SEVEN

“I have always believed in God, but I never really did much to put my faith in action before I started learning about the restored gospel of Jesus Christ. I was not actively seeking to find a church or to grow spiritually; however, the Lord reached out to me through a good friend. I was 16 years old at the time. My friend asked me to go to church with him, and although I initially refused to do so, I ended up going and having a great time. The members were welcoming, I enjoyed the talks during sacrament meeting, and I learned a lot in the classes that followed.

I started going every Sunday with my friend and his family and I started to meet with the missionaries soon after. I was very excited to learn from the missionaries! I would annotate the chapters from the Book of Mormon that they asked me to study and I would show them my notes, which surprised them. After two weeks of meeting with the missionaries, they felt that I was ready to be baptized, but I felt like that was too soon. I hadn’t come to accept that Joseph Smith was a prophet. I felt good about almost everything else, but I hadn’t developed a testimony of that. However, when I went to the Visitor’s Center to watch The Prophet of the Restoration, I felt the Spirit and I decided that I would be baptized.

I continued to meet with the elders, I attended church every Sunday, and I was baptized on July 5, 2009.This was right before my senior year of high school, so I got to attend seminary that year. We studied the Book of Mormon, and I was grateful to be able to learn more about it and strengthen my testimony. However, it wasn’t an easy experience. I didn’t have a ride to seminary, so I would wake up an hour and a half before class, get ready, and ride my bike 7 miles every morning to attend. When the weather got bad, two members offered to give me a ride. I loved going to seminary, I learned a lot.

I am grateful for the many blessings and experiences I’ve had during my 11 years as a member. I have come to know my true identity and purpose, which motivates me to keep pressing forward on the path of righteousness with my brothers and sisters in Christ. I hope to endure to the end and return to live with my Heavenly and my Savior one day.”