My Testimony of the True Gospel
By Elder Thomas Evans
Dated December 1938
As a native Britisher, I desire to bear a testimony
through the Star [Millennial Star magazine] which I hope shall reach many of my
countrymen. Long years have passed since
I left the hills of Wales far behind to cast my lot with the Latter Day Saints
in the west, but they have not dimmed the memories of the old country.
I was born on the 10th of July, 1849, at Tredegar, Monmouthshire, Wales, and nine years later left school to enter the pits
to help maintain the family, working side by side with my father. And thus my life of hard labor continued for
many years. I was religiously inclined,
and with my wife and child attended one of the large Protestant churches of Wales in Pontypridd.
One Sunday night in 1878 we attended a revival meeting in
the church. The meeting began in the
customary way, but as it progressed there developed a spirit of confusion and
disturbance so great and uncomfortable that we swore we should never again
enter the building. We arose to depart
but found the door locked, and so, we were forced to remain until the hubbub
had ceased and the meeting was dismissed.
The following day I
returned to the mine and was introduced to my new work mate, Mr. Robert Bishop,
who told me that he was a Latter-day Saint.
I told him what had occurred the night before, and he said, “Why don’t
you come to our meeting house? It is
down the road below the mine along the right side of the highway.” I told my wife of the invitation, and we
accepted.
The doctrines I heard there appealed to my soul as the
truth, but I feared to join the church.
I was badly afflicted with stammering and hated to think of the
embarrassment which this defect would impose upon me. Nevertheless, for years I attended the
meetings with Brother Bishop, often walking for miles through the valleys to meet
in humble places, often enduring the taunts and attacks of those who so
bitterly opposed the Church.
Daily there grew upon me a testimony of the truth and the
spirit of gathering rested so greatly upon my heart that I was determined to be
baptized, whatever the cost of my personal feelings. To my intense joy and thanksgiving I found
that after my baptism my stammering had left me–my tongue was free to proclaim
the message of the Gospel!
Then, with my wife and children we laid plans for our
journey to the West. For years we
labored and struggled to save our meagre funds, and then came the day when our
dreams were realized. Nearly a half
century ago we sailed from Liverpool, and went to Salt Lake City. There we
lived and worked, rejoicing in our blessings.
Several years later the services of an experienced coal miner were
needed among a colony of Saints in the San Juan Valley in New Mexico, so I was sent there with my family.
Today, in my 90th year, I rejoice in the many
blessings which have come to me. Two of
my sons have labored in the mission field, and a number of my grandchildren
have lifted up their voices in defense of the truth. I rejoice in the knowledge that God and His
Son Jesus Christ live, and that they have in this age restored their Gospel to
the earth. I know that men today have
the gifts of inspiration and prophecy, and, endowed with the Holy Priesthood, are engaged in the work of the Lord, and with pride and
thanksgiving I bear this testimony to my countrymen. 1
