Many people know that I'm a member of the Mormon church, and most know that I wasn't raised that way. I get asked a lot about when and why I did it, so I figured it's time to share.
My first year out of high school, a very attractive friend of mine left for a two year mission to Mexico for The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints (aka Mormons). When he left, he said he could write and receive letters, and he said I could get his mailing address from his mom. When I emailed her, she replied with the address, and also told me that if I had any questions to feel free to ask. Since I knew
nothing about Mormons (except that when they knock you pretend you're not home), I asked her if they're Christian, what her son was doing on a mission, if they used the Bible, what the Book of Mormon was about, and so on. The more she answered my questions, the more questions I had, so one day she said that the missionaries could answer my questions better than she could, and I agreed to have them over.
My first meeting with the missionaries: it was snowing, and they helped my sister and I put up our Christmas tree. They were super friendly, funny and kind. I asked them a bunch of questions, they answered them, they weren't pushy or awkward, and when it was time for them to leave, they asked if they could come back and answer any other questions I might come up with. I thought that sounded great!
They brought me a Book of Mormon and explained what it was--another testament of Jesus Christ, an account of the people in the Americas and Christ's ministry to them. They had me read a chapter and we discussed it, and then they asked me to pray about it in my own time. There is a verse in the Book of Mormon that says "...by the power of the Holy Ghost ye may know the truth of all things." After reading that verse, I started my prayer.
"Dear God..?"
At that moment, I felt what I could only describe as the feeling you get when you walk into a warm and toasty room after being outside in the snow: warm, tingly goosebumps.
Then I started crying, and I got confused because I wasn't sad or scared, I was just crying. I continued with my prayer.
"Is this...true...?"
And then WHOOSH, the same feeling came over me, and I cried some more. Sitting by myself.
Let's back up. I grew up Christian, and we were pretty active in our church. We kind of drifted away and drifted back, but I always believed in God. I had said a few prayers here and there, but usually only when I was in a really hard place or didn't know what to do or was really sad. I always felt better afterwards, but this feeling, this one I had never experienced in my life before, it was just so comforting.
I talked with the missionaries about it after, I didn't know if I believed what they were teaching me yet, but I definitely knew I felt something there, and that I did not want to let that go quite yet. They invited me to church and I went and I loved it! I had also continued emailing and staying in contact with my friend's mom through all of my investigating and basically until my friend came back home. His mother became a very dear friend of mine, and she helped me through a lot of my concerns, about the church as well as life in general.
From there the missionaries taught me more about how the LDS church came to be, about Joseph Smith, and some of the doctrine. The more I heard, the more right it felt. I continued to read and pray and read and pray, and then they asked me if I wanted to get baptized.
That scared me. I said no, because to actually
be a Mormon?! My family would kill me. And for most of the time that I was meeting with the missionaries, people were sending me a lot of anti-mormon things, which just made me feel very confused and doubtful.
It took about a month before I did agree to be baptized. I remember praying before going to sleep one night, and I was at the point of just wondering if there even was a god, because of all the opposition I was receiving. And then I received a very distinct impression to look at my hand, and as I looked at it I wiggled it, and then I was just smacked with a brick of awe. It sounds weird, but that was the moment I decided I wanted to be baptized, because
look at my perfect hand and all the things it can do!
My family was a bit hesitant when I told them, and it was all out of love. New things are scary, and this was a very big new thing, a very big new thing that has a lot of rumors and weird things spread around about it. It was only natural for them to have their concerns. When I got baptized, my dad came, and so did the parents of my friend that had gone on his mission. In the LDS church, you are baptized by immersion, and then later confirmed a member of the church and you receive the gift of the Holy Ghost by the laying on of hands. I was expecting everything to be a huge burst of more tingly goosebumps and enlightenment, but it was all very subtle, and just like a quiet whisper of "You made the right choice."
After my baptism, the missionaries kept meeting with me and teaching me, I continued to learn and grow and understand my purpose, and who I am and why we're all here. I learned about how important families are, I learned more and more about the love our Heavenly Father has for us. I learned about how sacred our bodies are, and how to treat them respectfully and healthily. I continued to pray and seek for guidance in my life, and I continued to receive answers and direction. I read the Book of Mormon, I continued to read the Bible, and I just felt so, I can't even describe what it was, at peace?
Fast forward to today: I've been a member of this church for about six and a half years. I've been married (to the friend that went on his mission, actually) for time and all eternity. The church is all about families, the purpose of the Temple is to link families together forever. We do our best to not put anything harmful into our bodies, which is where we have what is called the Word of Wisdom (we don't drink coffee, alcohol, black teas, take in tobacco, and we
try to eat meat sparingly and we
try to eat lots of fruits and veggies and grains). We try our hardest to keep our covenants that we make in the temple and at baptism, which all basically boil down to loving others, keeping God's commandments, and "stand[ing] as witnesses of God at all times and in all things and in all places." We believe in living prophets and apostles, who guide and direct us in the most loving of ways. We meet often, we pray often, and we're all trying our best to make it back to where we came from--to a loving Father in Heaven who is rooting for ALL of us.
Below are the Articles of Faith--basically the raw breakdown of what we believe:
"We believe in God, the Eternal Father, and in His Son, Jesus Christ, and in the Holy Ghost. We believe that men will be punished for their own sins, and not for Adam’s transgression. We believe that through the Atonement of Christ, all mankind may be saved, by obedience to the laws and ordinances of the Gospel. We believe that the first principles and ordinances of the Gospel are: first, faith in the Lord Jesus Christ; second, repentance; third, Baptism by immersion for the remission of sins; fourth, laying on of hands for the gift of the Holy Ghost. We believe that a man must be called of God, by prophecy, and by the laying on of hands by those who are in authority, to preach the Gospel and administer in the ordinances thereof. We believe in the same organization that existed in the Primitive Church, namely, apostles, prophets, pastors,teachers, evangelists, and so forth. We believe in the gift of tongues, prophecy, revelation, visions, healing, interpretation of tongues, and so forth. We believe the Bible to be the word of God as far as it is translated correctly; we also believe the Book of Mormon to be the word of God. We believe all that God has revealed, all that He does now reveal, and we believe that He will yet reveal many great and important things pertaining to the Kingdom of God. We believe in the literal gathering of Israel and in the restoration of the Ten Tribes; that Zion (the New Jerusalem) will be built upon the American continent; that Christ will reign personally upon the earth; and, that the earth will be renewed and receive its paradisiacal glory. We claim the privilege of worshiping Almighty God according to the dictates of our own conscience, and allow all men the same privilege, let them worship how, where, or what they may. We believe in being subject to kings, presidents, rulers, and magistrates, in obeying, honoring, and sustaining the law. We believe in being honest, true, chaste, benevolent, virtuous, and in doing good to all men; indeed, we may say that we follow the admonition of Paul—We believe all things, we hope all things, we have endured many things, and hope to be able to endure all things. If there is anything virtuous, lovely, or of good report or praiseworthy, we seek after these things."
This church, this gospel, the Book of Mormon, all of it, has proven it's truth to me time and time again. I believe it with every fiber of my being. It has brought me closer to God, to Christ, to my family, to my friends; it is the reason I am who I am today. It is the reason I have hope when I am in a sad dark place. It is the reason I feel comforted when loved ones die. It is the reason I try my best to be loving and kind towards all. It is the reason I have an amazing marriage. It is the reason I feel comfort when life feels like it's spinning out of control.
It is the reason that I am a Mormon.
