The following is an excerpt from the Church News. To read the full article, CLICK HERE.
In his vision of the tree of life in the Book of Mormon, the prophet Lehi began “in a dark and desolate wilderness” (1 Nephi 8:7). Lehi prayed for God’s mercy and came across a tree “whose fruit was desirable for happiness” (verse 10). After tasting the fruit, Lehi went to find his family and desired that they too “partake of it” (verse 12).
Lehi’s vision of the tree of life is one of many testimonies of Christ found in the Book of Mormon: Another Testament of Jesus Christ. This vision also applies to the life of Amos Makulu, a refugee from the Democratic Republic of Congo.
Makulu fled his homeland in 2006 and found safety in a refugee camp in Lugufu, Tanzania. There he met a man named Mchumbe, who had also fled to safety from Nairobi, Kenya. Makulu befriended Mchumbe and asked him if he had anything Makulu could read while they were in the refugee camp. Mchumbe gave Makulu a copy of the Book of Mormon.
Mchumbe had received the Book of Mormon from missionaries of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints in Nairobi, Kenya, and took it with him when he fled home. However, Mchumbe had lost interest in the Book of Mormon and was looking for someone else to give it to.
According to Elder David Olson, a missionary who worked with Makulu, Makulu knew the Book of Mormon was true when he first read it. Before fleeing his homeland, he had been a minister for Jehovah’s Witnesses, but when he read the Book of Mormon with Denis Akulu, another friend from the refugee camp, “they both started learning, and we were very happy,” Makulu said.
Like Lehi before him, Makulu began sharing what he enjoyed with others in the refugee camp, creating a “family” of interested learners. While the Book of Mormon was an excellent teaching tool, he and “his family of 11” had many questions. “We had to find out the answers to those questions with the missionaries and Church leaders,” Makulu said.
To read the full article CLICK HERE.