The Book of Mormon: A Special Gift

By Claudette Bybee Burt

Washington, USA

Illustration by Eva Vasquez

On Christmas Eve 2016, while my husband and I were serving as temple missionaries for the Manila Philippines Temple, I wanted to give a copy of the Book of Mormon to someone. Inside the front cover of a copy, I wrote my testimony and included a postcard of the Manila Temple with information on where to learn more about the Church. Then I knelt in prayer and asked the Lord to guide me to someone He had prepared.

I left our apartment and crossed the street. A security guard for the nearby missionary training center was visiting with two men. He called out, “Merry Christmas!” I felt impressed to walk over to them.

After I introduced myself, I learned that one man was a groundskeeper for the missionary training center and the other was a farmer. I learned that they were both members of the Church.

I asked if they knew someone who might be interested in receiving as a Christmas gift a copy of the Book of Mormon. The farmer looked surprised. He said he had a friend coming to visit the temple grounds with him in a few minutes. He had wanted to give his friend a Book of Mormon but had not been able to obtain one. Filled with emotion, I pulled the Book of Mormon from my bag. I told them about my prayer and gave him the book.

The Spirit touched us all, and the farmer expressed hope that his friend would read the Book of Mormon and accept the gospel. As I walked back to my apartment, I thanked the Lord and prayed that the farmer’s friend would keep his commitment to visit the temple grounds.

About 15 minutes later, I received a call from the MTC security gate. The farmer’s friend had arrived. I immediately went to meet him. He was the captain of a merchant ship that was heading back to sea in two days. He thanked me for the Book of Mormon and said he would take it on the ship with him. Before we said goodbye, I looked directly into his eyes and said, “This book is true.” As I did so, the Spirit confirmed this truth to me.

That Christmas I gave a special gift: a Book of Mormon and my testimony that it is true. I also received a special gift: the Lord answered my prayer and blessed me with an opportunity to share the gospel.