In the summer before high school, in the year 1984, I looked up at the heavens and beheld a crisp view of the starry sky. As I was staring at this beautiful and majestic scene, I was filled with a deep sense of awe and mystery. This feeling was so deep that it struck my soul to its very center, permeating every fiber of my being.

While in the grip of this powerful force, I began pondering the eternal mysteries that enveloped me:

"Is there a God? Where did I come from? Is there any meaning behind life, and if so, what is it? What will happen to me after I die? Where did the physical universe come from? Is there any meaning behind the physical universe, and if so, what is it? What is intelligence? Is there life out there?"

While pondering these great questions, I was truly humbled by the vastness and beauty of the physical universe. At the same time, the desire to understand all things was swelling within my heart. This deep desire sparked a fierce determination to understand the truth of all things. I told myself, "There is great power in the brain and I will not rest until I figure out the mysteries of life, the universe, and everything." So powerful were my feelings of resolve and determination that I felt as if I was going to war.

That night, I decided to systematically search for truth by studying mathematics and physics. I felt that studying them would give me the greatest chance to understand the fundamental nature of the physical universe.

As I continued staring at the heavens above, I was filled with a very distinct and powerful thought - "If there is a God, and if I expend every ounce of energy that I possess in systematically searching for truth, then I will discover God." This very thought of discovering God was very exciting and I was ready to begin searching for truth.

I began high school with a lot of excitement. I studied mathematics, physics, and other sciences with great diligence. At the same time, I pursued philosophy with hopes of nailing down elusive truths of life, the universe, and everything.

I checked out many philosophy books from high school and university libraries. I only read them for a few days since I did not want to "pollute" my mind with the ideas of other men.

I began writing my thoughts on a clean sheet of paper. I tried very hard to find a way to systematically search for truth. I was consistent in my efforts and after several months, the writings grew into quite a stack.

One day, I was curious about the philosophy books that I had previously checked out from the libraries. To my astonishment, I had already thought of many ideas found in the books. With great excitement, I shut the books and once again returned them to the libraries.

I continued writing with fierce determination to find truth. However, this activity was carefully guarded - that is, no one knew about these efforts, not even my own family.

After much labor, I felt as if I was "spinning my wheels." No matter how hard I tried, I could not nail down the elusive truths of life, the universe, and everything. I still did not know the meaning behind all things, or if such a meaning exists. My official position on God was "I don't know" - that is, I did not claim God's existence or nonexistence, nor did I take a position on whether or not it is possible to come to a knowledge of God.

Frustrated, I burned the whole stack of writings. As I watched my work go up in flames, I had mixed feelings. On one hand, I felt that I had wasted a huge amount of time. On the other hand, I felt a great sense of relief since a big burden was taken off my shoulders. In either case, I was ready to move on, restricting myself to the "objective" pursuits of mathematics, physics, and other sciences.

Although my writings had gone up in smoke, I still found my mind drifting into philosophical speculation. I had ample time to pursue these thoughts during my hour-long bus ride home. One day, as I was staring out the window, I heard a voice. It was the voice of the bus driver. He asked, "What are you thinking about?" I answered, "Life, the universe, and everything."

After asking me a few more questions, the bus driver told me that he was a preacher. He invited me to sit in the front seat of the bus. From then on, he shared his beliefs about Jesus Christ.

Since I had no "proof," I did not believe his words. My official position on God remained unchanged.

At the end of the school year, the bus driver asked, "Would you like a free copy of the Bible?" Even though my first inclination was "no thanks," I replied, "Sure." He promised to deliver the book to my house.

A few days later, the doorbell rang. My Dad answered the door and asked, "What do you want?" The bus driver replied, "I have a Bible for your son." My Dad asked me with a stern voice, "Did you tell him to come?" Frightened, I merely nodded my head. My Dad then curtly told the bus driver, "We do not want the book."

One more significant event took place during my high school years. One day, these words effortlessly appeared in my mind:

"I have come to the Earth to fulfill a mission, and this mission must be fulfilled in the name of Jesus Christ."

At the time of this event, I did not believe in Jesus Christ, nor did this event change my official position on God. After a little thought, I dismissed the event entirely.

I began undergraduate school in the fall of 1988. As an undergraduate, I had two groups of friends. One group consisted of atheists, agnostics, and others who did not believe in God. Christians and others who believed in God made up the other group.

In the presence of both groups, I used my "scientific" knowledge in fierce debates with those who believed in God. I confounded them and basked in the glory of the world. When they were not present, I made fun of them by cracking many jokes.

However, the picture was different when I was exclusively in the presence of those who believed in God - in this case, I asked them many questions with a very sincere heart.

One day, I asked one of my friends, "Do you think it is a good idea if I pray to God, in the name of Jesus Christ, asking him to prove his existence to me?"

I prayed to God that very night. The prayer was simple and came from a heart that yearned to know the truth:

"God, if you exist, please prove it without hurting me. In the name of Jesus Christ, amen."

A few days later, while I was performing fascinating calculations in the general theory of relativity, the phone rang at 1 o'clock in the morning.

It was my Dad. He told me that my sister had just been admitted into a mental institution. I was shocked - it was totally unexpected and was the first "tragedy" in our family.

I remembered my prayer to God uttered a few days earlier. Given that prayer, I felt really bad. It was the first time in my life that I felt the "fear of God." However, after a few days, I dismissed the event entirely.

I began graduate school in the fall of 1992 with my official position on God unchanged - that is, I still "did not know." I was not hoping for the existence of God, nor did I want to believe in something that is not true. I merely wanted to know and live the truth.

In the fall of 1993, I was training for the Chicago Marathon. Early one morning, I was running south on a street that passed a high school track. At about 6:40 a.m., I turned left onto the track.

There were two girls on the track. One girl was running while the other girl was looking for something next to the bleachers. I stopped running and asked, "Did you lose something?" She replied, "Yes, I lost my glasses."

I crawled under the bleachers, found her glasses, and gave them to her. After thanking me, she asked, "Have you heard of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints?" I said, "No." She then asked, "Would you like to know about it?" I said, "No thanks."

In the fall of 1994, I started a religious dialogue over the internet with a fellow student. She believed in Jesus Christ. I told her about my deep desire to know whether or not there is a God. Despite her best efforts, I still did not come to a knowledge of God.

My hopes of understanding life, the universe, and everything were rapidly fading away into the dust. I was losing the war that I had declared many years ago.

One day, in the summer of 1995, a powerful thought occurred to me - "It would be very sad if there is a God and I did not know about it." This thought was so simple yet it struck my soul to its very center. So deep was its impression upon me that I made a last-ditch war effort by praying to God:

"God, if you exist, please let me know. I do not want to live my life without a knowledge of your existence. For many years, I have tried very hard to find out whether or not you exist. I have been unsuccessful. Since you created me, and since I have tried my very best, it is not my fault that I do not know you. Please do not blame me. Please be merciful and make yourself manifest unto me."

In August 1995, I was training for another Chicago Marathon. Early one morning, I was running south on the same street that passed by the same high school track. It was once again about 6:40 a.m. This time, I had planned on going straight. However, I felt an "urge" to turn left and "check things out" on the track.

I turned left and started running on the track. I saw two girls that I had never before seen. As I was passing one girl, she turned her head and asked, "Have you heard of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints?" I replied, "Yes, two years ago on this track at the same time." She then asked, "Would you like to know more about the Church?" I said, "Sure."

We did not have any paper to write down my phone number, so I promised her that I would stop by the track within a few days.

That night, I not only wrote my name, address, and phone number, but also many questions about life, the universe, and everything. I put the letter in a sandwich bag to keep it dry and ran with it a few days later.

I saw the same two girls on the track. One was running while the other was stretching by the bleachers. I ran up to the girl that was stretching and said, "Hi, this is for you. Bye!" I then took off like crazy since I was rather embarrassed by the whole thing.

A few days later, the two girls called me to set up an appointment. They came to my dorm room with the letter I had written. They were nicely dressed with nametags on their dresses. Upon the nametags were written their names and "The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints." They were "sister missionaries" in their early twenties on an eighteen-month mission funded out of their own pockets.

They told me that they knew the answers to the questions raised in my letter. I thought to myself, "Right." They told me that they had a structured plan that would answer all my questions. The plan consisted of six discussions. Each discussion was an hour long and outlined the basic teachings of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints.

We agreed to have weekly meetings for the discussions. I told them about my deep desire to know and live the truth. We talked about a few other things and became acquainted with each other.

The discussions went very slowly. I was skeptical and heavily cross-examined them. At one point, I asked, "Have you been members of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints all your lives?" They said, "Yes." I then asked, "How do you know that you are not brainwashed?"

The missionaries gave me a free copy of The Book of Mormon. They assigned readings primarily from this book but also from The Holy Bible. We discussed these readings thoroughly.

They faithfully continued expounding the teachings of Jesus Christ. On one hand, their words seemed like fiction. On the other hand, I felt something "strange" - a feeling that I could not explain. The missionaries told me that this feeling was the "Spirit" or "Holy Ghost" testifying to me the truth of their words.

I did not settle for this explanation. I did not want to make any decisions about God based on such feelings. I did not want to live according to false beliefs or traditions. I wanted to know and live the truth without any doubt whatsoever.

The missionaries pointed out "Moroni's experiment," encapsulated in the Introduction to The Book of Mormon:

"We invite all men everywhere to read the Book of Mormon, to ponder in their hearts the message it contains, and then to ask God, the Eternal Father, in the name of Christ if the book is true. Those who pursue this course and ask in faith will gain a testimony of its truth and divinity by the power of the Holy Ghost."

Given my science background, Moroni's experiment was very appealing to me - after all, it is an experiment! Notice that the hypothesis consists of three conditions: read, ponder, and pray. If the conditions are met, the conclusion will follow - that is, the truth and divinity of the book will be made manifest by the power of the Holy Ghost.

So far, I had satisfied only two conditions in the spiritual experiment - reading and pondering The Book of Mormon. I had not yet started praying.

On Friday, September 1, the missionaries invited me to a party. Although I was not accustomed to parties, I accepted the invitation. The party was excellent - it was full of wholesome and constructive activities.

On Saturday, September 2, the missionaries came for another discussion. They were not alone - they brought with them a girl named Jennifer. I barely recognized her from the party the night before.

The missionaries asked me to start praying. I consented. I started praying on that Saturday and faithfully continued thereafter, thus fulfilling all the conditions in Moroni's experiment.

They gave me a pamphlet titled The Prophet Joseph Smith's Testimony. Before they left, Jennifer gave me her phone number.

Recall that I started praying faithfully on Saturday, September 2, thus fulfilling the last condition in Moroni's experiment. My prayer consisted of two parts:

"God, are you there? If so, please make yourself manifest unto me so that I may live according to your plan."

"Please help me find the perfect girl for me. I have tried without success. I do not want any type of girl - I want someone who will never leave me and whom I can trust. I have been alone for a long time and my heart has been aching. I have been patient and I am beginning to lose hope. Please help me find the perfect girl soon. I will trust you and put this matter into your hands entirely. In the name of Jesus Christ, amen."

This prayer was sincere and was offered to God with a broken heart and contrite spirit. It was the beginning of the complete fulfillment of the hypothesis in Moroni's experiment.

Afterwards, on the same day, I went to my office. Before beginning work, I logged onto the student cluster to check my e-mail. I used the "finger command" to see who was currently logged on. Laura was one such user. Although I did not know her, I had an "urge" to send her e-mail. We began writing back and forth as complete strangers.

The following Monday, I looked up Jennifer's e-mail address and sent her a short e-mail. I did not sign my name. It consisted only of a tic-tac-toe board with the message, "Hi. It's me!" Throughout the week, I "fingered" her account and based on this information, she was not checking her e-mail.

The week ended and I once again met with the missionaries on Saturday. They invited me to a Church dance that night. At first, I said, "no," since I was very shy and had never been to a dance before. They insisted so I finally said, "Maybe." They insisted further and said, "You have to be there." I asked, "Why?" They replied, "Jennifer wants you to be there. Why don't you call her?"

I called Jennifer a few hours before the dance. She was excited and said in a loud voice, "Come!"

I went to the dance and sat on a couch by myself. After a few minutes, Jennifer arrived and came directly to me. She asked, "I haven't eaten yet. I am going to grab something quick to eat. Do you want to come with me?" I said, "Yes."

On our way back to the dance, Jennifer asked, "I haven't checked my e-mail in a long time. Is it okay if we make a quick stop at the computer center?" I nervously said, "Yes." Recall that I had sent her an "anonymous" e-mail earlier that week. I quietly sat next to her as she read her e-mails. She finally came to my e-mail. She immediately looked at me and asked, "That's you, isn't it?"

We went back to the dance and had a lot of fun. We danced with each other most of the time and got along very well. We did a lot of crazy things - at one point, she was lying on the dance floor because she was so dizzy!

That night, Jennifer told me something really interesting about M&M's and dating. I did not understand what she said, but I left the dance with the impression that when a boy likes a girl, he should give her M&M's.

Recall that Laura and I were writing back and forth over the internet as complete strangers ever since the day I started praying. Who was this mystery girl?

Laura told me that she was an oboe player. Jennifer was also an oboe player. A week later, it struck me that Jennifer and Laura might actually know each other. This was bizarre - yet another "coincidence" in the "string of coincidences." However, as a scientist, I did not let my guard down so easily. I was determined to conduct an "official investigation" into these matters.

I asked Laura a lot of questions. What I learned was astonishing! They had the same major - music. They played the same instrument - oboe. They were also in the same band. There was a total of 5 students in the band and 35,000 students on campus, each with e-mail accounts on the student cluster.

The probability of such a neat "coincidence" was extremely low. Nevertheless, I still wanted further evidence. I had Laura promise not to tell Jennifer about me or about our communications since I wanted to track Jennifer's behavior in an unbiased way.

"When Jennifer and I do things together, are we actually dating? Or are we just friends?" I prayed to find the answer to this question.

A few days later, while Jennifer was giving me a ride home from Church, she said, "I told a guy that I am dating you and he became upset since you are not a member of the Church."

I next prayed, "Lord, as you know, I am a shy creature. If all these things are true, will you please help move things along between Jennifer and me?"

A few days later, Laura broke her promise and asked Jennifer during orchestra practice whether or not she knew me. Laura did not say much else, but Jennifer finally knew that something was "up in the air." The Lord truly put our relationship on a fast track and I could no longer keep everything top secret.

Recall that Jennifer mentioned something about M&M's and dating. I was thinking about giving her M&M's, but I chickened out. Instead, I prayed, "Lord, should I give Jennifer M&M's?"

A few days later, I checked my mailbox and behold, there was a package of M&M's. There was no note whatsoever - just the M&M's. I waited by the mailboxes and found that only I had received M&M's.

I had already felt the Holy Ghost during the discussions, but I still prayed to the Lord, "What does the Holy Ghost feel like?"

A few days later, my heart felt like "pure gold" as if some substance was radiating out of it in all directions at once. At the same time, my heart was filled with pure glory and happiness. This feeling of pure joy defies description and is infinitely many times greater than any other joyous feeling in my life.

Even though I had already received a wonderful testimony, I prayed for a solid knowledge of God, Jesus Christ, and the Holy Ghost.

A short time later, I was filled with a deep inner peace that I had never before experienced. My mind was clear with a perfect knowledge of the existence of God, Jesus Christ, and the Holy Ghost.

I testify that:

• There is a God.
• Jesus Christ is the Son of God and the Savior of the World.
• The Holy Bible and The Book of Mormon are the word of God.
• Joseph Smith was a prophet.
• The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints is the one and only true Church upon this Earth in these latter days in preparation for the Second Coming of Jesus Christ.
• You may know the truth of all things by the power of the Holy Ghost.

I invite you to try the spiritual experiment with The Book of Mormon. Verily, the promises in the experiment will be fulfilled. Once again:

"We invite all men everywhere to read the Book of Mormon, to ponder in their hearts the message it contains, and then to ask God, the Eternal Father, in the name of Christ if the book is true. Those who pursue this course and ask in faith will gain a testimony of its truth and divinity by the power of the Holy Ghost."

I was baptized in The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints on October 24, 1995. A few months after my baptism, I was filled with the spirit of prophecy - yea, the Holy Ghost made known that the Lord would make himself manifest unto me nine months after my baptism.

On July 24, 1996 - nine months after my baptism and twelve years after the commencement of my search for truth - I saw my Redeemer, even Jesus Christ.