Vader_Orlag Posted August 7, 2012 Report Posted August 7, 2012 Hello everyone! I have been lurking around this forum for a little bit now and decided it was time to participate in some of these discussions. I am a recent convert I was baptized a few months ago. Before that I was agnostic, it was a major change for me (obviously). I certainly put the poor missionaries teaching me through the ringer with the questions I had. I had a pretty good knowledge of the church before I met with missionaries as I have always found religion fascinating. I currently live in Salt Lake City and I love it here. I work and go to school full time as well as raising my two year old daughter. I am happy to be a part of this forum and look forward to many great discussions! Quote
Guest Posted August 7, 2012 Report Posted August 7, 2012 Welcome! Would love to hear your story... Quote
Vader_Orlag Posted August 7, 2012 Author Report Posted August 7, 2012 haha ok keep in mind though that you asked for it. I was really an atheist for my entire life until I turned 19. At this point I decided that I did not know what was after this life. I remained agnostic until I was in a philosophy class a couple of semesters ago. We were studying a gentleman name Thomas Aquinas. One of his teachings was that there has to be something in existence whos existence was not dependent on something else. For example a tree exists because a tree before it dropped a seed. Obviously the previous tree exists for the same reason. He said you can not regress this way infinitely. At some point there has to be an unmoved mover. This really struck a chord with me for whatever reason. I am not sure because I was perfectly content in my agnostic ideas ( or lack of). This prompted me to reconsider faith, I thought about all the religions I have studied in my life. I ultimately came to the LDS church because I figured if any church was worth spiritual investigation, it was the church that made sure to take care of those around them even if those people don't share the same faith. I contacted missionaries through the web and had some elders contact me a short time later. They were really nice missionaries and I think shocked that I did not ask them to leave at the mention of a living prophet. Like I said before I knew a lot about the church with my mind but my soul was empty. I already had a Book of Mormon from my previous studies. They asked me to read it and pray for the truth. 4 months passed of regular lessons and praying. Then one day I woke up and knew with every fiber of my being that God absolutely did exist. Two more months of lessons and I had attended church a couple of times. One of the Elders was transferred and a new one arrived. I began to have more faith in the LDS church but still was not sure. One day we were talking about the veil. I had by far the strongest feeling I have ever had in my life. It was nearly dizzying. At this point I knew it was true, no questions asked. After this I was bad about going to church for whatever reason. The Elders worked very hard to get me to church. One Sunday I was sleeping and I had a dream that I was talking to the Elders. I don't remember the whole conversation but eventually I had some how denied them. One said to the other " I suppose he is not ready yet." They turned and began to walk away. I have never felt so terrible in my life, not because I hurt their feelings. I had a very VERY empty, sorrowful feeling come over me. I immediately woke up and realized it was 9:30. I panicked to get dressed to get to church. I stepped out of my door and in front of my home sat the Elders! I was so relieved! Apparently they had been praying that I would make it to church and wanted to help me get there. I was baptized two weeks later and have never thought twice about it. The church is fantastic I could not be more blessed. I have received the aaronic priesthood and I am fortunate to be able to help the church in as many ways as possible. Sorry it was pretty long but remember that you asked for it! I hope it was worth the read. Quote
annewandering Posted August 7, 2012 Report Posted August 7, 2012 It was very worth the read. Thank you for the inspiring testimony. :) Welcome to the forums. I hope you enjoy. Quote
Guest Posted August 7, 2012 Report Posted August 7, 2012 Thank you, Vader! That was an awesome experience. Quote
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