My first memory of the Church was as a child.. I remember those feel good
commericals with the brought to you by at the end.. I had no idea what a Mormon was, although I am sure I asked.
My mother is a Catholic and father claimed he was a Baptist, although I dont think he ever stepped foot in a Baptist church. My mom took us to church but I really didnt connect.. I learned so very little and we were never encouraged to read scriptures and such at home. Church was a hour on Sunday and that was about it, as far as being incorporated in our lives.
As I became a young teen I outright refused to continiue to go to church. I just didnt see the point. I wasnt getting anything out of it and my family had fallen apart. Some may say I was an Atheist, but I didnt even give it that much thought.
As I got older, I really dont know when or how, but I did have this idea that we had some overseeing power. I guess its the "there's no Atheist in a foxhole" idea. I just didnt know what it was. I studied Paganism and was quite intrigued. I really liked alot of the customs and tradions, but I just didnt feel they were complete. I still agree with many of them as they do apply to the Gospel.
On Sept 11 2001, everything I had ever thought changed. My understanding of history, or lack thereof, was first.. I realized how little I knew about anything. Joe and I started listening more to talk radio.. One of the hosts put a big emphasis on family. He talked about things like Family Night, Food Storage, etc. We began to incorporate these things into our own lives.
Around this same time we met a lady in our homeschool group who was LDS. She invited us to church on many occasions. We wanted to go but never did. One afternoon we found ourselves in the parking lot of the Church. We debated for about 10 minutes who was going to go inside and get information. Neitehr of us went in.
The said radio host continued to talk about how his family investigated churches trying to find "the one". We at that point knew he was a Mormon, and we didnt want to join becasue of that reason alone. It didnt feel genuine.
We talked about doing the same church investigation but never really did.. We attended church here and there and never felt comfortable. Nothing really stuck with us. We never felt at home.
It had been a year or more after we had last attended Church.. In late March 2008 Jehovas Witness' came to our door. As with anyone who wants to talk Joe invited them in and they talked. They stayed for probably an hour. A few days later they came back and we talked more. They invited us to Church that Sunday and we went. The sermon was, lets just say odd.. and after was a lunch prepared for us specifially. We were gracious, but uncomfortable. As we got in the car to leave, we gave each other the same look. We are not gonna go back there.
That evening and on thru the week we looked up the LDS church online.We realized there was so much that made sense to us. I believe it was Wednesday Joe called the church to find out what we need to do to attend on Sunday.
We showed up and sat in the front row. We were a bit taken aback by the three hours but by then end of it we knew this is where we were to be. The spirit spoke so strongly to us that day, not just to Joe and I but the kids as well. We asked to be baptized. We began taking missionary discussions and contined to attend church. On May 9th Joe and I were baptized.
It was two years ago this week that we truly discovered the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints. I am so ever grateful for the Gospel. It has greatly blessed my family with the knoweledge we need.
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