Why I Believe!

 

Not a bad question to ask every once in a while.  Why DO I believe the things I believe?  How committed am I to the things I believe?  Every 3rd Sunday of the month, there is a fireside program in the Visitors Center auditorium called “Why I Believe.”  Several hundred visitors come each time to hear a prominent member in the metro area talk about why and how they came to believe in the gospel of Jesus Christ.  Before the speaker, three recently baptized members of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints stand up and share their enthusiasm for their new-found beliefs.  Then they ask for any really new members in the audience to stand up and, when a microphone is handed to them, tell their names and when they were baptized.  There is such a feeling of love and support from the audience for all these new members.  Last Sunday night (Nov 17) was no exception. (This is a picture of part of the foyer in the Visitors Center.)

The guest speaker that night was Jenny Oaks Baker—WOW!  It was exceptional!  She is a renowned concert violinist and mother of four and lives in northern Virginia.  She talked about how through the process of developing her musical talents as a child, she learned many important Gospel truths.  During her talk she played several pieces, starting with “Amazing Grace,”  one of my favorites! She told about how she had been nominated for a Grammy award, and had walked the red carpet, but that nothing compared to the glorious feeling of worthily walking the halls of the temple dressed in white. Then she played “I Know that My Redeemer Lives!”  She talked about the tough decision she had to make when she was prompted by the Spirit that it was time for her to leave her position with the National Symphony, and be a stay-at-home mom.  Then her four children, ages 5 to 13, played an arrangement of “I Am a Child of God” on the piano, violin, cello, and guitar.  It was wonderful!  We can’t wait to hear Jenny Oaks Baker again when she performs in December.  I wonder if she will bring her 4 children to perform again.

Why do I believe????  Jesus said, “I am the light of the world:  he that followeth me shall not walk in darkness.”  (John 8:12)  When I am in kind of a dark mood,  all I have to do is put on a CD with hymns about the Savior, like George Dyer’s “How Great Thou Art,” and the darkness goes away—He is MY light!  I believe BECAUSE of the light!