Shortly after my brother’s accident, I began seeing some of the difficult realities we all must face in life.  First, I realized how close my brother came to dying, and I started pondering the meaning of death.  I needed an answer, because through my brother, I learned that death can (and often does) come without warning.  When would my turn come?  I’d heard that many believe in a life after death.  Was there such a life?  Was there a God who could make such a life possible?  And since we all will inevitably die, what is the meaning of living in the first place?  And if there is a God who loves us, then why does he allow so much suffering?  Why were there wars, crime, poverty, disease?  These were just a few of the questions that troubled me.
 
 

My first knowledge of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints came when I was four or five. I was with my mother and we saw a couple of missionaries riding their bicycles in Fresno.  Because they were such an odd sight, I pointed them out and asked her who they were.  She said they were Mormons.   I didn’t say anything else, but I thought it was odd.  Here were two young men dressed in business suits riding bicycles.  I could only draw one conclusion, which stuck with me for the next fifteen year--Mormons were obviously affluent business people who were too tight to buy a car! 
 
 

One day Candy was talking about some of the mutual friends we had that were members of the Church.  I never knew these people were Mormon, but I really respected each of them.  They set such great examples.  Having discovered this, I was a little more interested in the Church, so I went with her one Sunday, and I enjoyed it, so I went again and again.  Finally she invited me to listen to the discussions and I accepted.  Two missionaries taught me these discussions.  Amazingly, the Gospel had answers to all of the questions I’d struggled with for so many years.  But how would I know if the answers were true?  The missionaries showed me the method in Moroni 10:3-5.

As Moroni suggested, I began to read the Book of Mormon and pray about it.  For the first few weeks, I didn’t receive an answer, but one night I read Alma 5:45-46, and for the first time, I actually could hear those words spoken by a real man who lived thousands of years ago.  All of a sudden, it seemed real, not fictitious.  The light bulb came on and I felt something in my heart as I never had before.  Could it be that the influence of the Holy Ghost the missionaries had taught me about?  I kneeled down by my bed and asked Heavenly Father if I was indeed feeling the Holy Ghost.  The answer was inexplicable, yet profound and immediate.  I knew right there that the Book of Mormon was true, and shortly thereafter on my nineteenth birthday, I was baptized and confirmed a member of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints.
 
 

I have grown in my knowledge of the truthfulness of the Church.  Many spiritual experiences along the journey of life has testified to me that Jesus Christ is indeed our Savior.  I will never forget the first really special experience I had as a member of the Church.  It came in the most unexpected of occasions.  I had been called to serve as a juror on a sexual assault case in Fresno.  The case involved a man named Jimmie Lee Henry, who was accused of sexually molesting his stepdaughter for a period of years.  The trial lasted for four weeks, and I had been praying for guidance in making my decision.  I was terrified at the thought of holding this man’s future in my hands.  I knew that the Holy Ghost could guide me.  That gift was given to me during my confirmation.  So I prayed every single day that I would be led to the correct decision.  Deliberations lasted four days.  By the end of the time, all of us jurors grew frustrated at our inability to arrive at a unanimous decision on all nine charges filed against the defendant.  During the last day, I felt like we needed to hear the testimony of one of the witnesses, who was a police officer.  I neglected the thought, because we had already reviewed his testimony once.  What good would it do to review it again?  However, I couldn’t get the thought out of my head, so I requested the court stenographer return to read it once again.  The jurors were patient with my request.  We all listened intently, but this time we continued reviewing part of it that we hadn’t previously.  As the stenographer read something, I came to an instant realization of what had happened.  There was no denying the man’s guilt.  I looked around the table to notice that the looks on all of the other jurors similarly showed that all had received the same revelation that I had.  Within an hour or two, we organized everything, and came to the correct conclusion.  I will never forget what a significant role the Holy Ghost can play in inspiring us in making correct decisions if we will heed its counsel.

My testimony was true, but still weak at first.  Nineteen years of beliefs and habits couldn’t be changed in such a short period of time.  However, I studied the gospel with great interest and excitement, and my testimony continued to grow, until it became unquestionable a year later in the Missionary Training Center in Provo, Utah when Elder Neal A. Maxwell of the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles shared his fervent testimony of the prophet Joseph Smith.  As I left that meeting, the thought occurred to me that here was a man who shared his testimony of the organizer of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints.  He told us that he "knew" that Joseph was a prophet.  What gain did he have in doing this?  Why would he give up a profitable professional career to travel the world over on an exhausting schedule to tell of things he "knew" if he truly didn't believe them!  The only conclusion could be that he did firmly believe what he was saying.  After this train of intellectual thought, the Holy Ghost whispered to my spirit what the logic was telling my head:  that this apostle was flat out telling the truth.  He "knew" what he was telling us was true.  And from then on, I have never doubted that I also "know" what the God has confirmed in my heart to be true.

Below are some links to other Church activities.  Details on a mission in which I served for two years as well as a list of all of the Church temples I have visisted are found.  For those seeking more information on the Church, a link is provided on that as well.

• Argentina, Salta Mission
• Temples
• Basic Beliefs of the Church