Worlds Without Number (8)

Worlds Without Number (1) (2) (3) (4) (5) (6) (7)


Lyda would not come in this morning. After a long talk with Tom last night she had decided to talk with her friend about the church she belonged to. Tom was very interested to find out about this church. He had instructed Lyda to ask about a prophet, and twelve apostles. He wanted to know their beliefs about God, the Savior, and the Holy Ghost. He wanted to find out what they taught about faith, repentance, and baptism. He told her about many things to look for that would be similar to the beliefs and practices of his church on earth. Lyda had agreed to find out. The previous evening had been very interesting and enlightening to her. The idea that a religion on one planet would be nearly identical to a religion on another was curious. What would that mean? She agreed with Tom, that if a religion were 'true' on one planet, it ought to be essentially the same on another.

During the morning Tom spent his time studying these new scriptures the best he could. He was still struggling picking up many of the words he came across. He had to do a lot of guessing from the context what the words were.

He tried to find out if there was any mention of the birth of the Savior. He could find none whatsoever. Had he missed it? He found several examples of prophets who taught about the atonement. One even prophesied about the crucifixion. This prophet testified in such detail, that Tom had to assume that he saw the crucifixion take place. How did that happen? Was he somehow transported through time and space to be grated a view of it? Was there some method of 'playback' as if the event were recorded somewhere? Tom read the passage where the Savior visited the planet again. It read so much like what he remembered of Third Nephi in the Book of Mormon. It seemed apparent to Tom the same Christ that was born on earth was also the Savior here. Did that seem reasonable? Perhaps the people on both planets were all children of Elohim. Or maybe Christ was the Savior for all planets.

Tom then looked for a story of a flood, similar to the events experienced by Noah. He could find none. Had he missed it? His reading skills were lacking. Was a flood necessary? He had heard some speculate that the flood was like a baptism for the earth. That always seemed strange to Tom. Could a necessary flood be a future event on this planet?

Tom looked up many things. He found many answers, and many questions. Many things seemed quite clear, a few things seemed confusing. Some of his previous religious opinions had changed, some became stronger. Overall it was a huge boost to his testimony of the gospel of Jesus Christ. The similarities between these scriptures and what he had on earth served to reinforce each other. And Tom made a commitment never to take his religious beliefs for granted again. He decided to pray.

He kneeled by his bed and began his prayer. Tom had never prayed quite like this before. It was a prayer of praise. His thoughts soared as he spoke of the greatness of God. His works have no end. All we have is his. Who can know the extent of his kingdoms, powers, and glories? Worlds without number! An image of God filled his mind. The image was similar to paintings he had seen, yet it was quite unique. He felt the complete acceptance of God. He received a forgiveness of his sins. He felt encircled by the arms of his love. A love that was shared by numberless children, on countless planets, throughout the immensity of space. He basked in the spirit of the moment for several minutes. Then the image changed. It was Lyda. She was dressed all in white and looking even more happy and pleasant than she usually did. Tom did not want to go back to earth. He wanted to stay here, with Lyda. Would she feel the same? The ship was quite capable of returning to earth without Tom. It was programmed to do so automatically after a long period of time. He could send all the information gathered. Who would care if he did not return? There was nobody for him there. Tom felt so right about this. Would Lyda feel the same way? His mind was wandering now, and he closed his prayer.

Lyda had said she would try to come back in the afternoon, depending on how the visit with here friend went. Tom could hardly stand it. He paced the room. His thoughts were of Lyda, of staying on this planet, and wondering how Lyda felt about him. She appeared several years younger than he was. Tom's age was a bit ambiguous. It was hard to say how old he was. As old as he felt he supposed. What would she see in him? If Lyda could not return his love, he may as well go back to earth. If she did, he simply would not return. He just needed to find out.

Finally a knock came at the door, and in came Lyda. She looked more serious than she normally did. Tom asked how it went. She told him that everything was just as he had said. A prophet, apostles, faith, repentance, baptism by immersion, priesthood, Father, Son, and Holy Ghost. Everything was in place. She then got even more serious.

'Tom, I want to get baptized'.

'That's wonderful!' Tom exclaimed, and ran to Lyda and embraced her tight. She embraced him back. This was a good sign. Very good.