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To go back to The Bible and the Book of Mormon Testimonies Amazing Testimony Great Testimonies
I had 3 beautiful experiences in my life that helped me to gain a
testimony. The first one was when I was 6 years old and I was very sick.
I was in my bed and my mother was speaking to the doctor in another
room, they thought that I was sleeping, but I wasn't, so I could here
all of their conversation. The doctor told her that I was in danger of
life and if didn't get better during the night I should go to the
hospital as soon as possible to have a surgery. I was so scared, I was
so young. I didn't like at all what I heard. But I realized that if
there was somebody, like God, it was the right time to ask for His help.
I prayed with my innocent heart to be healed and I was. I said to
myself, maybe it was a cause, but it worked. When I was 11, I was
working with my Dad (he was a seller of wine!) he told me to take the
wine to a family, but I didn't remember the place and I feared my Dad so
much that I didn't ask him the address. So I took the stuff and I left.
After a half an hour, I realized that it was impossible for me to do the
delivery. I was thinking of going back to my dad and tell him the
truth: that I forgot the place. I was sure He would be mad with me with
reason. So I decided before to go back and ask the Lord for help, and
you know what happened? I saw a place in my mind clearly and I could
perform the delivery. Man! It worked again, 2 clues started to be a
proof. I had a friend in the sky and this thought was very reassuring
for me. Unfortunately, I grew up and I forgot about my Best friend for a
while and I did many mistakes. When I was 18, I fell in love with my
future wife, but she was only 14 and her dad didn't want me to see her.
So it was the right time to go back to my Best Friend and ask Him again
for help. I prayed with all my heart, knelt on my bed and you know what
happened the next day? My father in law called me and gave me the
consent to see his daughter. Yea! My Best Friend was always present. I
started to go into the Catholic church, (in Italy at that time there was
only this Church and everybody felt like it was the right one.
Fortunately, I didn't feel comfortable to attend it. One day I was in the
square in front of the church and I was thinking: Man I am not right, I
am going in the church only to repay Him, I am supposed to go because I
love Him and any other reason is wrong, and also I didn't know why but I
couldn't feel the spirit of the Lord during the mass. So I said to the
Lord: "Look, I am sorry, but I don't want to come in your church only to
pay my debts, I want to come for the right reason, but I promise you
when I will feel the right feeling I will be there every Sunday.'' And I
stopped to go into Church. I guess the Lord agreed with my decision,
because if I had identified the true church in the Catholic church, it
would have been very hard later to accept the Gospel. When I was
married, I was not a good husband for my wife, well comparing myself
with the average of the world I thought I was, but I wasn't. I was a
strong cards player, so almost every night I was in clubs playing for
money. I was a soccer referee and a lot of Saturdays or Sundays I was
away from home. Fortunately, it came the time to meet the church. I
remember the occasion very well. I was coming back from my job in
Florence and while I was getting out of my car I saw 2 young guys
knocking at my door. We met in my house and we had the first discussion,
nothing particular. We met several times, but my interest was only to
know what was going on in the U.S.A.. However the story of Joseph Smith
was interesting to me, I thought: "If it is true, it would be
interesting to go deep." For 3 months, several different missionaries
came in my home with no results, even though one in particular, elder
Woodward, had a great part on my conversion. When he was teaching me, I
had another beautiful spiritual experience through the prayer. I cannot
share on this page... it is too personal. Elder woodward told me: "Look,
you have a testimony now!" "No", I answered, "I have a testimony, like
before that God lives, but I don't know nothing about your church." At
that point I didn't like to think to have a testimony, I didn't want to
change my life, I mean the way I lived. I love it too much. So he
started to ask me to pray for a testimony of the church. Well I promised
to do that, but in reality, I did not. Sure I prayed 2 or 3 times asking
the Lord about the church, but in this way: "Dear Father in heaven let
me know if Joseph Smith was a prophet, in the name of Jesus Christ
amen." It was a way I could say to Woodward: "I did, but not result,
sorry." There was no desire on my request, no wish. Woodward was trying
to push me to be baptized and I begun to desire for him to be sent into
another city, and it happened. I felt so good, I thought I was free,
these guys won't come anymore. Instead, Elder Borg and Elder Mc Arthur
(the new missionaries) came again to visit me. Elder Borg gave me a very
good testimony, but nothing happened. It was on 12/4/1976 that I
obtained my testimony of the church. Elder Borg came in my home with the
zone leader to invite me to go to the conference meeting the next day in
Pisa. "I can't come", I said, "There is an important soccer game in
Milan and surely I will be there." We discussed for a while, in the
meantime my wife and my 2 little children came in the room and sat down
near me. At that point the zone leader asked me if I had prayed about
the church. "Yes, but no testimony at all." Was my answer. "Could you
offer a prayer now about that?" I was surprised, I had never prayed in
my life before to somebody, and specially my family, but sincerely at
that point I felt I had to know the truth. I couldn't play anymore with
myself and those 2 nice guys, or yes or not. I remember very well what I
was thinking, "I have to take the courage to be sincere with myself and
the Lord, I can't go to Him only when I need help and use Him like the
Aladdin's lamp." For the first time in my life I prayed in front of my
family and somebody else, I had the same wish on my heart like when I
desired to be healed when I was a boy and when I wished to be welcomed
from my father in law. I told to my Father in heaven: "I know you live,
please let me know the truth, I don't want to be deceived by anybody,
please tell me if the Book of Mormon is true and if Joseph Smith was a
prophet, I ask you with all my heart in the name of Jesus Christ amen."
I was speaking to Him, like He was in the room and I knew he was
listening to me. I felt so good in my heart, and warm tears came down on
my checks, I was opening the door to the most important event of my
life.
After the prayer I promised to continue to pray and read the Book of
Mormon during the day and the missionaries told me, "We will be back
tonight, we know that you can have your answer." After my lunch, I went
to take a nap. During the nap I started to have a dream, I was conscious
to be dreaming. I was in a beautiful field, running, I was like a boy
about 15 years old. While I was running I heard a voice from the heaven,
"Why don't you pray?" I was surprised but I was looking around me and
nobody was present, so I thought, "Why not?" I knelt on the ground and I
was starting to offer my heart in prayer. I begun, "Dear Father in
Heaven" A great and wonderful power came on my body. It was like
nothing else in my life, a great peace and joy was over me. I
remembered the promise of Moroni, "And by the power of the Holy
Ghost......" I asked in the name of Jesus Christ, I couldn't be
deceived!!!!!! So I continued my prayer asking about the Book of Mormon
and Joseph, and for the second time the same power came on me and the
same reassuring voice told me, "Don't you understand?" but I re-asked my
question, and for the third time the same power came over me and the
same voice told me "Don't you trust me?" Well it was enough. I didn't
wanted to fight with the Lord. The dream was over, I woke up, but the
wonderful power was still with me. I could feel It! It was not a dream,
it was a reality, it was not a sensation, it was a real fact!!! Another
voice came to me, "Everything you feel is only a sensation" This voice
was different, it was an angry voice not a peaceful voice. Anyway, I
couldn't deny the beautiful reality. I saw all my life before me, I saw
all my mistakes, I felt so bad, so sorry, I went in my living room and I
took the Book of Mormon. I read all of 3 Nephi. I wanted to know what
the Lord told the people in this continent. At that point I knew that
the Book of Mormon was true. I spent all day reading that sacred book.
I didn't share my feelings with my wife. When the missionaries came back
it was very funny. I shared my testimony with them, and they were
thinking I was just kidding. They knew me very well. Well, I told them,
"Listen, I want to be baptized on 12/17/1976, I AM NOT KIDDING!" When
they left, I was with my wife and my kids. Usually every Saturday night
I went to the club to play cards all night, but that night I didn't go,
I COULDN'T! My wife was surprised that I was staying in the house but
she said nothing about that, maybe she feared I could change my mind. I
was trying to think better ways to share my feelings with her. When it
came the time to go to bed, for the first time in my life I knelt on the
ground to offer a prayer I went to bed. My wife asked, "What is going
on Massimo?"
Well, I shared everything with her. She said, "I want to be baptized
too". "No, no no!" Was my answer. "I don't want you to be baptized
only
because I am, you don't have to please me, you have to receive a
testimony for yourself." She said, "Massimo I know you very well, if
you stopped smoking, playing cards, being a referee, pay a tithing, if
you will fast and so on you are my testimony, because you wouldn't do
this without a reason. I know that those things are the most important
for your lifestyle, I believe if you change your life, you're gonna be
my testimony and I can trust on your words." So we were baptized on the
same day.
My conversion story it is not over, like the church teaches us that
conversion takes all your life, so I will add several important events
on this page. A few days after I was baptized, the Elders taught me
about Jesus and Jehovah, like the same person, and I was confused,
because I knew the teachings of the Jehovah's witnesses. Anyway, during
the night I couldn't sleep, so I got up and I went into my living room
to study the scriptures. I offered a prayer before and I asked the Lord
to help me to find a scripture in which I could better understand this
doctrine. I took the book of Isaiah, because I did read in the Book of
Mormon, "Great are the words of Isaiah." After very few minutes, I
found a scripture in which is impossible to make any mistake about this
topic. What was very interesting was the fact that the Catholic Bible
and the Jehovah's witnesses Bible confirm this theory in a great way. I
have no room here but I will discuss it in another part. So I was more
confident to ask the Lord about lacking of wisdom.
After 6 months, I had a terrible car accident in which my wife was
seriously injured. I was with her everyday in the hospital. Sure, I
took some days off from my job so I had time to deeply study the Bible.
I did read it in 15 days. My wish was to find something to support the
Book of Mormon and the story of our prophet. It was at that time that I
wrote my search, when I think about this I can't help but smile. It was
the first time, it was not my intelligence, it was the Spirit of the
Lord, I knew that and I knew why. The day of my baptism a brother told
me, "Today you will receive the Holy Ghost, and you will receive the
right to have the gifts of the spirit with you if you are faithful,
maybe you can ask for one in particular." I guess he was serious but
also he was also kidding. Anyway, I expressed a wish that day, and I
know that the Lord gave it to me, according to my faith and obedience.
By the way I forget to tell something. In 1990, I went to Buffalo to see
the historical places of our church. So I went to see the sacred grove,
where Joseph had his powerful vision. Next to the grove there is a
beautiful field. Guess what? I saw the place, in which on my dream, I
was running and the place in which I knelt and prayed.
To go back to The Bible and the Book of Mormon Testimonies Amazing Testimony Great Testimonies
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