My Path to the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints

Let me share how I truly came to embrace the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints.

For starters, I was born into the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints— commonly known as the LDS Church or Mormonism.  I am a fifth-generation member, 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 regularly attended services.  But around age eight my parents got divorced and each eventually stopped attending church.   Without their influence, my siblings and I rarely, if ever, went.

The Power of Positive Influence

Years passed and I entered high school.  Growing up in Provo, Utah, meant that a majority of my friends were members of the Church of Jesus Christ.  The church offers a religious education program called seminary, where high school can study the gospel during the school week.  In most places, students meet early in the morning before school at the local chapel or at a church member’s home.  However, in areas with a large LDS population, such as Provo, seminary buildings are often built next to high schools, allowing students to take seminary as part of their schedule.

My friends, always looking out for me, often encourage me to sign up for seminary.  My attitude was, “Meh! why would I want to go to church, especially on a weekday?”  You’d think the chance to skip regular class would have been reason enough, but I wasn’t convinced.

Then, before sophomore year, my best friend– the one I was practically inseparable from–decided to take seminary after school.  not wanting to be left with nothing to do while he was in class, I finally thought, “What the heck, I’ll take seminary with him. At least I won’t be bored.”

Little did I know, that decision would change everything.

The Power of the Spirit

The seminary class was unlike any other high school class I had taken.  We began class with a prayer and a hymn, then spent the class 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 after-school seminary for the remainder of my high school years because of that feeling I had when I was there.

Over time, I came to understand that the feeling I experienced was the influence of the Holy Ghost— also known as the Spirit.  The Holy Ghost is a member of the Godhead who serves as a witness of God and of truth.  It is the quiet whisper, the nudge in our hearts, guiding and direct us toward what is right.  What I was hearing in seminary was truth, and God was bearing witness to it through the Holy Ghost to my young heart.

So, was I a member of the Church? Yes and No. While I had been baptized into the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints as a child, my true conversion didn’t begin until I actively sought the gospel for myself.  That was when I became more than just a name on the records– I became a believer in Jesus Christ.

I will always be grateful for the encouragement (or perhaps the gentle peer pressure) from my friends that led me to Christ and set me on a path that changed my life.

Photo Credit: Dallas Golden