Gratitude for my first Church experiences

I am beginning to realize just how lucky I was to begin learning about the Church of Jesus Christ – and to continue growing in the Gospel of Jesus Christ – in the ways that I did.  As we work with helping less active members of the Church return to activity in the Gospel, I am realizing just how rare it is for people who are baptized in the Church to truly have the sort of conversion that leads to lasting faith and hope in Christ.  I am learning that my missionaries, my Sunday school teachers, my visiting teachers, my home teachers, my first Bishop, my ward mission leader, my ward missionaries, and my ward and branch friends all managed to accomplish a critical series of events that helped me become DEEPLY rooted in the Gospel of Jesus Christ, so that my conversion would be a lasting and enduring one, that would hold up even when the storms of life came (and they did).

Here are some of the things that they did right:

·         My missionaries (Trevor and Tyler) were patient with me.  It took me a long time to realize that I had enough faith to act on it.  And it took me a couple of tries to really figure out how to be obedient to God’s commandments.  My missionaries never gave up on me, and they didn’t guilt trip me.  If they had, I probably would not be here today.

·         My missionaries thought hard and prayed hard to know what I would need to increase my faith.  They received revelation on my behalf regarding which scriptures I would need to increase my trust in the Lord and in His love for me.

·         Every lesson that the missionaries taught me had at least one member friend (Benjamin, Meta, Joseph, Tyson, Justin, etc) present.  As I allowed the Gospel of Jesus Christ to change me, I changed the way that I lived.  (For example, I no longer played beer pong.)  At that point in my life, playing beer pong and going to bars was pretty much what we did on Friday and Saturday nights.  When you cut one habit out of your life, you absolutely have to replace it with something else.  My new friends from the Church showed me that I could have fun without alcohol.

·         My Sunday school teacher (Jessica K) knew how to ask inspired questions during Gospel Principles (“Mormon 101”) that helped me to teach myself through the Holy Ghost.

·         Somehow, from the very first Sunday, members of the ward (Danielle, Deanna, Erica, Julie) reached out to me and made sure that I always had someone to sit next to.

·         My first bishop (Bishop W) took a sincere interest in me and in my spiritual development.  We had one lesson with him and his son (Seth) in his office.  He listened to my concerns about committing to something too early, and he did his best to resolve those concerns. 

·         My first home teachers (Nathan and Phil) taught me about what exactly a priesthood blessing is, and why they work. Did you know that when a holder of the Priesthood administers a blessing, it is as if the Savior Himself were speaking? 

·         My visiting teachers visited me.  And not only that, they visited me in my apartment! 

·         I was immediately extended an invitation to accept a calling!  And people from the ward that were more experienced helped me to magnify that calling. 

·         Almost immediately after I was confirmed a member of the Church, my bishop (Bishop W) interviewed me for a limited use temple recommend.  A month or so after I was baptized, I was able to go to the Mesa, Arizona temple and perform sacred ordinances for people who died without the Gospel of Jesus Christ.

Once I had that recommend, I had something to fight for! 

·         Our ward organized and facilitated regular trips to the temple.  Lots of ward members went!  And lots of people went to do baptisms with me!  I never felt like I was less worthy than the endowed members of the ward.  And baptisms were just as important as endowment sessions.  I love that worthy endowed members of the ward came to do baptisms with the rest of us.  There was a lot of unity in those Tucson wards.