How often do you just sit there wondering what to do? I have that problem right now. I have been in a writing drought the past 5 weeks or so. What to write about? There's so much I can say on certain events, but why draw attention to the negatives, especially with the political and economic situations being what they are. It would be too easy to whine about a Congress full of spoiled, entitled children who can't seem to play well together or an economic policy that is based on failed and discounted economic theories of the past. I want to be more positive today and not dwell on those matters even though they are still of the utmost importance. So what should I write about?
It has come to my mind that many people do not really know where I came from and how I became the person I am today. Yes, I know I have touched on a few things in my most recent blog, but there is still so much more. As many people know, I am a member of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, a Mormon. Yesterday in church the talks dealt with conversion. I think today I will share with you the story of my conversion.
Did it really begin in 1978 when I first visited Salt Lake City and joined the church or did it actually begin in 1966 when I first read something amazing in an old encyclopedia. Probably the latter. My family had an encyclopedia set given to us that was already 10 years old at the time. Well, it was my first ever encyclopedia and I just loved flipping through it and reading the articles on different subjects. How many 10 year old kids do you know who had even heard the word zygote (the last word in the encyclopedia) or even knew what one is? I remember seeing a picture of a boy kneeling on the ground being handed some tablets from a man standing above him. I was curious so I read the accompanying brief article. It was interesting and then I moved on. Little did I know that almost 12 years later that picture would return to my memory with a fuller understanding of what it was about.
I was raised in the Protestant Episcopal Church. I recall when I was 11 attending confirmation class and studying the beliefs and practices of the church. While the rest of the kids studied the Catechism I also read the very back of the Book of Common Prayer, the section entitled "Articles of Religion." This gave me more of an in depth knowledge of the beliefs of the Episcopal Church. I was amazed at the differences between what was actually taught and practiced with what was in the "Articles of Religion." I asked the minister of the church about that and he said that the articles are just there. He didn't even recall them being taught in Seminary. I kept this in mind. When I was 14 I was placed in the Baptist Home for Children in Bethesda, Maryland. We were compelled to attend the Baptist Church, more specifically at the time, the First Baptist Church in Silver Spring, Maryland. There I learned more details about God and Jesus Christ than I ever learned from the Episcopal Church, but I never changed my church membership. I remained an Episcopalian. When I went home to Baltimore for visits I attended Old St. Paul's Episcopal Church and noticed that the worship service had changed. The went with what was known at the time as the "New Liturgy." There is no way to easily explain it. Instead of a fairly streamlined and simple service that I was used to it was full of ceremony and ritual. It was explained to me that it was how the early church worshiped. Hmmmm. Flash forward to age 21 and the Spring of 1978.
I was working at the American College of Cardiology in Bethesda at the time and was trying to decide where I should go on vacation that year. I had traveled some before and I had heard people talking about Salt Lake City and how nice a city it was. I decided that I should see for myself what everyone was talking about. Every year the College holds an convention somewhere in the US. There was an office that dealt with exclusively with that so it received promotional information from cities all over the US. I asked them for information on Salt Lake City. Within a week I had a package from the tourist center in Salt Lake and began studying it. I made my reservations at a hotel in downtown Salt Lake City (Temple Square Hotel) and bought my bus tickets. I traveled everywhere by Greyhound in those days. After a 42 hour bus ride I arrived in Salt Lake and checked in to my hotel.
My original plan was to simply clean up, eat dinner, and rest at the hotel that first night. It didn't work out that way. Once I had cleaned up from my trip I looked out my window and noticed that my room looked over Temple Square. Like a magnet I was drawn there. I walked around and saw some exhibits, spoke to some people and then took the tour. Even then I did not do things in the normal order. I still prefer to do some self-exploration before I take formal tours whenever I can. I noticed something right away. Salt Lake City did not look like a desert. It was a modern city and very green. The fact that everything was so green is what told me that some very special people had settled this area. I returned again to Temple Square after dinner and stayed until closing continuing to learn all I could about Utah, Salt Lake City and the Mormons. I learned about a very ugly part of American history. About a time when a church could be persecuted because it did not follow the basic beliefs of an existing church and had the audacity to call itself the "true church of Jesus Christ." I just wanted to learn more and more and more.
I spent three days in Salt Lake City and took all of the requisite scenic tours. Every free moment I had was spent at Temple Square, a place where the outside world just seemed to disappear. By the time I left Utah I was convinced that someday I would become a member of this church. That day came sooner than I ever dreamed it would.
I had been home for two days and had a friend over playing some games when there was a knock on the door. There were two young gentlemen in suits with name badges identifying themselves as missionaries of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. Since I already had company they said they could return the next evening and so they did. We got to talking about what I knew about the church and its beliefs and I told them about my trip to Utah. I also told them I had many questions. They challenged me to ask my questions and they surprised me by being able to answer every one of them. They then gave me the big challenge -- the challenge of baptism. I said, "Sure. When?" They then told me they had a few lessons to teach me first but that I could be baptized in about three weeks. On July 28, 1978, I was baptized in the Kensington Ward chapel which is next door to the Washington DC Temple.
It has not always been an easy road trying to live the gospel of Jesus Christ. I know I can do much better, that I come short of expectations in so many ways. The gospel teaches us that life is a probationary state and full of challenges that we need to overcome so that we may again return to live with our Heavenly Father. I plan to strive for that goal for the remainder of my earthly existence.
