My intention was to continue my story where I left off in the last post. I even started composing it offline while on a layover recently. Started, meaning not finished. Well I just finished writing about how I came to be Mormon and why I still am, for a profile I am posting on Mormon.org. And the ADHD part of me says "if you don't copy that post in your blog now, while you're thinking about it, you may well forget it and lose the chance to put a pretty important answer to that initial question "Why Am I Here?" up on this blog." So I guess for the sake of quieting that worried ADHD voice I'll go ahead and post what I wrote for my profile here, and get on with the sequential telling of 'the story' later.
I was born in Salt Lake City to LDS parents. As a teenager I began to question the values and teachings I had been raised with, which resulted in a departure from church activity and exploration of other philosophies, religions, and life styles. I had begun my college studies, attending Oklahoma State University in Stillwater, Oklahoma, when my best friend was killed in a private plane crash. As I grieved his loss and tried to make sense of what seemed to be such a senseless death, serious questions about the purpose of life took center stage in my mind. Were there really answers to these questions and if so, where would I find them? In this process it occurred to me that if I were to be honest and fair with myself I needed to include a thorough investigation of the religion I was born into while searching for the truth among other beliefs. It seemed illogical to exclude it simply based on the fact that it was what I had grown up with. I decided to read the Book of Mormon cover to cover with a sincere desire to discover the truth. My question at the outset had been "Is this the product of Joseph Smith's imagination, one of the greatest frauds of our time, or is it possible that the time had come for the restoration of all things prophesied in the New Testament and Joseph Smith was telling the truth?" If the former were true, I would need to continue my search elsewhere, among other beliefs and philosophies. Throughout the entire time I was reading the Book of Mormon, I attended Sunday meetings at the local university student branch. What I experienced during this time was the kind of enlightenment which I could best describe as a series of "Aha" moments. My most profound questions regarding the purpose of life, and my life in particular became clear and I came to know the Book of Mormon to be exactly what it claimed to be...scripture, translated by the gift and power of God from the writings of ancient prophets. Scripture which enhanced my understanding and belief in Christ as the Son of God and Savior of the word, my personal Savior and Redeemer, whom I could have a real and personal relationship with. It wasn't just intellectual analysis that brought me to that conclusion, although I found nothing contrary to logic or reason. What became the bedrock of my testimony of the truthfulness of the Book of Mormon were spiritual experiences I was having as I was reading and studying, experiences too personal to share at length here. Suffice it to say I came to know the Book of Mormon to be true, and it's author and translator, Joseph Smith, to be who and what he claimed to be, a modern day prophet called to be a tool in the hands of God to restore the fullness of the Gospel of Jesus Christ and His church in preparation for His prophesied return. That was more than thirty years ago. I know now more than ever that my experiences were nothing less than divine guidance for someone who was earnestly seeking to know the truth about God. Countless experiences throughout my life have confirmed that belief and knowledge. I am far from perfect, yet I have a hope that someday, certainly beyond the veil of this existence, with the help of the Lord I may become like him, as he has invited and even commanded us all to do. In the mean time, my membership in the church and testimony of it's truthfulness influences every aspect of my life. To the degree that I fail to live in harmony with those revealed truths, I experience sadness and disappointment, and conversely, I find the greatest happiness and fulfillment in life when I am living in accordance to the teachings of the gospel as revealed through modern day prophets and apostles.
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