"That Which I Have Written Is True"

“THAT WHICH I HAVE WRITTEN IS TRUE”

A Story of the Book of Mormon and a Boy’s Testimony

IT was in the late nineties. Down the cobbled streets of an old Kentish town a spindly-legged, raven-haired boy of the paper mills wearily trudged. The youthful wrinkles of his peaked face told a story of sorrow.

Fifteen-year-old Dan was recovering from the effects of a severe attack of diphtheria and the shock of his father’s sudden death. The passing of the Methodist lay preacher had widowed a mother of 16 children, two of whom remained at home. They were Dan and his little sister, Edith May. Dan was his mother’s main support. May helped her mother in their humble dressmaking business.

Stumbling homeward after a hard day at the machine in one of Sittingbourne’s paper mills, Dan paused at a bookseller’s shop. Books were Dan’s closest companions. He had inherited a fondness for reading from his father.

“And how are you today, my boy,” the kindly faced old bookseller greeted his little friend.

“Better, thanks, Mr. Simonds,” the mill boy replied. “I just wanted to look at some of your old books.” He began to browse over the dusty shelves. It was part of his daily routine to stop at the shop.

“You seem to be studying theology,” the bookseller turned to Dan. “I think I have a book here that might interest you.” His wizened hands reached for a fairly large book bound in black cloth. It looked something like a Bible.

“That is the Book of Mormon,” the old gentleman explained. “I'm sure you’ll find it interesting. It will give you something to think about.”

Dan thumbed through the pages of the volume. “How much does it cost?” he enquired.

“Five shillings.”

“But, you see, Mr. Simonds, I am making only eight shillings a week at the mill,” the boy complained. “I don’t believe my mother could afford to let me pay that much for a book.”

“Well, I’ll tell you what I’ll do, Dan,” the bookseller smiled. “I’ll let you borrow the book. I would like to see you read it.”

Dan thanked the bookseller, and, after a brief chat over the bookshelves, returned home.

After the evening chores were done, Dan slipped upstairs to his bedroom. He lighted the flickering paraffin lamp and plunged into the contents of his newly acquired book. It caught his interest from the start. He was fascinated with the story of a prophet who, at the command of the Lord, left his home and riches in Jerusalem and with his family set out into the wilderness. This man, Lehi, became a favourite character of the youthful mill worker from the start. He compared his life of devotion with that of Abraham, who also left his wealth behind to follow the Lord.

Dan read a good deal of the contents that first evening. The book, incidentally, was an early edition and was not set off in verses as copies are today.

Each night he retired to his room and in the quivering glow of his oil lamp prayerfully continued his reading of the story of the Book of Mormon. Dan had no father to approach for advice, but he found comfort and counsel in the words of Lehi, in his old age, to his sons:

Adam fell that men might be; and men are, that they might have joy. … And now, my sons, I would that ye should look to the great Mediator, and hearken unto his great commandments; and be faithful unto his words, and choose eternal life, according to the will of his Holy Spirit; and not choose eternal death, according to the will of the flesh and the evil which is therein, which giveth the spirit of the devil power to captivate, to bring to hell, and he may reign over you in his own kingdom. (2 Nephi 2:25-29.)

Dan had never found a book which was quite so interesting to him. He was not satisfied with a mere reading of its narrative about a people who fled out of Jerusalem and migrated to what is now the American continent. He wanted a record for himself. And so he began the tedious and toilsome task of copying the story with pen and ink. For two and one-half years he copied page after page in the eventide of almost every day. Sometimes his study was stopped by his kind mother, who feared he was not getting enough sleep. But it was a joy to him, for he was making a personal record of the “stick of Joseph.” While most youths his age were occupying themselves with play and pranks, he went on with his work in his bedroom—like a young Luther, a Milton or a Lincoln. When he finished his task he had written with his own hand the entire Book of Mormon, with the exception of some detailed parts relating Nephite-Lamanite wars.

IN the course of his work, Dan continued his visits to the old bookseller, who one day invited him to attend a branch meeting of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints in Sittingbourne. This visit with the little gathering in a second-storey hall on old Pembury street provided a new impetus to Dan’s already intense interest in the Gospel to which the Book of Mormon had introduced him. He continued to investigate, and eventually gave up his circuits as a youthful lay preacher in the Methodist church.

And then on October 16, 1908 as a young man 22 years of age Dan was baptized into the restored Church in historic old “Deseret,” which had served as headquarters for London saints for several years. Dan’s mother had passed beyond the veil, but not long after his younger sister, Edith May, was baptized. She grew into womanhood and brought her husband into the Church and now has a choice Latter-day Saint family in Toronto, Canada.

Today Dan is President Ambrose R. Winch of Gravesend branch in London district, who relates the foregoing story of how he received the message of the Gospel. Brother Winch’s wife, Adelaide Horden Winch, and their three children, Adelaid Sarah Ann, Lydia May and Frank Thomas, are all active branch members. Brother Winch still delights in telling the stories of Lehi, one of his favourite scriptural characters. His admiration for this American prophet in sacrificing all and obeying the command of the Lord has been deeply ingrained into his own life, which is itself an epitome of devotion.

In the closing chapter of the Book of Mormon, the Prophet Moroni wrote concerning the record he left:

And when ye shall receive these things, I would exhort you that ye would ask God, the Eternal Father, in the name of Christ, if these things are true; and if ye shall ask with a sincere heart, with real intent, having faith in Christ, he will manifest the truth of it unto you, by the power of the Holy Ghost.

And by the power of the Holy Ghost ye may know the truth of all things. …

And God shall show unto you, that that which I have written is true. (Moroni 10:4, 5, 29).

The story of Brother Winch’s conversion is a literal fulfillment of that prophetic promise of the last surviving Nephite.— Wendell J. Ashton.