Why I Believe

Today I gave my first real talk in Sacrament meeting. It was a truly wonderful experience though I don't think I've ever been more nervous. I was given the topic Why I Believe. In preparing this talk I did tons of Google searches and scripture searches etc but it was all for nothing really. No one else can tell me why I believe so in the end I sat down and wrote about why I joined the church. Yesterday I debated about the rightness of my chosen subject but since I couldn't come up with a better illustration of my why I believe decided to run with it. When I walked into sacrament meeting and saw I got to speak with Shawn Quinn I knew I had picked the right subject and that my prayer for peace and calm for my talk was answered. You see Shawn has this amazing effect on me, he really makes me feel calm I can't explain it really. So knowing that Jared was sitting out there cheering me on and that I got to talk with Shawn just really put my mind at ease. It also happens that Shawn's first Sunday as a member of the bishopric was my first Sunday at church. So thanks Shawn for being there and giving such a wonderful talk.

My talk:

Why I Believe

I believe in this church. To believe is to have confidence in the truth, the existence, or the reliability of something, without absolute proof that one is right in doing so. Why do I believe? To answer that question I have to give you a little history of how I came to be here before you today.

When I was young the only religious people I knew were my grandparents. My earliest memories are of going to church with my grandmother. Of sitting under the pews playing while she stood up and talked every Sunday. I remember the feeling of love and peace I felt every time I went to church with her even if I didn’t always understand what she was talking about. When I was six I lost my grandmother to cancer. After that I didn’t go to church any more but I never forgot how it felt to go to church with her.

It wasn’t until Middle school that I really started to feel like something was missing in my life. I wanted to feel the same way I did when I went to church with my grandmother again. I wanted that sense of rightness in my life again. So I started going to church with friends finding out about all the different religions, Catholic, Lutheran, Methodist, Episcopalian even a non denominational Church but none of them ever felt right to me. In the bottom of my heart I felt I would know the moment I found the right church and none of these were it. After a while I gave up trying to find the right church I didn’t think it was out their to be honest, but the lord is funny he doesn’t let people give up so easily.

It was about that time that I meet my husband Jared. He was a less active member but always believe strongly in this church. He never said much about his religion not wanting to impose his beliefs on me and I never really brought up the subject with him. From time to time I would be around when his home teacher would stop by and share a message with us, or the missionary’s would come by with cider and cookies just to see if there was anything we needed. Gradually I started to grow more interested in his church but wasn’t quite ready to take the plunge figuring I would just be disappointed when I did go. Right about then was when we decided to get married. I had always wanted to get married in a church but since I didn’t have one I felt strongly about and Jared did I decided we should just get married in his church knowing nothing about that whole temple thing. Anyhow we started meeting with Bishop Ward and planning our wedding. It was in one of these meetings that we began to talk about children and how we wanted to raise any we may be blessed with. We both agreed that our children should be raised in a religion and I felt that since Jared’s meant so much to him that it was only logical to raise them Mormon, but I wanted to find out more about it first. So threw the Bishop we set up a meeting with the missionaries. Everything was really low pressure and just seemed to click. So I decided to learn more and on Easter Sunday we came to church for the first time. All I could think was this is right, everything just felt the way a church should.

I do just about everything on gut instated for lack of a better term. I would like to say I read the whole book of Mormon before I got baptized but I didn’t. I didn’t want to wait that long. On June 14 2003 I was baptized. That day I felt just like the Grinch on Christmas morning, my heart grew 3 sizes. There was so much love and joy that I felt like I couldn’t contain it all.

So why do I believe? I believe because the spirit tells me it is true. It’s the sense of welcome I get from entering the chapel. It's the feeling of love I feel each time I kneel in prayer. The sweetness evoked by a hymn and the rightness I feel in studying the scriptures. It’s the peace of mind I get from hearing the profit speak and the joy I feel when I entering the temple.

I Believe in this Church. I know that Heavenly Father loves us all as individuals. I know that the book of Mormon is true. I know that he sent a profit to guide us. That the apostoles were hand picked and prepared by heavenly father to lead us.

So in ending today was my best week of church yet in the new ward. I'm starting to make friends and after giving my talk a lot more people were willing to talk to me. It's not home yet but I no longer feel like a complete outsider. It will take time but this is the ward we are meant to be in I know that. Each week will be a new challenge but as long as I don't give up it will be ok. If I can make one new friend every other week that's a start.