a convert comes back with a trail of children following her

[song_of_the_sun]

Hi, my name is Eva and I am newly back to the church. I joined in 2000, but fell away as i was the only single mom in the ward, with the closest other ward being 9 hours away. I felt like people judged me and were not really accepting. I had two little girls at the time and divorced from a cheating husband. I had a lot of questions about the church and was at the time a scholar, so i looked into things very deeply, perhaps too deeply as it undermined my new and shaky faith.

I wish i had not have left. Our lives would have turned out so much better had we stayed. I am happy to be back now however. I have 4 children now, and am carrying a 5th. My husband and I am separated and he very much dislikes the church. He gets a real horrible ugly look on his face when i mention anything about it.

My bishop suggested i do the gospel discussions over, so i am doing that. I do not really need them, but my children do, so i am happy about it. I wonder if i have to be rebaptized too, hmmm. I should find that out.

So i am trying to help my children understand the church. My 13 yr old is not very happy about the strictness of things, but she will come around, i hope

It is nice to be part of this community. I am looking forward to a good growth experience. Have the best day ever! Eva

[WmLee]

Welcome to the site Eva! The bishop probably told you to take the new member discussions so you could learn again and the missionary discussion with your children because if your daughter is over 8 years of age she should be baptized, (if she hasn’t already).

Enjoy learning again! As far as being re-baptised, I felt like that when I came back to the church. I talked with the bishop, laid everything out to him, and I learned a lot about repentance and the sacrament.

Keep your kids close to your heart, your family close to the gospel, and trust in the Lord.

[rameumptom]

Welcome back to the fold!

[pam]

I would like to welcome you back as well and also welcome you to the site.

[FairChild]

Welcome back. Enjoy. Come chat with us in the chatroom sometime. FC

[RanMan]

Welcome.

I hope your return is smooth as possible and filled with rewarding moments.

:)

[Maya]

Welcom Eva. I once was a mother with 2 girls alone in Church... Now I got 4 and my DH is a LDS, one son on mission and one willing to go in 1 1/2 years. Life is not easy, but we are not born to be loosers! Hold on to the rope!

So officially:

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[song_of_the_sun]

thank you so much for your welcomes, i feel all warm and fuzzy now! Maya, i am glad to hear things are working out for you and yours and that you stuck with it. Good show! WMmlee, yes, two of my children are over 8, so i hope they both decide to be baptized. They were too young for baptizism when we were with the church before. i know my 6 yr old is gung ho for baptism, she is so happy!

[Maya]

You know we all get ours (problems) but what ever how ever, the Church ROCS! And we CAN if we are willing to find back anytime.... and coming back is really great... even makes HF smile at us :)

Sometimes we are pretty stupid.... but that is life!

[LDSVALLEY]

Welcome back to the church.

No you do not get baptized again, we had a returned member come back after 12 years, she neglected to mention she was starting over and had been a member, she took the lessons got baptized and after mentioned she had already been a member. We had to recall the old records and toss out the new ones. Her records show her membership from 12 years ago not now.

As a just released Mission Leader I can tell you it is common for people who have been inactive for some time to have it suggested that you retake the lessons and usually attend the Gospel Principle class for a time. Both are to

1 reconnect your memories with the gospel teaching because it is very easy for anyone who has been away to misremember some things.

2 it's like starting at the shallow end of the pool when you have not been swimming for years. If you dive into the deep end right away you might drown before you remember what you need to do. If you start at the shallow end you have support until you can get back up to speed, then you can easily venture from the shallow supported end to the deeper end supporting yourself. If you find you are tiring as you move deeper it is easier to get back to the shallower area until you are stronger. Jump in the deep end and your only hope is to try and hold onto the edge and see if you can work up the courage to go back out, but it is harder to get stronger when your holding onto the edge of deep water then splashing around the shallow area.

3 If someone was not living the standards of the Gospel then they have not had the Holy Ghost as a constant companion for some time. They need to be given an easier path back to the straight and narrow path and guided around the rough patches until the Holy Ghost has reestablished a communication with the person in a manner the person can notice again.

4 Satan loves us when we weaken our testimonies of the gospel. It can and does happen to the strongest people. I considered myself deeply anchored yet four years ago seriously attempted to leave the church to protect my faith in it (don't ask I'm still not sure it ever made sense even to me.) I was blessed enough that my anchor was strong enough to refuse to let me do it. One advantage it gave me is I passed through a test and am stronger for it. When someone tries to come back Satan will work at every crack to prevent it. He will tempt your children, work at every weakness you have, use others to put the church down, maybe have you see harmless comments by members as a personal attack, etc. He will work very hard to stop you. Reviewing the basics provides the armour of God to help shield you faster and stronger then going into the deeper doctrine of regular classes.

5 Living the Gospel is a choice and a habit. Habits take time to form, the more complex the longer it takes. Starting with the basics is the easiest habits to form then they can be built on.

Feel blessed you have a wise Ward, I have seen others where people who come back are treated either as lepers who will just leave again. Almost as bad is when you go to a Ward who simply accepts you back into the fold without any transition time. I have seen people return from years away, stand in testimony meeting and announce their desire to return, immediatly they are put into the regular mill like nothing ever happened, given callings etc. Most often they are gone even before the next testimony meeting.

I admire your courage and desire to return. It is never easy to right a mistake made. But realize that if you stay the course you will be stronger for your experience, you will be in a position to help prevent others from taking the same path you did and helping those others who return to undergo the transition because you understand far better then those who never experience that trial.

At times the road will be rough, sometimes steep, sometimes like trying to walk through knee deep mud. You might see other roads that are smooth flat and easy walking. Remember it is always easier to walk down hill then up. But we grow stronger from the exercise!