My Own Bible

by Sonia Bellorin

I needed a book. The Lord sent a mother and a baby.

From the time I was a young girl I wanted a Bible of my own. But it wasn’t until I became a member of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints and felt a great need to get to know my Savior that I promised to buy a Bible the next chance I had.

The Church was new in my area in Venezuela, and orders for books could only be filled when someone traveled in person to mission headquarters. My branch president, who was a full-time missionary, was aware of my need. One day he told me that he would be traveling to the mission office in three days. I explained to him that even though the Bible cost very little money, at that moment I did not have it. I told him I would get it before he left, and he agreed to stop by my home on his way to the mission office.

The day of his trip arrived and I still did not have the money, so I appealed to the Lord in prayer. When I finished praying, my worry disappeared and I felt a great peace. I had barely risen from my knees when someone knocked at the door. I opened it and saw a young mother with a baby in her arms.

“I live just behind your house,” she said with a smile. “I don’t know you, but I need a favor, and for some reason I decided to come here.” She asked me to watch her baby for a short time, saying she would pay me. I agreed to do it.

By the time she returned, I had decided that I wouldn’t take her money. But she insisted and placed in my hand the exact amount I needed for the Bible. What tender emotions I felt at that moment! I knew that the Lord had answered my prayer.

Illustrated by Clane Graves