When we understand our relationship with Jesus Christ then we understand who we truly are.

When we understand our relationship with Jesus Christ then we understand who we truly are.

Thursday, July 24, 2014

Cayman Islands Conversion

 I never expected to have a roommate from the Cayman Islands when I signed up for housing at BYU Provo. Yet my wonderful roommate helped me get through some of the most difficult times of my college experience and I treasure the friendship I have with her. Little did I know that I would be called to the Florida Jacksonville Mission and would visit the Orlando Temple as a missionary, the same temple where she was sealed to her family. Her entire family converted to the Church when she was young. This is their story. 



     This is a summary of how my family came to be members of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. One day, sometime in October of 2001 my wife Camille was home with our youngest daughter Mari who was barely 5 months old at the time. Camille would usually take the opportunity to do a bit of cleaning and laundry, etc. while the baby was asleep during the day. Once she was finished she would sit and read a little if time permitted. On that particular day she said she had the urge to clean the house and then read her scriptures.
     No sooner had she sat down to read her scriptures when she heard a knock on the door. It was two young men in white shirts and ties and dark pants. The missionaries from the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints introduced themselves and then asked her to do the same. After a few minutes of conversation about our family they introduced her to the Book of Mormon and invited her to read a few verses from Moroni 10:4 and pray that night about the authenticity of the book. They promised to return the following Sunday when I was home.
     When I came home later that day Camille casually mentioned the visit of the missionaries and expressed surprise at herself for even opening the door to speak with them. You see, we lived at that time on a fairly busy street with quite a bit of pedestrian traffic. Because of that we got fairly frequent visits from persons from different Christian denominations handing out tracts and pamphlets or selling religious books. Usually we would either poke our heads out the door and tell them we’re not interested or refuse to answer the door. I listened to her account of the visit and promised to take a look at the book but never got around to doing so.
     The following Sunday when I awoke Camille reminded me that today was the day the missionaries were returning sometime after lunch. I then somewhat reluctantly requested the book and saw the area towards the back where the missionaries had marked for us to read. I read it and thought to myself "Why would they ask a person to read from the back of a book?’" (I had no idea what the Book of Mormon was; I had never heard of it and didn’t know it was scripture so I was expecting a regular book.)
     I decided then that it made sense to read from the very front of the book to understand what it was about. I read the Title Page, the Introduction, the Testimony of Three Witnesses, the Testimony of Eight Witnesses, and the Testimony of the Prophet Joseph Smith, right on into a few chapters of 1 Nephi. I stopped only long enough to have breakfast and shower and went back to reading what I found to be a most interesting text! In fact I was still reading when the missionaries came by around 2:00pm.
     I was almost a little disappointed at how young they were when I first saw them – to this day I’m not sure why. However once they introduced themselves and we got to talking I realized they had a maturity about that that was well beyond their age. Their names were Elder Folk from California and Elder Larson from Idaho. They told us about their mission and what they wanted to talk about. For the first half an hour I was expecting them to try to sell us something (after all that’s what most of the religious people did when they came by) but they simply outlined some strange sounding topics they wanted to talk about and asked if they could return at some point in the future. They seemed pleased that I was at least reading the Book of Mormon. Both Camille and I sat down with them and Jenessa our oldest daughter was there quietly listening. I was really interested when they mentioned that the Book of Mormon was scripture that was found on plates hidden in the ground in America and translated. We arranged to meet again on Tuesday evening.
     Over the next two or three weeks we met with the two Elders and I had lots of questions about the pre-earth life and the three degrees of glory and Apostasy and priesthood, etc. They invited us to church and we went. I was amused to see that they met in the old town-hall building that was used as a traffic courthouse on weekdays. The congregation was about twenty-five to thirty-five persons but there was a peacefulness and comfortable feeling I could not explain in those gatherings. On one Sunday I saw an older man and a teenage boy talking to each other and for some reason they looked familiar as if I had seen them somewhere before. After a while I remembered. They had knocked on our door one evening months before and said they were from the Church of something or other and I had told them I’m not interested!
     Because Mari was still very young, we could not always stay for all three hours at Sunday meetings with her. Besides she was born prematurely and quite small and fragile even at six months. Sometimes however I would take Camille and the kids home after sacrament meeting and return in time for Sunday School and Priesthood.
     During those few weeks I learned a lot about the church. I read from the Book of Mormon and was fascinated by the fact that persons lived on the American continent that knew Christ. I was a big fan of novels and movies about the American West and the Indians and immediately recognized that the Great Spirit mentioned by the Indians in these novels could well be the Christ their ancestors knew! Everything I learnt had strangely very familiar ring to it as though I had heard it before or somehow already knew it.
     During one of their visits the missionaries asked us if we would pray about a date when we would like to be baptized. Camille and I did so on several occasions and I recall feeling comfortable about being baptized at some point. We however did not discuss it for several weeks; telling the missionaries on every visit that we were still praying about. Finally one day I said to Camille after a visit from the elders ‘I don’t know about you but I feel quite ok about being baptized.’ She looked at me and replied ‘I know, I feel the same way. I was waiting for you to ask’. We decided then that we would tell the missionaries we wanted to be baptized.
     They were thrilled. The entire congregation seemed overly excited at the news. Everyone came to us the next Sunday and congratulated us on our decision to be baptized. It was arranged for December 8th 2001 at a member’s home with a pool. I was to be baptized by the president of the Elders’ Quorum and I did not recall at the time whether he was going to baptize Camille.
     That Saturday morning we went as a family to the member’s home and the entire congregation seemed to be there gathered on the pool deck. We felt special. I felt nervous but good inside. I was baptized by the branch president and was then confirmed a member of the church. They then proceeded to ordain me to the office of priest in the Aaronic priesthood. Immediately following this I was asked by the branch president whether I wanted to baptize Camille. Of course! I went into the water with Camille and following instructions, I baptized Camille.
     We continued to attend church and also Institute classes on Wednesday evenings taught by the branch president’s wife. I was amazed at this new doctrine we were learning. I was given some books by the branch president. Among them were ‘Jesus the Christ’ and ‘Articles of Faith’ by James E. Talmage. I began to read these immediately.
     One Sunday morning sometime in January of 2002 as we were preparing for church, the branch president knocked on our door. Accompanying him was the mission president visiting from Jamaica for a few days. They explained that I was being considered for the Melchizedek priesthood and needed to be interviewed by the mission president. That interview took place in our living room and I was ordained later that morning during the priesthood meeting.
     In February of 2002 the branch president and his family had to return to the United States due to work. I was called as the 1st Counselor in the branch presidency and I was also called as the Institute teacher in that same month. Those were exciting times! My reading was accelerated as I prepared for the weekly classes. I will always be grateful for those callings because I think it give me a good foundation of gospel knowledge.
      On the 1st anniversary of our baptism, Jenessa was baptized by me having turned 8 years old in October of that year. In the summer of 2003 we were sealed as an eternal family in the Orlando, Florida temple.
     We have continued since then to serve in many callings in the branch here. I have served as branch president, Elders’ Quorum president and branch Mission Leader. Camille has served as a Primary teacher, Primary president, Relief Society president and first counselor and Seminary teacher. We have embraced the restored gospel and have watched the blessings flow into our lives as we tried our best to keep the commandments and magnify our callings.

Thursday, July 3, 2014

Tragedy, Triumph, and Testimony: Tyeisha's Story

     You would never guess seeing Tyeisha on the street that she has endured some of the most heart-wrenching struggles and trying times. Despite the incredibly hard trials that she has gone through in her life, she has continued to hold fast to the gospel and make it a part of her daily life. Tyeisha is a living witness that the power of the Atonement is real and that the the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints offers a peace that cannot be found anywhere else. She is an example of faith and perserverance, and we love her! This is her story. 
     
As a kid I don't remember much of church or the Savior. I did not know much about prayer either, but for some reason every night I remember praying asking for the simplest things. I wasn't raised in a religious home...I was always around drugs, alcohol, violence and bad examples. Though my life was hectic that did not stop me from accepting the gospel. I was almost 14 when I had first heard of Mormons. One of my friends invited me to a Christmas dance (even though you had to be 14, I did not know at the time but my birthday was a few weeks away). I had a blast, but little did I know that that encounter with the church would change my life forever. Though I had only attended church a few times after that, I felt at home. It seemed like a safe haven for me. But things happened and I moved out of my friends family apartment and went back home. I lived in an area where there was always violence and shooting etc. So no missionaries were ever allowed back there (at least that's my guess). I didn't really think much of the church after that, I just always stayed inside. Months later in September of 2008, two tall handsome white men knocked on my door. Whose going to turn that sight down ay!! But after a few lessons I did not hesitate to agree to be baptized. Going to church took me away from reality, and helped me feel more loved. Not long after my baptism (which only consisted of the missionaries, my friend, the bishop, one other leader and myself), my family became homeless due to a hurricane and some other issues. For months I had to deal with brushing my teeth in the car on the way to school, taking a bath at one place and sleeping in the next. It was terrible. But for some reason I always was comforted. At that same same age (14), I moved in with my Young Women leader and through her family I've learned the true meaning of family, love, the church, prayer, etc. It was a huge blessing for me to finally have my own room. But that dream didn't last much longer. After almost 3 years I found myself having to move out. I was almost 17 years old. But, after being on the street many years my mom managed to get a place with her boyfriend. Though I was sad, I was happy to have seen my mom after so long. The first few months were great until the missionaries came over to teach my baby sister about the gospel. My mother never had an issue with me being LDS, but apparently her bf did. Once again (at age 17) I found myself being kicked out, and having to find a place to stay. For months I dealt with verbal abuse...I blamed God, I hated my mom's boyfriend and her even more. I hated my life...I couldn't deal with the pain anymore. So I turned to drinking. It's only lasted that summer, until I finally found another place to live. Another church leader took me into her home with her husband my senior year of high school. Life was great once again. I worked hard on getting my seminary diploma and my Young Women Medallion (Personal Progress program). But happiness never seems to last in my life. After my first semester of college I found myself starting on my mission papers, everything was done...until I found myself hanging out with the wrong crowd of people. And the drinking kicked in once again. Every bit of pain I had ever felt rushed back into my life...I wanted to die. I didn't feel loved. I was beyond hurt. So my mission was a no-go. I let life get in the way of that. Though I was "too in-tuned with the world," this gospel never left the back of my mind...I always tried to talk to my Heavenly Father about leading me. It took about two months to realize that I had to turn to Him as well...so with a little faith I had left, with every cigarette I put out, and every cup of alcohol I poured down the sink, I was to see a little clearer. And for the first time in my life I decided to do what was right for MYSELF. Not for any member who had taken me in, or for any of my friends or family. It took time, but I was able to grow a close relationship with my heavenly father once more and feel of His love. This gospel has taken me places words can not explain. For years I had been confused, I've fallen, made mistakes and turned far from my savior and heavenly fathers love. But I've learned to get up every time. I've learned to fight even harder...stronger...longer. This gospel has forever changed my life. No one can ever break the strong testimony that I've gained these past few years. And if I had the opportunity to choose a better way of life if I was asked to give up this gospel and the things I know....I wouldn't take it, I'd put on the whole armor of God and fight my way through it all over again. I've lived life with and without this gospel...I cannot survive alone without it. Words cannot express how grateful I am to have come across the missionaries and this gospel at the time I did. It's been so life changing. I have finally learned true happiness...true love...true friendship, all from my Heavenly Father. This gospel is true. I know it, I live it, I LOVE IT.