Mary Lee C.

WHY I BELIEVE

I was raised in the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. I can’t remember a time in my life when I didn’t believe in HeavenlyFather and Jesus Christ. My parents taught me the gospel from infancy and I grew up knowing that Heavenly Father loved me and that I could pray to Him about anything at any time. My parents also taught me to keep the commandments and as I kept the commandments, I was blessed, and I came to be able to distinguish right from wrong not only by what I had been taught, but by the way that I felt. I learned that I was happy when I followed my conscience and did the right thing, like the time in elementary school when I apologized first after my friend and I had been arguing. And I learned that I felt bad when I did the wrong thing, like the time I took my friend’s “uncut diamond” (really a quartz) from her rock collection. I felt much better after I ran next door to confess and return it to her, even though I fell and cut my knee on the way! I experienced the joy of feeling clean in every way after I was baptized at age eight. I felt sad when I sinned again, but grateful that I could repent every time and be forgiven. In fact, from an early age, I learned that peace of conscience brings greater happiness than any possession or entertaining activity.

My father was called as a mission president to Córdoba, Argentina when I was 11 years old and I spent the next four years immersed in discussions of missionary work, attending zone meetings and member conferences with my parents. I served a two-week mission with a full-time lady missionary in the northern city of Salta. Later my best friend and I went out knocking on doors one afternoon and set up several discussions for the full-time missionaries. I always felt that I would serve a mission, but I was also concerned about it because I knew it would be hard. As my 21st birthday approached, I began to think seriously about whether or not to go.

During this time I continued to pray and study the scriptures. One day I came across two sections in the Doctrine and Covenants that answered my questions, “What is the best thing for me to do? Serve a mission, go to graduate school, or try for a full-time position on the ski patrol?!” Section 15 and 16 are addressed to John and Peter Whitmer, and the wording is exactly the same in each. The Lord says, “...the thing which will be of the most worth unto you will be to declare repentance unto this people, that you may bring souls unto me, that you may rest with them in the kingdom of my Father.”

There was my answer! Going on a mission was the best thing I could do at that time in my life, both for myself and for the people I would teach. I submitted my papers and was soon called to the Spain Madrid mission. It was one of the hardest things I have ever done, but it set the tone and direction for the rest of my life. From that time on I have tried to put the Lord and His work first in my life and He has helped me grow and blessed me immensely, including many opportunities to experience the joy that comes from helping others draw close to the Him.

On my mission, I realized that Satan uses individually tailored lies and temptations to lead people away from Heaven Father’s plan of happiness for them. Because Satan’s intent is to deceive, I realized that he is not bound by the constraints of reality and truth. Yet there is only one reality and that is what Heavenly Father and Jesus are trying to help us understand so we can each reach our full potential and become like Them.

There are times even now when Heavenly Father is the only One who can truly understand my circumstances and the desires of my heart and the only One who can comfort me and give me counsel. Because He is real and He loves me, whenever I am unsure or afraid or discouraged or sad, I ask for His guidance and comfort, and when I really open my mind and heart to listen, He always answers my prayers with a feeling of peace and often specific thoughts that help me to understand and know what to do.

Mary Lee C.
Feb. 28, 2009