Craig

I've been here for a couple of weeks so thought I should join in. I'm a forty-five.. ode' the pain; a recent convert from South Florida. Currently I'm an ordained minister for an mainline evangelical church in the US but I'm working on it .. meaning; unemployed in church matters. My first introduction to the LDS church was as an adolescent but after serving in the military somehow found myself in Bible college pursuing a Pastoral degree. I was married for fifteen years to the only woman I've known in my lifetime as an adult; We actually met in missionary training. After an excruciating divorce, inner thought and prayer I came to realize that something more was awaiting me. I began studying the Book of Mormon and sought the counsel of some older LDS members who were kind enough to share their testimonies. For many years I was confused by the doctrinal views so differing in many churches .. even those of my former domination. Refocused and with a energized love for my faith in Christ it was finally time to come home.

My initial interest in the LDS Church was as an adolescent .. a neighbor, of the same age often offered his testimony. His forthrightness I value till this day candidly admitting he planted a seed. Shortly after High School I entered the military and without the encouragement of other church members gravitated towards becoming a Southern Baptist. I immediately had issues with the church and it wavering doctrinal views depending on the church I attended, after attending Bible college and becoming ordained I became a member of the Church of God, Tennessee. .. very Pentecostal in practices and beliefs. I was married for fifteen years and went through an excruciating divorce. Knowing it was no fault of my own as I did everything possible to preserve the marriage. I started to ask our Father for further guidance. Within a day two LDS missionaries knocked on my door and I welcomed them in. It took several weeks due to conflicting schedules but we were finally able to spend some quality time. For the first time in many years I felt relief; praying and devoting myself to study and within two months decided to become a member of the church.

Book of Mormon in MP3 format ... http://lds.org/mp3/display/0,18692,5297-41,00.html

I had the opportunity to try Windows Vista and was extremely disappointed. There's plenty of new features but it's tremendously memory dependant. I run several web servers and deployment was nearly impossible. Compatibility functions are still lacking so if you have software that is perhaps four-five years old it's likely you'll experience some problems. It's marvelous to look at and I can't resist comparing it to the Apple operating system which I very familar.

I can easily relate to this topic as a recent convert to the church. For the past twenty years I primarily served in evangelical ministries; Southern Baptist and Church of God. I spent ten years as a missionary serving at several Christian camps and conference centers throughout the US and later as a youth pastor. My family is less than supportive regarding my new found faith but the peace of mind knowing that I have finally found what has eluded me most of my adult life. Nonetheless, there's been a few bumps in the proverbial road as I sought greater wisdom through study and prayer.