This month we are reading about Enos, who said that his “soul hungered” (Enos 1:4). This hunger led to a powerful prayer and a stronger testimony.
Have you ever been really hungry? So hungry that you snuck a spoonful of soup or licked the spatula, enjoying every crumb until the full meal was served?
Many early Saints—like a man named Solomon Chamberlin—felt this kind of spiritual hunger for the Book of Mormon.
Years earlier, Solomon had a dream where God told him that He would soon restore His church on the earth. Then, one day while traveling, the Holy Ghost led Solomon to the Smith family home. When Solomon heard about Joseph’s vision and calling from God, he decided to stick around and learn all he could!
“I went with Hyrum and some others to [the] Palmyra printing office, where they began to print the Book of Mormon,” Solomon wrote, “and as soon as they had printed 64 pages, I took them.”
Don’t worry—he had permission! And he used those pages to teach others as he traveled to Canada.
“I preached all that I knew concerning [the gospel],” Solomon wrote, “to all both high and low, rich and poor … [and] exhorted all people to prepare for the great work of God.”
Solomon was baptized soon after the organization of the Church in April 1830.
He was the first person to bring the restored gospel to Canada. Today, there are more than 200,000 members in Canada. And it’s still growing! In fact, a Portuguese-speaking branch was formed there last year.
Where will your gospel hunger lead?
Notes
Read about Solomon’s quest for the true church in Saints: Volume 1, chapter 8.
See also: “Taking the Restored Gospel to Canada,” Global Histories, Church History website.
See also: “Solomon Chamberlin—Early Missionary,” BYU Studies Quarterly, 12:3.