“I grew up a member of the church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints. My dad is a convert, and my mom grew up in the Church only through the help of angels. My parents raised me to work hard and love God.
As a teenager my family moved and that rocked my world. Starting a new school in junior high is brutal. I found that the stoners were the only ones accepting “newbies” and I begun to hang out with them. Slowly, the want of being accepted became stronger than my beliefs. I lowered my standards to fit in.
I never doubted my faith in Jesus Christ but I sure did let him down. During this time, I attended early morning Seminary at 5:00am Monday-Friday. I went to church every Sunday (feeling like a hypocrite). In time (about 3 yrs. later), the want “to be happy”, became greater than the want to be popular or to fit in. By this time, I had made my way to “the popular group” and loved my friends. But many of the activities we participated in were not in line with what I believed or even my friends believed. So, I decided to change.
I eventually stopped hanging out with most of them, which made me really sad and I felt very lonely. I just couldn’t keep putting myself in a position to be tempted to make bad choices.
During this time, I clung to God, a really great friend that went to the same church as me and had the same beliefs, and my Aunt who is a member of our church. Every day after school I’d go to my Aunt’s and she would be there to uplift and encourage me to keep going. She called it “my filling station”.
After high school my friend and I went off to college. We had a great time and by now we were more than just friends. We were at a point of getting married. However, something was stopping us. He had not served a mission yet. I knew that he had always wanted to, and since we were together, he didn’t want to leave me.
A few more years passed. I was 21 years old. I said to him, “We either get married or serve missions, because we’ve farted around too long”. We cleaned up our act, repented of our transgressions and both served missions for our Savior.
As I prepared to leave, I did some serious soul searching and prayed to know if what I was about to preach and teach was actually true, and have the strength and courage to be away from my boyfriend for 2 years. For me that was the ultimate sacrifice. To give up something great now for something far greater in the future.
I am so grateful that I made the decision to serve a mission. My life now is directly blessed from serving then. There were many miracles I witnessed, and blessings I received and continue to receive from serving. What I thought was a sacrifice, ended up being the biggest blessing in my life.
I Know God is real. I know that he lives and loves us, and is aware of us and each of our needs and wants. He wants us to come to him. He is always there, even when you feel he’s not. I know that The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints is God’s church. It’s the Church Christ established when he dwelt on this earth. I know the Book of Mormon is the word of God and has undeniable power. It has the power to heal, answer prayers, change people’s lives. I know that living the teachings of the gospel will bring happiness. Happiness that money can’t buy.
I know that if there is any doubt, or question you have, you can take it to God in prayer and he will tell you what you need to know. It may not be what you want, but it will be what you need.
One of my favorite quotes that I live by is, “Do today what others won’t, so you can stand tomorrow where others can’t.” You’re in charge of your own happiness, but that happiness only comes when you put God first.”
I Am Converted 