Reader Voices: It started with a phone call

An anxious non-member friend who lived in my neighborhood called one morning stating that her husband, who was stationed overseas, had taken all of the money from their bank account leaving her penniless with two small children. My usual response to someone in this situation would have been to refer her to her base commander for help.

Instead, out of my mouth came the following words, which surprised even me: "Do you have a Book of Mormon?"

"Well, no", she replied.

"Could I bring one over?" I asked.

"Sure," she said.

Upon entering her home, I presented her with a Book of Mormon, recited Moroni 10:3-5 from memory and bore my testimony. Subsequently, she and her son joined The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints and moved away.

I lost track of her.

One day, several years later, I was working in a retail store miles from the neighborhood where we had met. A woman came up to me a threw her arms around me. Tears were in her eyes as she said, "Thank you so much for giving me the gospel of Jesus Christ!"

Joy filled my heart as I realized that it was my long-lost friend.

Jaynie Gaither Holley is from Layton, Utah.