Why I Believe

By Laurence Gee - Written March 2003

After receiving the book masterminded by Elder Neil A. Maxwell and reading many of the chapters therein I felt impressed to add my voice to those already published. Not to have this published, but as a gift to my children and my posterity.

My ancestors have been in the church since the early days of the restored church in their countries of origin. Each has contributed to my gene pool and they have paved the way for my membership and ultimate faith in the church. I have read a few of their histories, but what I was looking for from them, I have not found. I wanted a statement of testimony from them as to their belief and why they came into the church and a bit about their life as a disciple of Christ. Thus this is the impetus for my writing at this time. I hope that my children and grandchildren and all of my posterity will read this and know that I do believe, even know of the surety of the facts pertaining to the life of Christ, his divinity and the restoration of His church in these the latter days.

If I had written this a few years ago, that which was written would have been different than what I pen today. That which I would write in ten or twenty years would also be different than that which is set forth in these paragraphs. The reason for this is not that the testimony of the basic facts has changed, but that the experiences that I have had and will have adds to the detail of the picture painted.

I was born a member of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints. My parents were both members of the church and as such were active participating members of the church. I do not ever remember a time when my parents were not actively engaged in the restored gospel. My earliest memories were of the family and church.  

As most young people I accepted what my parents taught me and did not question the veracity of their statements. The instruction given at church reinforced those teachings. I learned the stories from the Bible, and particularly those from the Old Testament. I knew them as well as the other stories that I heard in my youth and accepted them as true while the other stories such as ‘Little Black Sambo” and others like it I realized were fiction. I was able to believe and discern by some power or gift that was beyond my youthful ability to comprehend. I was fortunate that I did not have friends or people around me who questioned my belief or mocked me because of my beliefs.

During my teenage years I lived in predominately non-LDS communities. I was active in the church and enjoyed the social aspect, which the church afforded. In Denver, Colorado the young people of the ward used to get together often after the evening meeting and play games and socialize. I thus gained an appreciation for the social role that the church plays in the lives of people. For me, it filled a need in my developing personality.

After we moved to Lander, Wyoming I did not have that circle of friends of like faith and values. My brothers and I, along with a few girls from the Alexander, Ririe, Farthing and Yack families, made up the members of the church in the schools and community. Small units of the church tend to foster cohesiveness and so I belonged to a small, but intimate group of believers. We made the church the center of our life and I never felt excluded from that environment. 

Up to this point I relied on my family and the church for my assurance of the truthfulness of the doctrine and the church that proclaimed that doctrine. I was fortunate to live in Lander at that time. We had full time missionaries in Lander and they came to our house for dinner often on Sunday, as well as other times of the week. I do not remember them coming to church, but I am sure that they did. My memories were of dinner with the missionaries and playing basketball with them as well as learning how to play chess from them. We would often discuss the doctrine of the church and read appropriate scriptures. We would bring up answers to the questions that were posed by those not of our faith and reason what would be convincing to them.

Because there were so few members of the Aaronic Priesthood in our branch, all of us met together for priesthood meeting. During the last year or two of my high school time we studied a series of lessons by James Barker on the Great Apostasy. This was a detailed examination of the early Christian church and the historical documents of the early church. I became very interested in the early Christian writings and the Apologetic writings of that time. I read the priesthood manual and learned about the falling away from the true church. The teacher was brother Harold Farthing, who had no education in the subject, but prepared the lessons and led the discussions.

After I was ordained to the office of an Elder, I went to the quorum meetings in Ogden. I was attending Weber College and living with my aunt Alta. The teacher there was a very learned man and gave what I thought were very interesting lessons, but most of the class members could have been less than interested in the subject.

I enjoyed attending church and went to all the meetings. My aunt Alta told me, when I went to live with her, that my parents expected me to attend church. After I had been there a while she said that I didn’t have to go to all the meetings if I didn’t want to, but I did and I attended all the meetings. After I was ordained to be an Elder, I missed the opportunity to bless the sacrament that I had when I was a Priest.

I wanted to go on a mission and never do remember a time when that was not my desire, although at the time of this writing I do not remember much about the process of submitting my application. I was very pleased to be called to the East German Mission with headquarters in Berlin. It was on my mission when I began to earnestly study the gospel and read the scriptures. We had read the Book of Mormon as a family at home sitting around the dinner table after supper. I remember that, for me, it was a chore to be endured and not cherished. 

I did attend the Institute of Religion at Weber College when I was there, but do not remember much about it other than the fact that Joseph Fielding Smith spoke at the graduation.

While I was on my mission I read The Articles of Faith, Jesus The Christ and The Teachings of the Prophet Joseph Smith. Perhaps the most impressive thing that I read was a series of articles in the Improvement Era written by Hugh Nibley on the apostasy. I don’t remember how I came upon them, but I was so intrigued by them that I could not get enough. I read and reread them and also read the footnotes. I determined to be knowledgeable in the scriptures and the gospel. I read the bible from cover to cover in German and also the Book of Mormon as well as the Doctrine and Covenants and the Pearl of Great Price. I read the Old Testament Apocrypha as well and tried to find some of the books that Hugh Nibley referred to in his writings. I found an old bible with the parallel translations in Hebrew, Greek, Latin and German, but I did not have enough money to buy the set.

I was exposed to some anti-Mormon literature while on my mission, but I did not seem to be influenced by it. Although I could not answer all of the arguments, I had enough faith not to let it bother my belief. I had reassurances from the spirit to let me know what my understanding and learning did not know. Time has confirmed this position.

After I returned from my mission I had the opportunity to take classes from Hugh Nibley at BYU. I enjoyed the experience and realized then that I would have to make a choice between medicine and academic pursuits and I chose the former.

When Alice and I were married we lived in Salt Lake and attended the University student ward. Oscar McConkie was the bishop and Elder Neal A. Maxwell was a counselor. We learned a great deal from our exposure to these men. It was here that we learned many of the principles of church administration. We learned about father’s blessings and the importance of a righteous priesthood bearer in the home. I suppose that this period of time was as important to my belief as it was to my medical education.

The period of my service as a stake president only served to deepen my understanding of the gospel and of priesthood leadership. I was privileged to know and understand how personal revelation is received and to experience first hand the workings of the spirit. As I grew spiritually so did my understanding of the church and my knowledge of the divinity and reality of the Lord Jesus Christ.

I have had too many experiences to deny the existence of God or the truthfulness of the restoration of Christ’s church in the latter days through the prophet Joseph Smith. I have been in the presence of all of the prophets of the church since David O. McKay. I have known some of the general authorities of the church. I know that this church is founded upon modern day revelation through ordinary men who have been called of God. I know that in spite of the fact that they are men, they have claim to the revelations of God if they will be humble enough to receive them. 

I have written previously about my testimony of the Book of Mormon, which is the word of God to us in these days if we will but read and heed it’s teachings. I want all of my posterity to know that I know these truths and will testify to them before the “pleasing bar of the great Jehovah” in the future. You will hear from my own lips that I did indeed have a knowledge of the truth and hope that my actions will justify and ratify that knowledge.

Amen