Give The Lord Equal Time

From a CES fireside by Elder Ballard:

"Some years ago one of my missionaries came to see me.  He said: "President, I am losing my testimony.  I have some questions tha tno one will answer for me.  My bishop and stake president just told me to forget them, and they had no answers."  I asked for his questions in writing and then suggested he come to see me in 10 days, and I would answer every one of his questions. As he was leaving my office, I was prompted to ask him, “Elder, how long has it been since you have read from the scriptures?” He acknowledged that it had been a long time.

I said: “You have given me an assignment; it’s only fair that I give you one. You read at least one hour from the scriptures each day until you come back for your answers.” He agreed to do this. When he came back, I was ready. He said: “President, I don’t need the answers. I know the Book of Mormon is true. I know Joseph Smith is a prophet. I’m OK now.” I replied: “You will get your answers anyway. I worked hard on them!” All of this anti-Mormon stuff was what we were dealing with. After our discussion I asked him, “Elder, what have you learned from all of this?” And he gave me a very significant response: “I’ve learned to give the Lord equal time!”

Elder M. Russell Ballard, CES Fireside, 7 Nov 2010