Rebecca's Baptism

I just realized that it has been a long time since I last made a post about someone I taught who got baptized! Well thankfully that is changing right now!

Back in July I met a girl on our Mormon.org system named Rebecca. She seemed really interested in learning more about our beliefs so I worked on helping her get involved with missionaries in her local area. Unfortunately, because of scheduling, she wasn't able to meet with them for a while and eventually we kind contact for a time. A few months later I felt like I should send her a message on Facebook and see how she had been doing. Much to my surprise she had been meeting with missionaries in her local area and going to church and even had a date to be baptized!

As we continued talking it was very evident to me that she had changed quite a bit! At first she had been very intrigued by the Church but now it seemed as though there was a deeper hunger to learn and receive answers to her questions. She told me of meetings that she was having with her local missionaries and how she would read and study between the meetings so that she could learn as much as she possibly could. It was really exciting for me to see how her soul hungered for the word of God, just as Enos in the Book of Mormon.

From the conversations we have had since we regained contact, it has been very apparent to me just how much she has changed through the gospel of Jesus Christ! This truly is a gospel of transformation and change. God is our Father in Heaven and wants us all to come to Him. We are only able to do this as we follow the promptings of the Spirit and turn to our Savior Jesus Christ and follow in His footsteps. It has been wonderful to see that happen with Rebecca and see her change through this marvelous gospel!

Of this experience, she says: "My conversion of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints started shortly after my Grandmother passed away in February of last year. I all of a sudden had this overwhelming feeling that I needed to look into the church. I had always known about the church but never knew what it was really all about. I tried my best to push that feeling away. I hadn’t really been to church in my 21 years on this earth, why did I need to start to go now? But the more I pushed that feeling away, the stronger it would come back at me. Finally summer came around and I got up the courage to talk to online missionaries, and that is where I came into contact with Elder Tucker. He helped me with my basic questions and was there when I needed him and helped me find the courage to go over to the Visitor's Center at the Oakland Temple one day. It was an amazing experience. A few months after going to the visitor’s center and meeting with the sister missionaries there I was contacted by my local missionaries in my area. They invited me to come meet with them and take a lesson at the chapel. I started to meet with them once or twice a week. I took every lesson they gave me and always came back with questions and prepared for the next. I loved everything they taught me and I was finally able to start to feel some peace after loosing my Grandma. I set a baptism date for January 19^th, 2013, and after it was set I really struggled to stick with it. I had tons of doubts and would second-guess myself everyday. It finally hit me on the first fast Sunday of the New Year that this was something I needed to do. I had just listened to some many wonderful people bare their testimonies before me and I knew how true and sincere they were being. I realized that if a young boy by the name of Joseph Smith could have the courage to start this wonderful church I had the courage inside of me to be Baptized, follow my savior and do what is right in the eyes of God. I am so thankful that I decide to join this church, and I am so thankful for every new and wonderful person I have met and have helped me during this journey. I know this Church is the true church that Joseph Smith was a prophet, that President Thomas S. Monson is our current living day prophet and that Jesus died for our Sins and that God loves each and everyone of us. And he always will no matter what mistakes we make in this lifetime. He wants us all to return to him, and we someday will if we decide to follow this church and take the right path."