A Sacred Work
One evening my
missionary companion and I knocked on the door of a young man who was an
international student studying at one of London’s many universities. He
invited us in, and we explained that we were missionaries of The Church
of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. He seemed eager to learn more about the Restoration of the gospel, so we testified of the Prophet Joseph Smith
and told him about a sacred book from our Heavenly Father called the
Book of Mormon. We emphasized that it was sacred because it testifies of
Jesus Christ.
We explained that
he could know for himself of its truthfulness and offered to give him a
copy. As I handed the Book of Mormon to him, he got up from his chair
and left the room without saying a word. I held the Book of Mormon in my
hand momentarily, and my companion and I looked at each other in
puzzled silence, wondering what to do. I put the book down on the table.
We could see our
young friend in the kitchen washing his hands and drying them on a fresh
towel. He came back into the room and picked up the Book of Mormon from
the table and simply said, “My people always wash their hands before
they touch something sacred.” Tears came to my eyes as I watched this
young man open the Book of Mormon for the first time and turn its sacred
pages with his clean hands.
Alma taught that
the scriptures are sacred and are preserved to bring souls to salvation.
He declared to his son Helaman, “God has entrusted you with these
things, which are sacred, which he has kept sacred, and also which he
will keep and preserve for a wise purpose in him, that he may show forth
his power unto future generations” (Alma 37:14).
I was sent on a mission to teach the restored gospel of Jesus Christ,
yet I was the one being taught by this young man with his clean hands.
In many cultures—including my own—it isn’t necessary to wash our hands
before reading the scriptures, but his simple gesture of respect was a
reverent and powerful reminder of the sacredness of the Book of Mormon.