Conversion Story - Abele

It’s hard to believe that it’s already been 4 years since I decided to become a member of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints. I grew up in a crazy life style that most non-members would consider ordinary. My conversion story differs from most in that I’m the only member of my family to have been baptized.  Often times I’m asked by my peers why I decided to join a church during what’s suppose to be one of the most adventurous and liberating periods of my life. I suppose theirs a perception out there that living a moral and Christ-like life translates into a dull and restrictive way of living. While I’ve certainly had many bumps along my journey, my decision to become a member has transformed who I am.

My conversion story dates back to the fall of 2009, when I moved to Arlington, VA. Growing up, most of my family was involved in many different denominations of Christianity. None of which really connected with me.  At the time, although I believed in God, I didn’t really consider myself to be a religious person. Fast-track to the middle of my junior when I endured an abundance of personal issues that brought me to one of the lowest points of my life. 

It wasn’t until then that I decided that I wanted a different life. I wasn’t sure what type of life it would be, but I was sure that I didn’t want my life to continue the way that it was.  Clearly I needed change. One night I got on my knees and prayed for that change. Little did I know that my prayer was almost immediately going to be answered. 

Soon after I ended up meeting one of my now very close friends. At first, I was completely unaware of their affiliation with the church and our friendship grew naturally on its own. It wasn’t till several months later that I was invited to meet with the missionaries. I was initially skeptical about it all, but out of pure politeness I agreed to do so. My first meeting with the missionaries didn’t go very well. Within the first five minutes of our meeting I was asked to commit to a baptismal date of a religion I’d never known about. I left thinking that this was the last of this church I’d ever hear about. 

A few months passed and again I was invited to attend church. The idea of attending 3 hours of church seemed a little daunting at the time but I agreed to do so anyways. Before heading off to church I prayed to heavenly father that he would reveal to me if this were the right direction to follow. To my amazement, I felt something that I don't believe that I had felt in a long time. I knew I was home. The Holy Ghost confirmed to me that I was in the right place. 

Over the course of the next few months, I met with the missionaries, slowly going through each lesson and understanding the principles of the gospel. A few short weeks later I was baptized and confirmed a member of the church.  Over the course of the next few years, my testimony continued to grow and strengthen. Knowing that through all of my afflictions, the lord is with me and will strengthen me provides me with everlasting peace and comfort. “Whosoever shall put their trust in God shall be supported in their trials, and their troubles, and their afflictions, and shall be lifted up at the last day.” Alma 36:3

I have a testimony, and I know that this is Christ's Church built upon a foundation of prophets and apostles with Jesus Christ himself being that Chief corner stone. I bear record that this is the only true church. 

-Abele (July 15, 2014)

Don't Fear the Tumult

Reading Matthew 26 & 27 the other day my eyes were opened to some good insights that are packed into those 2 chapters.  Focusing on just a few of those insights I'd like to first explore 3 interesting characters whose stories are discussed there: Judas, Peter, and Pilate.

I  grapple with understanding how these 3 men will be judged for their various actions, but I think there are some good lessons to learn.  To recap their various situations:

Judas - One of the Twelve.  As had been prophesied by Jesus, he betrayed Jesus by assisting the chief priests and elders to unlawfully arrest him, all for 30 pieces of silver.

Peter - Also one of the Twelve, and the eventual leader of the church.  Also as prophesied by the Savior, he denied Christ 3 times before the cock crowed, despite his forceful assurances just hours before that he would never do such a thing.

Pilate - The local ruling Roman governor whose responsibility it was to uphold or dismiss the accusations against Jesus.

What's interesting about Judas is that while we all remember him as the worst kind of traitor (indeed, his very name epitomizes the act) it's easy to forget that as a member of the holy order of the Twelve and as part of the Savior's inner circle he must have been incredibly valiant at some point and must have brought about so much good during his roughly 3 years as a special witness of Christ.  (The ultimate tragic example in the parable of the sower of a seed that fell among the thorns and got choked by the cares of the world.)  We know his fate because the Savior said that it would have been better that that man had not been born, but it's especially tragic because very shortly after the act we read that he repented by acknowledging his error and asking to give the money back, and ultimately hung himself for sorrow.  He certainly wasn't pure evil, and I think he is deserving of pity.

What intrigues (and frankly, worries) me about Peter is how quickly his rock-solid testimony could be shaken.  When I think about it in modern-day terms and I apply his situation to myself I can easily see how, for example, if someone told me that I would [oh, I don't know, drink a beer], I would probably tell this person that they don't know me well, and I would never do that; but maybe I would find myself in a totally new circumstance--and not so much out of rebellion but out of convenience and a belief that what I was doing was really just to minimize fuss and drama--and I would cave.  In Peter's case there's the interesting caveat that the Savior actually said, "thou shalt deny me thrice," and maybe it was a critical growth opportunity for Peter on his discipleship trajectory.

Pilate yielding to the crowd

Getting back to that concept of minimizing fuss and drama, I think this is what Pilate's tragic flaw is.  We can tell that Pilate marvels at Christ and recognizes some divinity in him.  His wife even had a dream the night before about Jesus, and tried to convince Pilate to let him go.  But despite Pilate's soft efforts to free Jesus, in the end he's more worried about pleasing the crowd and when he sees that a "tumult was made" he ceremoniously but ineffectually washes his hands of the act.  I tend to want to give him the benefit of the doubt and put the blame on the crowd and chalk it up to unfair circumstances, but ultimately the buck stops with him and he behaved everlastingly ignominiously.  Contrast his leadership with the Savior's who, when he saw that people were making his Father's house "an house of merchandise," drove them out forcefully with a whip and overturned tables.


Both Pilate and Peter (and I guess Judas too) serve as great cautionary tales to not allow ourselves to fear what man can do (D&C 122:9) and to strive to be steadfast and immovable in our testimonies.

One final insight from these two chapters is found in 27:42, where we read about the chief priests and scribes and elders mocking Christ as he hung on the cross, saying, "He saved others; himself he cannot save.  If he be the King of Israel, let him now come down from the cross, and we will believe him."  To me this serves as a perfect example of mankind's desire to make our own logical deductions based on our limited perspective.  Nowadays someone might argue that God doesn't exist based on all the suffering they see, or traditional marriage is outdated, or any number of "logical" arguments, but it's important to first consider our limited perspective and that "even as the heavens are higher than the earth, so are [God's] ways higher than [man's] ways." (Isa 55:8-9)

Hi, My Name is David, and I'm a Mormon (2/2/14)

I spent the morning watching “I’m a Mormon” videos trying to brainstorm as to why I am a Mormon. That I have to watch videos about other Mormons to discover why I am a Mormon is, well, somewhat shameful, and I realized that I have not seriously contemplated my reasoning for being a Mormon in several years. I guess Alma was speaking to me when he said  “if ye have experienced a change of heart, . . . I would ask, can ye feel so now?” (Alma 5:26)

I made the decision to be Mormon on July 4, 2004 when I was 18 years old. I had recently graduated from high school and was trying to decide if being Mormon was worth it. I had made plans to attend college where I would conveniently stop going to church  and be able to forget the whole church thing. I was somewhat like Amulek who recalled that he “harden[ed] [his] heart, for [he] was called many times and ... would not hear; ... [he] knew concerning these things (meaning the truthfulness of the gospel), yet [he] would not know; [and] ... went on rebelling against God.” I knew the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-­day Saints taught truth and was God’s Church on Earth, but like Amulek I would not believe.  I was distracted  by the world; the commandments were restrictive, and I wanted to [be] free from it.

July 4th was a Sunday, and I was lying in bed thinking about my plans to leave the Church when I received inspiration from God. I remember specifically hearing a voice in my mind that said, “Do not leave, I need you in this Church.” It was a strange sensation at the time because my mind was talking to me in third person, but when I think about it now, I realize that the voice speaking to me was the Holy Ghost. I learned in those few seconds that God knew me, that He loved me, and that He had a plan for me. Learning these truths changed my decision to leave the church and consequently the trajectory of my life.

Since that summer day, I have had other experiences that explain my decision to be a Mormon. I have read the Book of Mormon in its entirety several times and know that it is from God because of the guidance and inspiration I have gained from its pages. I have felt the redemption of the Atonement of Jesus Christ as I have repented, and I have seen how the commandments protect us from difficult experiences, allow God to provide us with blessings, and bring lasting peace to our lives.

While I may have spent a little too much time this morning watching the “I’m a Mormon” videos, I enjoy watching them because they inspire me. The videos allow me to see how other Mormons navigate life and how the Church influences their lives for the better. I hope you know off the top of your head why you are a Mormon. But, if you [are] like me, and the question leaves you scratching your head, I hope you take the time to sit down, ponder, and write down why you are a Mormon.

My name is David. I am a law student, a father, a husband, and yes, I am a Mormon too.