My Story: Why I Became a Mormon

In the beginning of last year, I knew there were a lot of things I wanted to change about my life.

In January, I started a new job and that made me realize that I could change whatever I wanted in my life. There were so many things that I wanted to figure out in my life I wasn't sure where to start.

Then there was Josh. He was a huge ray of sunshine for me. We got along so well and had a great time together.

On our second date, I noticed that he didn't order any alcohol to drink. I noticed it on our first date too, but just figured it was the first date so he didn't want any. So the second time, I waited for the waitress to leave and asked Josh "Do you drink?"

I had no idea that asking that question would lead me to where I am today. He then told me that he doesn't drink for religious reasons. So I asked, what does that mean. Then he told me that he was a Mormon. I told him that the only thing that I know about Mormons is Julie from "The Real World". He laughed and told me that Julie was not the best example of a Mormon. I told him good, because I think Julie is nuts.

We only talked about it a little bit that night at dinner. It wasn't until the next date that Josh told me more about the church. He told me all about who Joseph Smith was and what he did. He talked to me about the Book of Mormon and the Word of Wisdom ( Mormon's law of health). I'll admit, at first, I was turned off by it. It was a lot of information to take in and I didn't know how I felt by it.

A couple months after we had been dating, Josh asked me if I wanted to talk to the missionaries. I said sure. I thought it would be nice to hear this information from people other than the person I was dating. I wanted to understand what the church was all about.

I was so nervous the first time I talked to the missionaries. They seemed intimidating to me. All dressed up with their scriptures and very polite. Only after a couple sessions did I realize that they were 19 year old boys and this was just as much a learning experience for them as it was for me.

I really started to enjoy the talks with the missionaries. I'm sure they didn't like talking to me as much though because I would fire crazy questions at them all the time. Josh tells me that I am very direct with my questions. I think I was the most hung up on the Word of Wisdom. I kept saying, "It says hot drinks, why can't I have iced tea. I love iced tea. I thought tea was good for you." I understood the whole no drugs, smoking, and alcohol thing. That all makes sense to me. The iced tea thing just didn't make sense to me.

So my sessions continued and they were going great. There was only one problem. There were questions I wanted to ask the missionaries, but not in front of Josh. I realized that this would be a dilemma for me. So, I told Josh I was done with the talks for a while.

What Josh didn't know is that I decided to talk to missionaries online at mormon.org so that I could ask them any question I wanted without Josh being there. They weren't horrible questions, just things I didn't want to talk about in front of Josh early on in our relationship. I wanted to understand everything on my own. I wanted to do this for me. I didn't want Josh to think that I was going to go through this just to be with him. I truly wanted to learn.

I needed that time with the missionaries online to better understand the church for myself. I loved going down to the computer lab at my apartment complex and waiting for the next available computer so I could make my appointment online with the missionaries.

After several weeks, Josh noticed that we weren't having our talks anymore and I wasn't asking him any more questions. So, he decided to ask me if I have any questions. I said no. I know that he thought at that point that I was over it and I didn't want to talk about the church anymore. Well, being who I am, I can't keep a secret. So, I told Josh that I don't have any questions because my questions were being answered by the missionaries online. He replied, "Missionaries from The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints (Mormon Missionaries)? They have missionary chat?" I said yes, I had been talking online with a few of them over the last couple weeks.

He asked me if I wanted to meet with the "offline" missionaries and I said sure. Through the summer, there were some great sessions and I really started to feel that the church was true. Every time I would learn new things, it would make me happy. I would even read my scriptures before I went to bed and on the train into work the next morning. I gained a testimony that the church is true over the summer. It made me feel so happy. I started living the word of wisdom, no iced tea and all! I've really grown to love lemonade on hot summer days.

I decided in late August that I wanted to become part of the church. I joined the church September 20, 2009. Josh baptized me and it was a wonderful day. There were really wonderful people there with me and really wonderful people there with me in spirit. It felt great. I could not stop smiling all day. It was the most wonderful feeling. I'm so grateful for all the support that I have had from my family and friends.

I've been a member of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints for over 7 months and I'm so happy. I have a wonderful fiance that opened up my world. I know that I wouldn't be where I am today, with so much happiness in my life, if I never met Josh. I know I wanted to do this for myself, but I never would have known about it without him.