Testimony

By: Jeff Sherrill

My testimony is very important to me. I feel very fortunate to be able to pinpoint when I came to an understanding of the true church on earth. It is amazing how many things took place to get me to where I am today and how they seem to have occurred in the way they did.

I had just graduated from high school and although I wasn’t too active in church I was asked to go on a camping trip for the young men in the ward. The plan was to canoe in a section of northern Minnesota called the boundary waters. I was invited to go along as part of the ward and I reluctantly agreed to go. I did have some friends in the group that I knew that I would never be able to be with in a setting like this again.

The first part of the trip was amazing. There was beautiful scenery, great laughs shared with some of my friends, and I learned to dread the word portage. All and all it seemed like a good trip. On July 2nd, 2003 we camped for the night on an island in one of the lakes close to the Canadian border. The wind was extremely fierce, but fortunately for us there were a lot of trees blocking it from doing any real damage to the campsite. We weren’t able to sleep well because we could hear the wind blowing all around us and trees falling in the distance.

In the morning we saw some of the damage and noticed that on the water there were still white caps, suggesting it was still windy. The 3rd was supposed to be an easy day where we would only be going 4 miles on a 36 mile trip lasting five days. In the end, it turned out to be our most difficult day. We paddled as hard as we could and it seemed like we weren’t making it anywhere. When we would stop and rest we would end up losing most of the ground we gained.

Our bishop was with us and he had helped plan the route we would take and where we would stay since he was familiar with the area. When we reached the four mile marker our bishop declared that he felt that this wasn’t where we should be. I was livid and didn’t want to go any further. I was tired and so was everyone else. When I asked how much further he “felt” we should go he told us two more miles to a place called Jackfish Bay. As exhausted as we were we didn’t want to go, but we did nonetheless.

When we got to the campsite many of us fell out of our canoes exhausted and just laid on the beach for awhile. Slowly we built our campsite and pitched our tents. When we finished we sat down together and looked at the many trees, the beautiful scenery, and the sun slowly beginning to set on the horizon. As we sat there we saw a canoe heading in our direction. At first we thought it was a forest ranger since we knew they were going to be checking passes since Independence Day was the next day.

When the canoe got closer we noticed it was traveling in the shape of an “S”, going back and forth. We knew a ranger would know how to effectively steer a canoe so we then began to think that it was a camper who had decided to camp in this location as well and hadn’t noticed us yet. When the camper got closer we noticed he had a wound over his right eye and many of us sprang into action to see what we could do to help him.

We gathered food and water for the man in the canoe who introduced himself as David Sagula. After having something to eat and drink he told us that in the storm the night before a tree had fallen on his tent and a branch hit him in the face which explained the wound. He proceeded to tell us that his fiancée, Cynthia Riggs was still in the tent with the fallen trunk upon her. He had attempted to do all he could to lift the tree, but couldn’t do it alone.

My father came on that trip. As a police officer he was trained to work in emergency situations. He and another member from our group planned to go back with David to try and lift the tree while the rest of the group would continue forward until they ran into someone with a cell phone or came to the nearest town to call 911.

There were four walkie talkies in the group. My dad took one, the group going for help had another, and my bishop and I had one to pass on information at the camp. As I saw my dad go off with David I began to worry about the whole situation and his well being. A storm was starting to form and roll in which wouldn’t be good for anyone canoeing as storms and canoes don’t mix well. I don’t know what came over me but I felt this might be the last time I would see my dad.

I was overwhelmed with emotion and needed to do something to calm my nerves and relax. I decided I would go to my tent and do something I hadn’t done in a long time… pray. I asked God to watch over my dad and to comfort me. It was then that I started to feel something I had never felt before and I began to be filled with joy. I quite literally could not stop smiling. I tried to stop but I couldn’t.

I ended my prayer and walked out of the tent and after a few minutes I heard my dad calling me on the radio. I quickly let him know that I heard him and he told me that they had reached the campsite and that they had found Cynthia. She was dead. The tree had fallen on her and killed her instantly. We were all saddened to hear the news but prepared for their return as we made room for David to have his own tent for the night until we could get him help.

After a while a forest service plane flew over head and we waived it down knowing the other group had made the last leg of the trip successfully. When they picked him up to take him away he thanked us for our service in a way I will never forget.
That event in my life caused me to think about a lot of things. I didn’t have a testimony in anything really and knew that just as Cynthia’s life was taken away quickly that I could die just as suddenly. I asked myself: Was I ready to go? If there was something after this could I look my maker in the eye and say I did my best? I realized that I needed to find a faith in something and that it had to be the right faith.

I attended many churches with friends and read many books regarding religion. I decided that I would give them all a fair and balanced look, even the church I had attended growing up. I kept coming back to the LDS faith knowing that there was something different about it. I decided that it was time that I read The Book of Mormon from a position of neutrality.

I read through the entire book and came to Moroni 10: 3-5 and was surprised I was being asked to challenge the book and to see for myself if it was true. I finished the last verse of the Book of Mormon and I decided I should pray and ask God whether or not it was true. When I prayed and got to the part where I asked if it was true I felt the same feeling that I felt in that tent when I asked for comfort on the trip. I could not stop smiling and I was filled with a sense of joy and happiness. It was then that I knew The Book of Mormon was true, and consequently that the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints was true.

I feel very blessed to know this church is true and I know that having these experiences in my life has changed me forever. My knowledge of the gospel has brought innumerable blessings to me and to so many people around me. I am blessed to have a testimony and I also feel blessed to be part of this church. I cannot deny that what occurred during those months was something special. I dare say it was divine. These experiences are precious to me in a way I cannot describe in words. I love the Lord and all He has done for me. May He bless you with all you righteously seek. I pray this story has been beneficial in some small way. Thank you for reading.