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What is a Mormon? Many people hear this word and different images come to their minds. Having served a mission for the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints (Mormons) and having dealt with many members of other faiths through business and other travel experiences, I can probably guess what many think when they hear the word ‘Mormon.’ Many comments have been made to me about being a Mormon throughout the years, some of which I find quite commical. Here are some statements I’ve heard:
“Aren’t you those guys who ride horses and buggies and can’t use electricity?”
“How many wives do you have?”
“You’re a fool for believing Joseph Smith and the Book of Mormon. In fact, all Mormons are going to hell!”
“What?!? You don’t drink coffee, tea, or alcohol????”
“No way! You’re 28 years old, single, and still a virgin?…why would you torture yourself like that!”
The list goes on and on, but you get the idea. Most people have certain ideas or things either they have heard through the media, history books, or their preacher. My hope with this blog is that I can provide you insight on why I personally choose the Latter-day Saint (Mormon) faith and to help clarify mis-conceptions many people have about this christian faith.
How I became a Mormon
Although I was baptized into the Mormon faith at the age of 8, I wouldn’t say I was converted to the faith until I was 11. Soon after my being baptized, my parents were divorced and I moved away with my mother and siblings. We quit going to the LDS church.
My conversion started when I came across a Book of Mormon a few years later. I had been struggling for a few years since my parents’ divorce and was searching for guidance and direction in my life at the time. I remembered my father reading the Book and I thought I would read it as well. The title page, written by Joseph Smith stated that the Book of Mormon was the “most correctly written book….” and that “a man would draw nearer to God by abiding by it’s precepts than any other book…” I read the Book and felt a peace and calmness as I read of the prophets testifying of Jesus Christ on virtually every page. By the end of the book, I had felt feelings of love, calm, peace, confidence that I’d never felt before and then I read the following verses in Moroni 10: 3-5:
” 3 Behold, I would exhort you that when ye shall read these things, if it be wisdom in God that ye should read them, that ye would remember how amerciful the Lord hath been unto the children of men, from the creation of Adam even down until the time that ye shall receive these things, and bponder it in your chearts.
4 And when ye shall receive these things, I would exhort you that ye would aask God, the Eternal Father, in the name of Christ, if these things are not btrue; and if ye shall ask with a csincere heart, with dreal intent, having efaith in Christ, he will fmanifest the gtruth of it unto you, by the power of the Holy Ghost.
Never before had I had such a desire to pray and ask God if these things (the words in the Book of Mormon) were true. I had never before prayed to God for an answer, but I knew how to pray. I knelt down and started praying. The experience I had was one of the most precious experiences of my life. I felt an overwhelming feeling of love, peace, excitement, joy, and a desire to share love with all my fellow men come over me. I knew there was a God and that He loved me and I knew that Joseph Smith (the translator of the Book of Mormon) was a prophet of God and that the Book of Mormon was true. It made such an impression on me that I could never deny it.
Imediately I jumped up, ran up to tell my father and felt the desire to share these truths with all men.
I will be discussing many other of my beliefs and values as a Latter-day Saint, but wanted to start with this experience because it is the foundation of my faith in the Lord, Jesus Christ and my Heavenly Father.
I invite anyone with a sincere and open heart to participate in discussions. Feel free to ask questions, comment, etc. and I will do my best to answer them.
Grace for Grace 
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