Utah Girl
Since Mar 27, 2001

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My ancestry

My mother's story

My mom didn't belong to any denomination growing up. She always knew there was a God and she would talk to Him on her way home from school. When she was 14, she started in earnest to find a church and religion that she could join because she wanted that in her life.

At that time, her family lived in California. My mom went every Sunday to church - Baptist, Methodist, Catholic, Holy Rollers (Evangelical now.) She said she never had the recognition that this was where she was supposed to be.

One night she talked to her mother about this. Her mother said "Let's pray about it, I know you will get an answer." My mom says that is the first time she formally prayed and the first time she prayed with her mother.

A few days later, 2 young men knocked on my grandparents door. My grandmother invited them in, and after listening to what they said, she said "I'm not interested, but I have a daughter who is looking for a church." So they made an appointment for that afternoon when my mom would be home from school.

My mom says she walked into the house, went into the living room, and felt like she knew those 2 missionaries. They read to her from the Book of Mormon, and it was like a veil was lifted from her mind. It was familiar, spiritual, and it was like coming home for her. She was baptized a year later (she would have been baptized sooner, except she caught valley fever and was quite ill for six months.)

She has been a faithful member of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints for 62 years now. On the day she was baptized, her father threw away his cigarettes. A year after that, her 2 brothers were baptized. My grandmother was ready to be baptized with my mother, but my grandfather asked her to wait. My grandma waited 3 years, then told him that she was being baptized on Saturday, and if he wanted to join her, then fine.

All of this time, the missionaries had been meeting in my grandparents home, holding cottage meetings, etc. So when my grandparents arrived at the baptismal service, my grandpa said "OK, I'm ready." And he was baptized. My grandparents started a branch in a small town in California. They stayed strong and true to the gospel of Jesus Christ throughout their lives.

My mother's search has impacted hundreds of peoples lives, including mine. She is strong and faithful in the gospel and active in the church. She is fully committed to Jesus Christ. And as a result, so is her posterity. Her decision has also blessed the lives of her brothers and their posterity.