From Convert Student to BYU Professor

All four of Sandra’s grandparents had divorced at least once, long before she was old enough to understand what divorce even meant. In the case of one grandparent, the number of divorces would eventually reach 10. Complicit in those divorces were various forms of infidelity and addictions to drugs and alcohol. Sandra knew early on that she wanted something very different in her life.

Sandra began visiting The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints when she was about 10 years old with her Grandma, a kind woman who was searching for something better after two painful divorces due to partner infidelity. What both Sandra and her Grandma found was not perfection, but they did find a context where two “peculiar” standards were explicitly named and idealized: (1) the law of chastity that required that sex be kept inside the bounds of traditional marriage, and (2) the word of wisdom forbidding the use of alcohol and illicit drugs.

For Sandra, these commandments and the faith that taught them provided a path of pragmatic hope for the kind of life she wanted to build for herself. This included a vision of a joy-filled future marriage that would not end in divorce and future children that she hoped to help avoid the direct and indirect ravages of substance abuse.

At only 10 years of age, Sandra had found the faith she desired. She wanted to be baptized and become a member. Her Dad, a man of deep integrity and honesty who believed in keeping promises, asked her to wait to make baptismal covenants until she was 18. So, she attended church for eight years on her own with the help of her Mother, who lined up rides for Sandra with a friend who belonged to the faith.

To read the entire article: Public Square Magazine