Luke 14:26-27
It's True Isn't it? Then what else matters?
Mine has
been the opportunity to meet many wonderful men and women in various parts of
the world. A few of them have left an indelible impression upon me. One such
was a naval officer from Asia, a brilliant young man who had been brought to
the United States for advanced training. Some of his associates in the United
States Navy, whose behavior had attracted him, shared with him at his request
their religious beliefs. He was not a Christian, but he was interested. They
told him of the Savior of the world, of Jesus born in Bethlehem, who gave his
life for all mankind. They told him of the appearance of God, the Eternal
Father, and the resurrected Lord to the boy Joseph Smith. They spoke of modern
prophets. They taught him the gospel of the Master. The Spirit touched his
heart, and he was baptized.
He was
introduced to me just before he was to return to his native land. We spoke of
these things, and then I said, “Your people are not Christians. You come from a
land where Christians have had a difficult time. What will happen when you
return home a Christian and, more particularly, a Mormon Christian?”
His face
clouded, and he replied, “My family will be disappointed. I suppose they will
cast me out. They will regard me as dead. As for my future and my career, I
assume that all opportunity will be foreclosed against me.”
I asked,
“Are you willing to pay so great a price for the gospel?”
His dark
eyes, moistened by tears, shone from his handsome brown face as he answered,
“It's true, isn't it?”
Ashamed at
having asked the question, I responded, “Yes, it's true.”
To which he
replied, “Then what else matters?” (Gordon B. Hinckley, Ensign, Jul.
1973, 48).