Rick Hall — A Soldier's Covenant Prayer Answered Within a Week; Powerful Witness of the Book of Mormon (1981)

Rick Hall's conversion to The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints began with a desperate prayer in an Army barracks in Germany and was answered with miraculous precision.

In the summer of 1981, Rick joined the United States Army and was assigned to a Pershing Missile Battalion in Heilbronn, Germany. He had grown up Baptist but had drifted from the standards of his upbringing. One night, alone in the barracks, he opened his Bible to Psalm 51. As he read the penitential psalm, he was struck by the need to change his life. He knelt with the Bible open and made a covenant with Heavenly Father: "If You would open my eyes and help me understand the Bible and show me what's there that I can't see because of my sin and the way I was living my life, I would change my life and dedicate to becoming a better person." He specifically asked, "Open my eyes and take these things away so I can see and understand and know how to be a better person, how to be a better Christian."

Unbeknownst to Rick, one of his roommates — a man named Mark who had joined the unit about a month earlier — was a returned missionary. Mark had never said anything about the Church. But within a week of Rick's covenant prayer, Mark asked him if he would be interested in reading a book of scripture called the Book of Mormon. Rick, raised by good Christian parents who taught him to be open and accepting, accepted the challenge.

As he read the Book of Mormon, Rick was amazed by its simplicity, its truthfulness, and the warmth he felt. The thing that impressed him most was how the book talked about the Savior. He had a strong testimony of Jesus Christ. When he came to 3 Nephi 17:20–22 — the account of the Savior weeping as He blessed the little Nephite children — Rick received such a powerful testimony from the Holy Ghost that he knew, by the way he had been brought up to understand the Savior, "that no book could portray my Savior like that and not be true." He said, "It's still hard for me to talk about today because it was such a powerful experience."

Rick told his roommate he believed the Book of Mormon was true and wanted to take the discussions and become a member of the Church. Mark pestered him to pray about it (Moroni's promise). Rick finally did — and the answer he received was almost a rebuke: "You already know it's true. You've already received a witness. Why are you asking me again?"

Rick Hall's conversion is remarkable for several divine elements:

— The covenant prayer was answered within a week. Rick prayed for God to "open his eyes" and show him the truth, and within days, a returned missionary — who had never before mentioned the Church — invited him to read the Book of Mormon. The timing was a clear instance of divine orchestration.

— The witness of the Holy Ghost was unmistakable. While reading 3 Nephi 17, Rick received a testimony so powerful that he knew the Book of Mormon was true by the very way it portrayed the Savior. He did not need to pray to know it was true — the witness had already come.

— When Rick did pray, the answer was a divine rebuke. God confirmed that the witness had already been given and that Rick's further asking was unnecessary. This is a powerful example of the Lord's promise that those who ask "with a sincere heart, with real intent" will receive an answer.

Rick was the only member of his family to join the Church. Over the years, they saw what the gospel had done for him. He testified: "I'm grateful for the prophet Joseph Smith. The Lord was able to restore so many truthful doctrines through him. I'm grateful for a living prophet on the earth today. And most of all, I'm grateful for my membership in the Church."