wall (Heleman 15:7). I was not very firm and steadfast in the faith. But I decided that I should go on a mission, and at the age of 19 I entered the Missionary Training Center in Provo, Utah, and began the journey that I am still on – the conversion of Richard Lovell to the Gospel of Jesus Christ.
While at the MTC, I received a witness of the divinity of Jesus Christ, that he lived and does live. Of all things, my witness was received will singing a hymn with 1500 other missionaries during a devotional. The hymn was “I Know that My Redeemer Lives”. I had a strong, real feeling come over me that the words of the song were true, the Christ does live. I knew. I still get a lump in my throat and a tear in my eye when I sing that song now. I know that Jesus lives, that he came to earth, that he suffered and died for us. While on my mission I also gained a testimony of the prophet Joseph Smith.
My first day in the mission field, in Orange Park (outside of Jacksonville, Florida), we knocked on a door and a man let us in. In those days, the first lesson we taught was about the Prophet Joseph Smith. We chatted with the man for a few minutes and asked if we could share our message with him. My missionary companion looked at me, nodded his head, and expected me to teach. Since I had the lesson memorized, I at least knew what to say. While sharing the story of Joseph Smith and his First Vision, again the Spirit bore testimony in a very real yet personal way to my soul that I what I was teaching was true. I did not expect it, but the person who benefited from the truths being taught that day was myself. I had received a testimony of Joseph Smith as a Prophet of God. Every time on my mission that I taught that lesson, the Spirit again bore witness to my soul of the truth of that message.
I have had many more simple yet significant experiences throughout my life, helping me to understand and know of God’s love for me. Often times those experiences have come at a time when I am trying to help someone else, or as a result of trying to do or be at the right place at the right time. Being in the woods with a group of youth and hearing them share their testimonies, being at Sacrament Meeting and hearing someone share an experience that revealed the hand of the Lord in their life, feeling strongly that I had to go see someone (when I really did not want to do it) and having them express their gratitude for my coming.
These, and so many more, are the times when the Spirit has borne testimony to my soul of God’s love and of the truth of Gospel of Jesus Christ. Nothing dramatic, no visions of angles or miraculous conversion like Paul on the road to Damascus, just simple yet profound experiences that have accumulated throughout my life. I am a member of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints not because I was born into it, but because I have come to know through these experiences that it is the Lord’s Church here on the earth and through living its teachings I will come to know my Heavenly Father and his Son Jesus Christ and will be able to try to be like then.
Richard Lovell
LDS Troy Ward 