Good Fruit

I read this article not too long ago, but I have thought of it often since then. It is from the October 2008 Ensign.

Norman Kamosi escaped from his French-speaking homeland in 1997, now known as the Democratic Republic of the Congo. At the time, he was a member of that nation’s Congress and a successful executive with the national airline. But following a regime change, Brother Kamosi’s life was suddenly in jeopardy. He fled with his family to Zambia, and they eventually made their way to the United States, settling in the nation’s capital in 1999.

“I lost everything overnight—homes, cows, cars, a swimming pool, money in the bank,” he says. “We took nothing.”

But soon after they arrived from Zambia with their three children—Erica, Jason, and Kimberly—Erica ordered a copy of the Church movie The Lamb of God, which she heard about on television. When the full-time missionaries came to deliver the movie, Jenke did not want to talk to them and tried to ignore their persistent knocking.

Norman and Jenke had been baptized into Christian churches, but both were searching for what they felt was missing from their lives and from the teachings of the churches they had attended. “When the missionaries started to teach, the Spirit was so strong that we wanted to hear more of it,” Jenke says. “It was like they were opening up a new way. They were giving us information that was missing from our lives, and now we were getting it, so we listened.”

"It wasn’t long, however, before Norman and Jenke began hearing negative things about the Church.

“In Africa we have an expression,” Norman says. “When you see people throwing stones at the mango tree, you know they are doing so because the tree is bearing good fruit. So I said to myself, ‘Since people are criticizing the Church, it must have something special, something good.’ I said, ‘We have to investigate the Church. Something good is in there.’”

Like the fruit of the mango tree, the fruit of the teachings of the restored gospel tasted good to the Kamosis. In particular, the plan of salvation and the eternal nature and importance of the family enlightened their understanding and became “delicious to [them]” (Alma 32:28). They were also touched by the love they felt from Church members, who welcomed them and helped them during difficult financial times.

As they considered baptism, both Norman and Jenke received confirming witnesses from the Spirit that they should join the Church. Jenke’s answer came through the fulfillment of a dream. Norman’s answer came while pondering, praying, and walking the grounds of the Washington D.C. Temple with his family and the missionaries.

Because of their knowledge of the plan of salvation, Norman and Jenke feel more prepared to cope with life’s challenges.

“When I joined the Church, I said, ‘Oh, I see now.’ I lost the fear I once had about death because of what I was taught about the plan of salvation, being sealed together, and meeting again with my family,” Jenke says. “That’s what was missing.

“I found love, and I found service,” Norman says. “Through service, you can feel the spirit of love gathering you, just as Jesus taught. After my baptism, I forgot about my misery. I forgot that I had lost all my belongings and all my wealth. I found something more valuable—the Church.”