Well, I will be the first to admit that I've wished that. I've asked myself, "How do they know that with such conviction? I want to have an experience that will give me a strong experience that brings about a testimony like that." All the while that I was wishing for a strong conviction like my neighbor's testimony, I didn't realize that I already had one.
In the Book of Mormon, Alma the younger has an amazing experience where he is visited by an angel. He is struck dumb, and can't speak for days. During these few days, he experiences the pain and suffering of all his sins and the glory and relief of the atonement of Jesus Christ. In Alma 5:44-47 he says:
45 And this is not all. Do ye not suppose that I know of these things myself? Behold, I testify unto you that I do know that these things whereof I have spoken are true. And how do ye suppose that I know of their surety?
46 Behold, I say unto you they are made known unto me by the Holy Spirit of God. Behold, I have fasted and prayed many days that I might know these things of myself. And now I do know of myself that they are true; for the Lord God hath made them manifest unto me by his Holy Spirit; and this is the spirit of revelation which is in me.
47 And moreover, I say unto you that it has thus been revealed unto me, that the words which have been spoken by our fathers are true, even so according to the spirit of prophecy which is in me, which is also by the manifestation of the Spirit of God.
So after all these magnificient experiences that Alma had, the one that made the difference, that truly made his testimony was the manifestation of the Holy Ghost. As small as the feelings of the spirit may seem, I know that those feelings make all the difference in the world to me. That is how I know what I know. I haven't seen a vision. I haven't spoken with angels. But I have felt the presence of a member of the Godhead - the Holy Ghost. And I believe that is the greatest miracle of all.
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