Testimonies www.writerspost.com/testify/
Phyllis Kirk Henley - January 5, 2000
My Conversion Story to
The Church of Jesus-Christ of Latter-Day Saints
I am the only member of the Church in my extended family. My four daughters and grandson
are all members. My husband goes every Sunday and will join some day! I am the eldest of
five children and we all were raised in a little town of Colora, Maryland. The majority of
my family still live there. They are all very kind and caring and loving people.
When I was a small child I used to play in the woods. The woods were so
very thick and plush with undergrowth many times I would get lost but
enjoyed finding my way to the light! When I read the story of Joseph Smith and his first
prayer in the woods I felt very close to him.
I love the song "Joseph Smith's First Prayer":
Oh, how lovely was the morning! Radiant beamed the sun above.
Bees were humming, sweet birds singing, Music ringing through the grove,
When within the shady woodland Joseph sought the God of love,
In the Book of Mormon
the "Testimony of Joseph Smith" later touched my heart
and the "spirit" of truth became sure knowledge.
My Aunt Anna would take my brothers and sisters and myself to the West Nottingham
Presbyterian Church which was very close to our house.
My mother and father never went to church but supported us going to church.
I joined the West Nottingham Presbyterian Church when I was twelve. At that time I
remembered I really tried to have a "spiritual" experience and really wanted to
feel something strong but did not.
I went on with my life and when I was in my teens I was sitting inside our hayloft and
looking out over the blue sky I felt that I would go West. The feeling come to me very
strong. I did not know why I was to go West.
I married at the age of nineteen and had a child. I was divorced about two years later. I
lived by myself for about 4 years. I was a working Mom and my life was somewhat lonely and
a struggle. I had a very strong feeling that I was searching for something but did not
know what. I started reading the Bible.
In the meantime I remarried at the age of 25 and my husband and I were getting ready to
move to Kalispell, MT (THE WEST!). I worked for the Department of Army as a secretary and
about one year before my marriage I was given a pamphlet and small discussion about Joseph
Smith and the Church. It was really my first information concerning the Church!
I worked around many military and civilian people for about 10 years. The person who gave
me a Joseph Smith pamphlet and some discussion was a Captain in the Army. I put this
pamphlet into my middle desk drawer and each time I pulled the drawer out I would see
Joseph Smith's face on the front of this pamphlet. He literally watched me for a year!
I told this Captain later that "Joseph Smith" sounded fishy to me because the
name was just too common and simple! One day I heard another military Captain and Colonel
speaking about death and life etc. One said to the other "don't kid yourself, when
you die that is it - you are in the ground and all is over!"
These words hit me very hard as I felt that they were so very wrong. I had never really
thought about life after death or death very much. I felt that what this man had said just
had to be wrong but I didn't know why. His words put a very heavy feeling in my soul!
I remember asking the Captain about going to church and he told me how to get there and
told me to come. However, I felt very uncomfortable going by myself
even though I was very out going and not shy! So I did not pursue going to church.
Just before our move to Kalispell, MT, I had stayed home from work as I was very sick with
a very bad cough. There was a knock at my door. I open the door and there stood two young
boys in suits! They were very scared as they were being chased by a man who was mad at
them . I let them come in. They were so scared that they did not answer any of my
questions nor did they return? I just remember the missionaries sitting in my house and
that they were very nice.
My husband and daughter and myself lived in Kalispell, MT for about one year and we
decided to buy a house. Our first house to visit belonged to Church members and the lady
of the house told me a story about her child being born dead and how their church had
helped. I asked "the golden question" what CHURCH? She invited me to Stake
Relief Society Meetings and to Church etc. These meetings were very special to me and I
felt the "spirit" so very strong there.
At one Relief Society meeting a lady shared her testimony and she encouraged anyone to
pray to find their testimony about the truthfulness of the Church. This was very
informative for me and I did follow her advice. I did pray! I did get good feelings about
my prayer!
During this time I also applied for a job at a Health Spa in Kalispell. On the counter was
a Book of Mormon! I asked who it belonged to and this cute little white haired blue-eyed
lady (Bobbi Johnston) said it was her book and she would be happy to take me to Church.
She became my friend.
That very day that I saw the Book of Mormon on the counter in the health spa Bobby told me
about another book "The Marvelous Work and A Wonder." It sounded like a
wonderful title and I just forgot about it!
We had just bought a nice new home in Kalispell in the woods. It had a few bedrooms and I
had not gotten things organized. Well, I went home and went downstairs to this room where
I had stuff stored and there on the top of this pile of whatever was the book "A
Marvelous Work and A Wonder!"
What a wonder this book was to me! I had this book in my house for three years and had
never seen it before!! I was and am a very avid reader. My husband had received this book
on his ski trip to Salt Lake about three years before he met me. He had visited the
Visitor Center and William Bradshaw (he started the Family to Family Book of Mormon
Program) had written his name inside of this book "A Marvelous Work and A
Wonder."
My husband has not read the book and said he did not get rid of it because William
Bradshaw had signed his name in the book. Well, I started reading "A Marvelous Work
and A Wonder" and I was glued to it for days! I had been watching General Conference
on TV and listening to the General Authorities speak. I did not know really what I was
watching at first but was so impressed with their quiet "spirit" that really
touched my heart. At this same time I went to the local library and studied books on
different religions as I really did not know what other religions were about. I needed to
have an understanding of the whole picture! I did much reading and studying and praying! I
found my answers!
I was always concerned about the fact that there were so many religions and only ONE GOD
and ONE BIBLE. How could we have only one source and yet so many different ideas and
beliefs about one GOD? How could all these religions be correct? What was the correct
right way? I was confused. My big question was "Who is God?" I had always been
told he was a "Spirit" , A "Cloud", and/or Jesus Christ who had come
to earth. Well, I could not believe these ideas and so I felt I did not know who God was.
It was in this book that I found who God was and is!! He was a man like us that became so
very perfected. He had a body like us and feelings like us. God is someone! This
information came to me like lightning! It was like I had always knew this information but
didn't know that I knew it!!
I later went to Church for about one year and decided to be baptized. My daughter was ten
at that time and we were baptized together Nov 1975. Since I have joined the Church I have
constantly gained a stronger testimony of its truthfulness. In 1997 I went to the Temple
in Denver, CO for the first time. I have been very active and have many Church jobs. I
presently teach Seminary and am the Stake Media person in the Public Affairs Program.
I guess the area that has impressed me so much since I joined the church is missionary
work. I truly love it.
I found out later that in my home town(Colora, MD) I had lived only 30 minutes from a
Church building! All those years growing up I had never met a member nor heard of seen
anything about the Church. The Public Affairs Program in the Church has opened all the
doors of the Church to people everywhere. We now have articles in newspapers and
information on TV and the Church has come out of
obscurity!
Due to the fact that I had to struggle so long and wait so
long to find the Church I desire to share it with whomever will listen.
I know it is true and I am so happy to have The Church of Jesus Christ
of Latter-Day Saints in my life! It has made a great difference in my
life! It is truly wonderful!
Phyllis Henley
734 E. Rio Blanco Avenue
Rangely, CO 81648
970-675-5732
We were referred to the missionaries by our Aunt, My Mom's first cousin. I was in grade
school at that time. My Mom used to hide at that time, we even lied telling the
missionaries that Mom had gone out.
I don't know what happened, when my Mom decided to be baptized. What I only knew was that
she felt
secure and difference, the church is true. My Mom asked her sister-in law if her decision
was right. Her
in law replied, " When you're baptized, you are not allowed to convert any of us nor
bring your missionaries.
It was 8 August 1991, when my Mom, my 2 brothers and I were baptized. It was 5 in the
afternoon, raining.
I was so excited, because of the water, I received the confirmation at that time. I was so
happy during that time. From that time I was I was an active member of The Church of Jesus
Christ of the Latter-Day Saints.
My Mom received a calling as RS President and I enrolled to seminary (early). Our
relatives had forsaken us and said we were cursed, because after our baptism my Mom got
sick for weeks. But because of our faith she recovered.
It was 1994 April when we went to Manila Philippines Temple. My family were sealed, and my
Father 's
baptism for the dead. The church helps us a lot, I don't know where am I now and my family
if we are not
baptized in the true church. Despite of the trials we have in our lives, we are still
firm. Specially me far from my family and from the church. I love the church so much.
Edna
My name is Debora Spurr. I was baptized into the LDS faith on June 26, 1971 at the age
of 15. I came from a diverse religious background. We had everything from Baptist to
Pentecostal to ashiest beliefs in our family. I was raised in basically a non religious
household and from the earliest times that I remember, I always was searching for the
truth. At the time of my conversion I had been going to a local Baptist church for a few
years. I believed much of what I was taught there. I attended church and Sunday school
regularly. I have to tell you I realize this is a touchy subject with many people as
religion is a very personal thing. It is a very real and personal thing in my life. I many
times would get into discussions with my elders at church. I had one Sunday school teacher
try to explain to me why people who never had the privilege of knowing Jesus through no
fault of their own had to go to hell. This bothered me deeply. I knew in my heart that
there was something wrong with that logic. It seemed to me that a God that loved us
unconditionally would not just abandon his children. There had to be another answer and I
was bound and determined to find it.
Its funny when I look back at my life. The LDS faith although not a common faith in our
part of the country was all around me throughout my life. As a very small child, I had
attended church with a neighbor a few times. Only a month ago did I find out that she is a
member of our church and has been a life long member. It was the LDS church that she had
taken me to. While in grade school, I lived next door to the "Mormon"
missionaries for our town. I had always talked to them but never went to church with them.
They proved to be a strong influence in my life as a memory of very nice and helpful young
men. They were always willing to help my family and those around us.
As a teenager, I met a girl that lived on my street. She was my best friend. She
introduced me to the elders. She didn't actually realize that I was searching for the
truth. She didn't know if I'd be interested in what they had to say but I was. Her family
had recently been baptized into the religion. I was curious to say the least. They asked
me if I wanted to hear about the church and I said yes. One of the things that most people
have trouble believing when they hear about the "Mormon" religion is that Joseph
Smith actually had visitations from not just angels but also from Jesus and Heavenly
father himself. I can't explain why I immediately wanted to hear more except that there
was something inside of my heart that I knew to be something powerful and good urging me
to hear more. At this moment, I can feel the same feeling that I felt over 25 years ago
when my journey started....or better said........when my search for the truth was coming
to an end. I listened intently to what the elders said as they explained the truths that
had been revealed to Joseph Smith and to the prophets since him. I KNEW I had found the
truth. When they explained to me that people that didn't hear the words of Christ and his
teachings in this life were not forever condemned to the pits of hell because of something
they had no control over I knew this was truly the word of God. They gave me a "Book
of Mormon" and asked me to study it, which I did. I was probably one of the easiest
converts that they had ever dealt with during their missions. Everything made perfect
sense to me that they were teaching me. All of the missing pieces of the puzzle were being
put in place. I could go on and on with the different things that make sense and fill in
the holes that other churches had in their teachings. They had the concept right but I had
finally found the true church. I thank Heavenly father for allowing me to have these
people in my life through different times. Through all of them, I eventually was able to
see the truth for what it was at the time in my life when I needed it desperately. I am
very grateful for that wonderful summer day in 1971 that I was baptized in the LDS church.
I am not the best member of the church by any means. I have character flaws that I am
working on and will continue to struggle with, but I have the knowledge in my heart that
the church that I belong to is truly the restored church of Christ. It is the church that
Jesus Christ himself set in motion 2000 years ago. Over the years, important parts were
lost but through Heavenly fathers plan, all pieces are back in place and we have indeed, a
wonderful gift from him.
If I have at all inspired you to know more, please by all means pray about it with an open
heart. I will never regret having done so. I say these things in the name of Jesus Christ,
Amen.
~*~Sandy Shardlow~*~
I was born and raised within the church. However, as a lot of those in my position
know, I spent most of my childhood relying on my parents' testimonies and not my own.
True, I loved the church, and I had a very simple testimony of my own, but mostly I relied
on my parents. All that changed when I was 14 years old.
The summer before my 15th birthday, my family took our final vacation together to Nauvoo,
IL (my brother was to be leaving for his mission within the year). We had never seen any
of the church history sites, except those in Utah, and we didn't visit Utah very often. So
we packed up and spent 2 weeks driving from Southern California to Illinois and back.
While on our vacation, we visited many historic sites such as Far West, Adam-Ondi-Ahman,
Nauvoo, Winter Quarters, Liberty Jail, and Carthage Jail. I didn't know very much about
church history outside what they teach in Primary, so Far West and AOA weren't very
important to me. However, Carthage Jail was an entirely different story. On the way, we
watched a movie about Carthage that gave the basic story. When we arrived, we took a short
tour of the building and went into the room where the Prophet Joseph was shot. Nothing in
my life has ever compared to the emotions that I felt that day. They (the tour guides)
played a tape in which you hear what happened. You hear a voice singing "A Poor
Wayfaring Man of Grief" while the mob outside is making a ruckus. You hear the crash
of the front door being beaten in and the pounding of the steps as the mob ran up the
stairs. Once I heard the gunshots, there was no controlling the tears that were pouring
down my face. The warmest feeling I've ever had came over me as the tears ran. I didn't
even know there was that much liquid in my body. I sat, listening to the tape of the mobs
killing the dear Prophet Joseph, and my testimony grew a hundredfold. The tape ended, and
I continued to sit and cry. I wished that I could have been there to give up my life for
the prophet. As we began the drive back to California, I sat and pondered my life. I
pondered how I could have possibly spent the last 14 years NOT getting a stronger
testimony. I vowed that day that I was going to gain a testimony, for myself, of the
church. I began reading the Book of Mormon again, but didn't even wait for Moroni. The
first night I started praying for the truth. I got my answer immediately and continued
reading. I knew, for myself, that the church was true.
I know that it was inspiration for my parents to take me to Nauvoo that year. Had they
waited another year, it would have been too late. About 6 months after this vacation, I
was sexually assaulted to the point that I feared the male was going to rape me. This was
very traumatizing to me because it was some one I had trusted. The next few months were
very difficult for me as I tried to come to grips with what had happened. I blamed myself
for the incident and was often so depressed that I wanted to commit suicide. On several
occasions, I had considered suicide pretty seriously and was almost to the point of
getting up to get a knife to slit my wrists. That is when my testimony kicked in. I
remembered my trip to Nauvoo, my love for my Lord and Savior Jesus Christ, and my love for
the Prophet Joseph. I remembered sitting in Carthage, wanting to give my life for the
prophet. I realized that by killing myself, I would never be able to fully serve the Lord,
and I knew that Satan would win. This alone was enough for me to push the thoughts of
suicide out of my head yet again, and to raise my head to the light. The more I thought
about how much I loved the Lord, the stronger I became. I eventually pulled myself out of
my depression and was able to forgive the male who had caused me so much grief. I thank
the Lord every day for my life and for my testimony, for without my testimony, I wouldn't
have a life to live. I truly love the church for all that it has done. I have seen several
family members (extended) fall away from the church, and I praise the Lord for looking out
for me. I know that He knows who I am, and I know that He loves me. There are times when I
think that I am insignificant in His sight, but I know that I am not. I am very grateful
to President Hinckley. He has, on many occasions, said things that I personally needed to
hear. I know that he is a prophet of God, and that he leads the church by God's will. I
love the Prophet Joseph, and I am very grateful for his sacrifice. I am grateful to the
early pioneers, my ancestors, that gave up homes, loved ones, and even their lives so that
I may have the gospel in my life. I am grateful to loving parents for bringing me up in
the church. I am grateful to my Lord and Savior Jesus Christ, for suffering for all the
stupid mistakes that I have made, and those that I will make in the future. I love this
church. I only wish that I had the words to express how much I love it. I say these things
in the name of the Lord Jesus Christ, amen.
~*~Sandy Shardlow~*~
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