When Alberto C. Bulseco made the decision to be baptized, he know it might mean the end of his marriage. But "I had feared God all my life," he says. "I could not reject that which I knew was true."
Alberto, who would later become president of the Sorsogon District of the Philippines Cebu East Mission, had been looking for the true church for most of his life. He first heard about the restored gospel during his summer vacation in 1980. "We stopped at the boardinghouse of my brother, who was then studying in manila, to take a rest before proceeding further north [to where his parents lived]. I have two brothers,and we're very close. Whenever we meet, it has been our practice to discuss scriptures from the Bible and also to talk about religion. Since childhood we have been dissatisfied with the religion our parents taught.''
His brother said Mormon missionaries were coming to their boardinghouse to visit one of the other residents. Alberto remembered reading about the Mormons in the past and knew they believed in an ancient, but progressive, civilization. As it happened, the person the missionaries were supposed to visit was not interested, so the two brothers entertained them instead.
The elders, one an American and the other a Fiipino, started by teaching the young men to pray. Alberto offered the opening. When he finished, the American missionary began explaining more about prayer, but Alberto's attention was drawn to a blue book half hidden under the Filipino elder's arm.
"I was curious," he recalls. "I interrupted the missionary and asked what the book was. They were somewhat hesitant to tell me, but i strongly felt that it had something to do with their belief." He askd for the book, promising to read it. The missionaries continued to stall, so Alberto insisted that he recieve a copy and swore he would read it. The elders then gave him the book and explained a little about it before continuing their discusiion.
That discussion largely went unheeded. "The next things they said were no longer important to me. I felt that this book would tell me all I needed to know from them. My enthusiasm to begin reading the Book of Mormon was so intense that I wanted to cut short my vacation."
When he and his wife and child returned home, he finally had time to read. As he opened the book, he felt some power in it that caused his fingers to tremble. "A marvelous feeling engulfed me as I read every line. I often had to repeat the words and verses just to savor the sweet and satisfying feeling that came from them. my inspiration in reading the Book of Mormon was very unusual. I almost never got tired and hungry. To eat was a burden. I woke up during the middle of the night just to read it."
No other book had caused him to weep as the Book of Mormon did. It seemed to quench his soul's thirst for spiritual truth. A month after starting it, he finished reading the book and wanted to be baptized. the missionaries in Manila had taken down his name and address and had promised to have other missionaries visit him. However, none had knocked on his door.
Finally, Alberto went searching for the missionaries. When he found them, he told them he wanted to be baptized. They were so surprised they thought Alberto was joking. But when Alberto testified of the truth of the Book mo Mormon, the missionaries realized he was sincere. They began teaching him the discussions. His wife persecuted him for studying and threatened to leave him. But he said only God could stop him from being baptized.
On August 5, 1980, Alberto was baptized. "I felt a fulfillment I had never felt in my life," he said. two years later his wife joined the Church, and they and their four children been sealed in the temple. His parents, brothers, and one sister also have been converted. All these blessings he attributes to a faith kindled from reading the Book of Mormon.
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