Going from Nothing to Everything

I am not really sure how/where to start as I write this so here it goes.

My name is Lauren Wilson. I am a member of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints. I grew up in a loving family that taught me good morals. I love my family! We however were not very religious, other than a week during the summer at bible school, and church on Christmas Eve. So I really had no solid spiritual foundation. Friends and their families spoke to me about Jesus and the Bible, but I did not understand the importance at that time in my life.

I was baptized on July 5, 2014 in to The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints. Since becoming a member of this church I can see a huge change in my life. Because of getting baptized, because of the gospel, this is the happiest I have ever been.

Flashback to October 2013, I had a friend who is a member of the church. In October, she had invited me to watch General Conference, at the time I didn’t know much about the church. Actually I got to be honest I knew NOTHING about the church! As I watched General Conference I had a hard time following along with some things, however one thing I gained from General Conference was the fact Heavenly Father does love us one quote that I never will forget comes from the Relief Society Meeting. Our Prophet Thomas S. Monson’s said, "your Heavenly Father loves you-each of you. That love never changes....it is simply always there". This is the one thing that kept me wanting to watch the next four sessions.

As General Conference came to an end my friend invited me to meet with the missionaries, I pushed it off said maybe, and that was it for a little under a month. In November, finally I was ready to meet with the missionaries, she got me in contact, after agreeing with the missionaries to meet with them. I thought to myself what did I just agree to? I wanted to chicken out, not show up to our meeting.

The day was here I was meeting with the missionaries for the first time. We were meeting after math class at my school. While I was sitting in class, all I could think about was how I would be meeting with the missionaries. I had mixed feelings about this. I was excited, I was scared. It was time to meet with the elders; these were the first two who helped change my life; as I stepped in to the lobby and saw them I wanted to turn around, but I couldn’t, my feet wouldn’t move. Looking back on it now I am so glad that I hadn’t turned around. As we were going over the lesson I just felt something. A feeling that is something that is so great, and hard to explain. The missionaries invited me to read the Book of Mormon (which I had already started) and as I read I couldn’t put it down ever! I knew from the moment I started that it was true. When I got to the end I prayed about it, and I knew my answer.

It took me awhile to make the right steps toward baptism, 8 months to be exact. I had met with many missionaries, and they all have helped me along the way.

To all those who this may concern, missionaries, members of the church, friends,

Thank you! Thank you for always being there for me, when it seemed like I was never going to make it. Thank you for forgiving me when I messed up. Thanks for teaching me the importance of forgiving those around us. Thank you for those who have shared the gospel with me, Thank you for those who inspire me every day to change.  Thank you for changing my life because without all of you that would have never happened.

Thank you sincerely,

Lauren

Being a member of this church has changed my life in ways I never expected, I never thought I would feel this happy. Of course I still have hard days but I know that I will get through those days.

I know that this church is true! That without a doubt challenges we face are for us to become stronger, I know that heavenly father lives and loves us unconditionally, Jesus Christ is His Only Begotten Son the Redeemer and Savior of the world. I know that the Book of Mormon is true, if you take the time to read it you can find the answer for yourself. I say these things in the name of Jesus Christ amen.