kairos wrote:jo
i , and perhaps others here, would like to hear/read your personal conversion/re-birth story- what u were before the experience, what specifically happened/where/how, and what changed/is continuing to change even now.
thanx
k
Hi Kairos,
I will try to give you the shortened version since it would take volumes to tell you my history.
I cannot remember a time in my life when I did not love Jesus. He has always been a course I followed. I have been cognizant that in childhood through to today, my actions have been influenced by my belief in Him; I tried very hard to live the Golden Rule (do unto others as you would have others do unto you). I was raised in the Lutheran faith, and had been reading the Bible from the time I learned how to read.
When I was 13 I took a class my Pastor taught to prepare young boys and girls for taking their first communion. That was when I first realized that what the Lutheran church believed was not what the Bible had taught me. I was disappointed to learn these things, but continued to go to church according to their tradition because I didn't know how else to be able to worship God. Over the next nine years, I searched other denominations trying to find one which taught the same thing the Bible taught me. I was already familiar with experiencing the Holy Ghost and found great joy in rejoicing in my Savior, Jesus Christ.
When I was 22 years old, I was accepted into a new multi-denominational music company being formed for the purpose of performing an orignal conversion story of a man finding God. Many of the members were Mormons - a denomination which I was not familiar with. Their example of following and striving to live like Christ, as well as their great love for their Father and their Savior, attracted me to them. One of the young women, who was a friend from high school, arranged to have missionaries come to my house when I professed interest in what her beliefs were.
I read the Book of Mormon and listened to all the discussions. This was the first church who taught the same interpretations from the Bible which the Bible had taught me in my personal studies. When I fasted and prayed about the Book of Mormon I received a very powerful witness from the Holy Ghost which seemed to enter me from the top of my head and flowed through my entire body. Now, I was married at the time, having married only two years out of high school. But I was not in love my husband, as I married in order to escape my home. The concept of being married to someone I was not in love with throughout eternity scared me to death. I explained to the missionaries that even though I had received such a strong witness from the Holy Ghost, that I could not join the Church.
After a few months had gone by, I could no longer deny the witness I had received. I was in great despair as I could just not imagine myself going through eternity with this husband I was not in love with. Finally, I got on my knees to talk about this issue with Father. Eventually I got to the point where I expressed my faith in Him and basically put my life in His hands. I told Him whatever His will was for me, that I would accept it; but I would need His strength since I knew I was not strong enough to face an uncertain future by myself.
Though I had not planned it, within six months we were divorced. He went on to serve a mission as we had had no children. Today he is a Bishop. As for myself, I was on fire! I couldn't get enough scripture study, I couldn't get enough in building my relationship with Father, which had blossomed and grown more than at any other time in my life. I had more frequent witnesses of the Holy Ghost than I had ever had before joining the Church. I became able to discern even the quieter promptings He gave me. I loved living the Gospel in the LDS Church. No other denomination had offered a 24/7 way to live my life following the example of my Savior, Jesus Christ. There simply is no other denomination that I have ever found which is so completely dedicated to helping members manifest a way to show my love of God with heart, mind, body, and soul.
In recent years, I have found that all of the studying, all of the pondering, all of the prayers, and all of the guidance of the Holy Ghost has collectively brought me to a point where my understanding and my spiritual development has exploded exponentially. Whereas before I would uncover hidden meanings in scripture everytime I read them, by seeing or getting something I had not seen there before. Now, it seems that the layers and layers, the types, the patterns, the "meat" is now being revealed to me in such ways that I cannot begin to explain with mere words.
My ability to love God and to love others has come to the point where I no longer see the world or the people in it in a physical way. Everything I see, hear, experience, is now through spiritual eyes. It is beautiful, and awesome, and Holy, and humbling, and edifying, and joyful. My cup runneth over...and I feel as though I have only captured a very small glimpse of Kingdom of Heaven. It is mind blowing.
Love,
jo