I am Mormon

I am Mormon…I prefer to call myself LDS. I belong to The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints.



Here’s my story,



I had Mormon friends in high school; I had Mormon boyfriends in high school. They were all interesting. It wasn’t that they were weird or different! It was that they all went to church every Sunday…they went to church in the morning before school. They went to church on a weekday night. One of my friends even read the Book of Mormon on a school retreat and trip. They didn’t drink coffee so when we went to human bean at lunch or after school they would order hot chocolate or an Italian soda. They had parties but they were parties without alcohol (or drugs) and there wasn’t a “make-out room”. They loved to talk about what they believed. I was curious, but I was also very shy in high school.



It is true that I married into a Mormon family. That doesn’t automatically make me Mormon. In fact, when I married Cole, he wasn’t going to church, at all. He was in-active. he actually hadn’t been in quite some time except for the occasional Sunday when we would tag along for an hour or so to ease my curiosity and to please his parents. An hour here and an hour there, didn’t do much to help ease my curiosity. In fact it made me more curious…I wanted to know what they believed. I wanted to know what the Book of Mormon was all about. I wanted to know why they didn’t drink that coffee and why families were so important to them.



A few days after Cole and I were married, I eased that curiosity by speaking to the missionaries…yes, those young guys that knock on doors….and if truth be told, most of them are some of the best people you will ever meet! They willingly (they aren’t forced), go on 2 year missions to almost anywhere in the world. They are not paid by the church; in fact they pay for these missions either by themselves or with the help of their family.



I meet them at the church with Cole. It was very low key. We looked at some pictures in the hallways. I had never seen any pictures like them. Almost every picture had Christ in it. They were the story of his life and how he blessed so many. After we finished walking through the building we talked about Cole and I and what our desires were for the future. We talked about the kids we wanted and the schooling we planned to finish. When we were finished they asked me to go home and read a scripture with Cole. They asked me to pray about it. We scheduled an appointment for the next week and parted ways. When we got home, Cole and I opened his scriptures and we read the following verse:



3 Behold, I would exhort you that when ye shall read these things, if it be wisdom in God that ye should read them, that ye would remember how merciful the Lord hath been unto the children of men, from the creation of Adam even down until the time that ye shall receive these things, and ponder it in your hearts.



4 And when ye shall receive these things, I would exhort you that ye would ask God, the Eternal Father, in the name of Christ, if these things are not true; and if ye shall ask with a sincere heart, with real intent, having faith in Christ, he will manifest the truth of it unto you, by the power of the Holy Ghost.



5 And by the power of the Holy Ghost ye may know the truth of all things.
Moroni 10:3-5

Then we prayed. I can honestly say that it was then that I knew the church was true. It’s hard to describe the comfort I felt, but I remember the warm feeling I received and the tears that ran down my cheeks. I had this over-whelming sense of understanding and encouragement. I was overcome with emotion. I lay in bed that night for hours, excited about the new step I was going to embark on and the things I would learn.



The next week we met with the missionaries again. I started what is called the missionary discussions. It is a series of meetings designated to teach the basic principles of the gospel as well as address any concerns or questions one might have. The discussions took about an hour each. In each lesson we studied from both the Bible and the Book of Mormon. I was taught about prayer and how Heavenly Father hears and answers our prayers. I was taught about the Plan of Salvation which explains our purpose here on earth, where we come from and where we go. I was taught about the covenants that we make at baptism such as promising to mourn with those that are mourning, comforting those that need comfort, and standing as a witness of God at all times, in all things and in all places and how these commandments pertain to my life. I was taught the word of wisdom and how that pertained to my life. I learned a great deal about Jesus Christ and the sacrifice he made for us. I learned that the Atonement is not just for the sinner but also for those that have been sinned against, those that may be in pain or suffering in any way shape or form. I learned that Heavenly Father and Jesus Christ love each and every one of use no matter what.



After four weeks of thorough study, discussions and prayer, I was baptized on
November 19, 2005.