08/20/2025
Two missionaries in Munich, Germany, knocked on an old wooden door. The lady of the house said something to them that they had not heard in a long time; she said, "Come in!" One of the elders was so startled at her enthusiasm that he quipped, "Do you know who we are?"
She said, "You want to talk about religion, don't you?"
He said, 'Yes, we do!"
She said, "Oh, come in! I've been watching you walk around the neighborhood. I'm so excited to have you here! Please, come into my study."
In the study she sat down behind a large desk and considered the missionaries with a faint smile. Then she pointed to the three doctoral degrees hanging over her head: one in theology, the study of religion; one in philosophy, the study of ideas; and one in European history, specializing in Christianity.
"You see the row books right here?" The missionaries viewed a well-displayed set of books. "I wrote them all. I am the theology professor at the University of Munich and have been doing this for forty-one years. I would love to talk about religion." Then, almost rubbing her hands together, she asked, "what would you like to discuss?"
The young missionary, seeking inspiration, replied, "We would like to talk about the Book of Mormon."
"I don't know anything about the Book of Mormon."
"Good!"
Twenty minutes later the elders walked out of the room, having presented her a Book of Mormon. Some weeks later the same lady was in a small room filled with people dressed in white.
The well-known theology professor stood up in front of the small congregation of people and said, "Before I am baptized today, I would like to tell you my feelings. In Amos 8:11, it says there will be a famine in the last days. Not a famine of food or drink, but a famine of the word of God. I have been in that famine for over seventy years. Why do you think I have three Ph.D.'s? I have been hungering for the truth and striving to find it, but I have not been satisfied." She went on to say, "But then a few weeks ago two young men walked into my home. I want you to know that these elders are very nice and wonderful young men, but they did not convert me. They couldn't. They didn't know enough." Then she smiled and said, "But since that day they came to my door, I have read the Book of Mormon, the Doctrine and Covenants, the Pearl of Great Price, all of James E. Talmage's writings, Evidences and Reconciliations by John A. Widtsoe and twenty-one other volumes of Church doctrine."
She then stated, "I don't think you members of the Church realize what you have." Then in her quiet, powerful way, she said, "After years of studying philosophy, I have picked up the Doctrine and Covenants and read a few little verses that answered some of the greatest questions that Aristotle and Socrates proposed years ago. When I read those verses, I wept for the years I studied without the foundation of truth. I don't know why I had to wait so long, but I know I will never take these magnificent teachings lightly."
Again she said, "I don't think you members know what you have. Do you understand that the world is in famine? Do you know that the world is starving for what we have? I have been like a starving person being led to a feast. Over the past few weeks, I have been able to feast in a way I've never known possible before."
After delivering her powerful message and challenging questions, she ended her testimony with her favorite scripture: "For don't you see? 'The truth shall make you free' (John 8:32). These missionaries do not simply represent membership in the Church; they carry within their hands the power to make the atonement of Jesus Christ a full force in my life. Today I am going in the water and I am going to make covenants with Christ for the first time with the proper authority. I have wanted to do this all my life."
From 'The Best of EFY' 2003 - Your Divine Design by Scott Anderson Pages 50-52.
Have you ever experienced a famine of truth in your life? What was it like?, how did you overcome that?
