Thrift Store Treasure

About sixteen years ago, Willie Bob Leary was browsing through a secondhand store when a worn “religious-looking book” caught his eye. An avid reader and familiar with the Bible, he bought the book and took it home.

“That was the first time I came in contact with the Book of Mormon and the first time I ever heard of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints,” the 63-year-old recalls. “When I began to read 3 Nephi, that was it! I knew that it was the truth.”

At that time in his life, Brother Leary was seeking desperately for the truth. Although he had never officially joined a church, he had always felt a closeness to God. The thrift store copy of the Book of Mormon had the name of the Church inside the cover, so Brother Leary looked up the Church in the telephone directory and wrote, asking for a copy of the Doctrine and Covenants.

“The very first verse that I read convinced me that these were the true words of Jesus Christ. It was just that quick!” he declares. He even began putting aside his tithing to pay after baptism.

Shortly after receiving the scriptures, Brother Leary returned to Macon, Georgia, where he had grown up. He found the missionaries and was baptized. He lives near many of his relatives and shares his testimony with them frequently.—Val Wilcox, Provo, Utah

Photo by Val Wilcox