here’s the picture of me, my grandma, and my cousin ~S (i mention them in my conversion story because they were key to this turning point experience).
this was the main reason i ever started a blog/journal. i wanted to share my conversion story and to thank the youth leaders from my youth.
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21apr2007
my conversion story — and a thank you letter to the youth leaders who impacted my life
thank you for planting seeds in me when i was a youth. you impacted my young life, but it took almost 20 years later for me to realize this. “i believe that everyone who shares their story can give hope and understanding to another” (quote by michelle-a).
i wrote this letter below to thank six of my youth leaders from when i was a youth, but after writing the letter, i found out that three of their emails are not current and nobody from my mom’s old ward (aka my childhood ward) knows any new address for them. so unfortunately, i can not send this letter to the three. oh, i wish i could. since i can’t send this to them, i wanted to still share this here in my blog journal. and if an address is discovered for them later, i will have this copy, so i will be able to send this hopefully someday.
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here goes …
sister ________ — greetings from anchorage alaska from sister _______ _______ _______. i asked my mom to acquire your address for me and this is what she sent. hope you and your family are doing just great.
i wanted to tell you something. first, thank you so much for having a profound effect on my life when i was a youth.
on 01May2005, almost two years ago, i chose our church. i had spent most of my adult life prior to that week searching for a religion (many different churches) for me and my family, but never found what i guess felt just right. so, i never joined any of the other churches we visited over the years. i visiting my grandmother in california and at a family gathering sat 30apr2005, i met a woman ST who married one of my cousins many years ago. when i met her, i immediately felt like “wow, this woman is lit up like a lighthouse,”
… i literally felt drawn to her … i really liked the energy and happiness that poured from her and i knew immediately that i wanted to talk with her that night. i didn’t care what we talked about, i just wanted to be around her. within a few minutes though, she asked me, “so are you LDS?” honestly, this wasn’t something i had wanted to talk to anybody with for years (since i left home at 18 years old), but i wanted to talk with her, so willingly engaged in about a 2 hour conversation. this was much more than an awesome moment — this was the beginning of a life changing moment. she asked me so many questions about my upbringing in the church and she told me so many things and questions that just got my attention, just got to me and pierced me. before she left that night, she said “you have a testimony and i would not be surprised if before a year is out, that you have come back to our church.” i thought she was crazy to say this, thought no way, couldn’t happen. the next morning was sunday and i always have this rule when you are visiting people, you go with them to whatever religion they go. maybe this conversation with ST was exactly what i needed to experience the night before going to church. it was. such a “tender mercy.”
when i was getting ready for church, i got so excited when i realized, hey, it is fast and testimony sunday! that was not on my mind at all, no kidding, when i made the plane arrangements to come visit here. so, i went with my grandma to her ward with her on 01may2005. when the speakers started bearing their testimonies, i was just OVERCOME. (i hadn’t visited a Mormon church in more than 10 yrs, just other religions.) everything that i heard that day just pierced me, got to me, kept tearing up, i didn’t want to miss a thing, there was NO PLACE i would rather be that morning. it was like time kind of stood still for me during those three hours. and even though i had never lived or visited there, when i was in that LDS church that day, i felt like OVERWHELMINGLY I HAD COME HOME. i started praying and asking that week what should i do. by the seventh day (07may), i knew what i should do. i chose our church that week and looked up what ward we live in as soon as i returned to alaska after visiting extended family. i didn’t wait a year, i didn’t even wait a week, i just started going to our church ever since that 01may2005 sunday.
SO MUCH has changed, improved, etc., since choosing this church. i love my ward — my church family — and hope someday that my husband and our teen daughters (16, 15) would want to share this with me. (husband does not go. but even though he was very against me joining this church, he has really united with me in forcing the girls to go to sunday church and mutual. they aren’t adults and on their own yet, so they have to go to church. but the girls say they have no interest in joining my church.)
i love my callings. i am a primary teacher and i love those priceless classroom moments with the little ones. i am also a visiting teacher supervisor and really enjoy these phone call check ins. (and i also make the relief society announcements for enrichment nights. and up until our church burned up in mar, i also maintained the ward bulletin board.) i got to speak in Sacrament last a year ago on “faith” and that was truly an awesome experience. i prepared my talk, then ended up just speaking to the ward, gave them eye contact the entire time, and didn’t read any notes for those 21 minutes. i loved loved that moment. i got to teach a r.s. lesson this past sep on “listening to and following the living prophet.” that helped me to learn more about a concept that i hadn’t studied much yet. i got to teach a night in r.s. enrichment last jun on “studying our scriptures” and that was so neat to share my love of that. since may 2005 (when i chose our church), when i first started this daily reading of the scriptures habit, i have never missed a day (except for one day when i first started that first week). in may2005, i read something by ardeth kapp about challenging you to read the scriptures every day — she was right, it felt awkward at first, like learning a new language, but i gave it a shot because she said it could happen, and i tried. it stopped feeling awkward and turned into a daily habit (“putting on my armor for the day”) that i faithfully do every single morning before i start my day. i love it and was thrilled to be asked to talk about this treasure (that i treasure) that enrichment night. i call the scriptures my treasure chest and inside they are full of all these gems to be discovered, many over and over. i know, i am going on and on, but i love our church, i am grateful that this is a part of my life, i know i have it so good since choosing this church, … i never want to forget to be grateful. my priorities in life for the longest time used to be my government career then everything else. in these past two years, my priorities have changed to
1) God/religion/relationships
2) then everything else
i know i am right where i am supposed to be, i know this is the true church, you couldn’t drag me away from this even kicking and screaming, i believe with every fiber of my being in the truthfullness of the Gospel. i know He owns us, i know we are His, i know we are free to choose this and i do choose this.
i am grateful, very grateful. i even had GRATEFUL put on my truck license plate to remind me not to forget to be grateful to God for all the blessings.
thank you SO MUCH for the tremendous and awesome example and kindness you showed to me when i was young. i looked up to you as a role model. i just wanted you to know how you made a huge difference to me in my youth years and that i am grateful that you touched my life then. you never know when you are planting a seed, where or when that life will be truly affected by what you did in their life. thank you SO MUCH for making that difference in my life.
best to you and yours this day.
with love and respect,
sister _______ _______
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“i believe that everyone who shares their story can give hope and understanding to another.”
Great story and what a wonderful idea to let those who’ve touched you, know it by sending a letter.
i don’t know how i came upon your blog, but what a beautiful conversion story. i have been an active member of the LDS faith my entire life. this new year i wanted to dedicate myself to becoming a better follower of christ instead of just “going with the flow”
you are a great example.
What a great read for me to come upon! I love hearing conversion stories! We are all converts as we gain testimonies of His Gospel and the true Church, but your story is so amazing! Thanks so much for sharing this great experience with me! Keep on being the strength that you are to your family, they will soon follow your lead. Love your new blog also!
Aloha Sister!