Cecelia Peek Story (From a Talk given Nov 9th 2010 at BYU)

This is just a short paraphrase of her story which took about 30 minutes to tell. Sis Peek is now a BYU Professor of Classics and Ancient History, married and the mother of 4 children. The talk is entitled, "Yea. They May Forget, Yet I Will Not Forget Thee."

Many details of this story have been eliminated in order to save space. For those who want the full and complete account, I would refer you to the BYU Campus Devotionals at BYU/TV.org.

Sis Peek stated that when she was in high school, she knew that she wanted to serve a full time mission and believed that she would be sent to Germany and, in fact, was sent there.

When she arrived at the Frankfurt Germany Mission, she felt impelled to discover whether Cologne, Germany was part of her mission and indeed it was. It was at that point that she knew something important waited for her there, but she did not know what.

Her missionary companion said there were some family members of friends she had known in another part of Germany and that they should go to Cologne and visit them. Their last name was Moss. They did so several times on a street called Ruine Strasse, in a city of well over a million people, but the family was not home, despite visiting at various times of the day and night.

She and her companion finally decided to give up going there but the next day; in the mail they got a referral for Cologne, once again on Ruine Strasse.

They thought this was an unusual coincidence and discovered that the people of the referral were no longer interested and rather forcefully evicted them from their residence. Details of this departure were not remembered except that it involved a broom.

Since they were in the area, they tried the Moss family again, but they were not home. Once again the sister missionaries returned to their apartment but again, the next day, got another referral for another family on Ruine Strasse in Cologne only to discover that the referral had since moved to Israel. Yet again they returned to the Moss residence and found them, this time, at home.

When Sis Peek first saw Mr. Moss she suddenly understood that she knew him very well, but she couldn’t imagine how at first. After some discussion the Moss family agreed to visit the Church the following Sunday but when Sunday came they did not show up. Sis Peek was disappointed but a short time later they got a phone call from Mr. Moss, who said there had been a death in the family and they had not been able to meet them Sunday because of it.

Mr. Moss then said, “You know what I’m feeling don’t you?” “I do,” said Sis Peek, we have known each other before, as if we made a covenant in the pre-existence that whoever was favored with the Gospel in this life would share it with the other.” “Yes,” he said, “but I am afraid to read the Book of Mormon.” “Why,” she asked. “Because, every time I pick up the Book, I feel on fire, as if the Book was burning.”

After teaching the lessons to the family they were subsequently baptized and she has never forgotten the experience. It has given her a deep conviction that the Gospel is true. God remembers each of us and we lived in the pre-existence before we came to earth.