My Conversion to the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints
Let me tell you about how I came to Mormonism. For starters, I was born into the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints also commonly known as Mormons or the LDS Church. I am a fifth-generation member of the church, so you would think that would make me a member, yes and no.
At eight years old I was baptized a member of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints and my family attended church regularly while I was a kid. So we were, in fact, members of the church, but around age eight my parents got divorced and each eventually stopped attending. As a result, my siblings and I stopped attending or rarely attended church since there was no parental influence.
The Power of Positive Influence
Time passed and I was in high school. Growing up in Provo, Utah meant that a majority of the population are members of the Church of Jesus Christ. As a result, all of my friends were members. Seminary is the church’s religious education program offered to high school students where they can go and learn the gospel during the week. In most places around the world, the kids get up early before school and meet at the local chapel or at a church member’s home.
In Provo and other places with a high populous of church membership, the Church will build a seminary building adjacent to the high school enabling the kids to conveniently attend. The school district where I attended even allows for a class period each day to attend seminary.
Back to my friends. Being the good friends they were, they would encourage me to sign up for seminary. My attitude was, “Meh! why would I want to go to church, especially on a weekday?” One would think that an easy excuse to get out of class would be reason enough…
My best friend with whom I was inseparable was going to be taking seminary after school during our sophomore year, so I finally thought, “What the heck, I’ll take seminary with him since I won’t have anybody to play with while he is in class.”
The Power of the Spirit
The seminary class was different from the other high school classes I had taken. We began class with a prayer and a hymn then we spent the class period learning from the scriptures. There was something about the class that I liked and I was hooked. I started attending church again and going to the church’s young men’s activities. I continued to enroll in the after-school seminary for the remainder of my high school years because of that feeling I had when I was there.
That feeling I would at some point learn is the Holy Ghost or also commonly known as the Spirit. The Holy Ghost is a member of the Godhead whose function is to be a witness of God and of truth. The Holy Ghost is the whispering we hear or feel to guide and direct us in truth. What I was hearing in those seminary classes was the truth and God was bearing witness to it through the Holy Ghost to my young heart.
So, yes and no. Though I was a member of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints from my birth and baptism, it wasn’t until I began my conversion to the gospel that I believe I actually became a real member and believer in Jesus Christ. I will always be grateful for the encouragement (or peer pressure) from my friends to come to Christ and the positive direction it has taken me.
Photo Credit: Dallas Golden