Writer's Block: Conversion Rate

[theoldwolf]

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Been there, done that and bought that T-Shirt back in 1969. Converted from The First Church of Who the Hell knows Nothin' (Secular Humanist Agnostic) to the LDS faith. And never looked back. It felt like coming home.

Comments

[secoh.livejournal.com]

What was it about LDS that clicked for you? If that's too personal just tell me to bugger off, I won't mind :) I feel like the kid looking through the candy store window when I read about people that had a joyous epiphany, and love to hear how it came about.

[ccdesan.livejournal.com]

Rusty, you know you can ask me anything anytime. I don't go in much for polemics - I suck at it, mostly - but I'm not ashamed of what I believe.

When I was a kid, I had all the usual questions. "Where do we go when we die" and all that. My mom came from a very long line of Mormon pioneers, but her parents were odd ducks - her dad worked his way up from hardscrabble farmer's kid and shepherd boy to a very prominent Utah attorney, educator and politician, and her mom's family were fiery zealots who brooked no intellectual laziness, so both ultimately drifted into secular humanism although they associated with a UU congregation for a time. So Mom repudiated religion in her own mind as a young child.

Thus, when I asked all my questions, I got vague, unsatisfactory and mostly disturbing answers. Life after death was sort of described as "merging back into the Dominion collective consciousness" à la Odo and losing one's own identity, which scared the qibp out of me. I didn't relish at all the thought of becoming part of some unformed pool of something or other - even at a tender age, I knew there was something unique about me, and I wanted that preserved.

My dad's family were all Catholic, since he was Italian. The convoluted catechism and doctrine of the Mother Church said nothing to me, so that was a dead end for me as well. (My Nonna was horrified that my folks didn't have me baptized, so she took care of that in the sink. Apparently, that's valid.

Anyhoo, when I was 17 I met a good Mormon professor and his wife at Gettysburg College and they took me under their wing and over the course of a year, had me take the standard lessons. What I read in the Book of Mormon - a fascinating history and also a good manual for a happy life - resonated with me, and I felt as though after having wandered all my life, I had come home only to recognize the place for the first time.

The missionaries worked hard, but it still took them the better part of a year to get me in the water, because even though I had already decided the doctrines were in harmony with my own soul, I realized that joining up would mean a lifetime commitment, and not just a passing fancy - and I wanted to be sure I was ready to take that on.

In short, the LDS doctrine answered all my questions about who I was, where I came from, why I'm here on earth, and where I go after I shuffle off this mortal coil. It taught me the concept of eternal progression and eternal families, and provided an iron rod of safety to grasp as an anchor while the madness of the world swirls around me.

And thanks for asking!

[secoh.livejournal.com]

Thanks for answering! Some people think they are going to have their beliefs attacked when asked about it.... never my intention!

That was a very good read, and makes a lot of sense to me. I can certainly understand grabbing the iron rod of stability in the swirling madness. It is an obscure and fleeting thing too, not everyone can see it even when it is right in front of them.

I must admit my own impressions of the LDS is coloured by the endless flow of door knockers telling me I'm doing it wrong. Strangely they are all from the USA!

[ccdesan.livejournal.com]

Most people know the Mormons from historical accounts (Brigham Young, pioneers, polygamy, etc.) or from our young missionaries. Most do come from the US, but there is a large percentage from other countries who either work in their own lands or get scattered abroad. A lot of Samoan and Tongan missionaries have been serving in New Zealand and Australia, and we have missionaries from Australia and New Zealand serving in Japan, Spain, France, Africa, and America.

We've been an evangelizing Church from the very beginning. It's how the word gets out. Re telling people "You're doing it wrong," our last president, Gordon B. Hinckley said regarding members of other faiths, "To these we say in a spirit of love, bring with you all that you have of good and truth which you have received from whatever source, and come and let us see if we may add to it."

The days of the mass conversions of Europeans, Scandinavians and Polynesians are long since gone. The missionaries are the gleaners, turning over the rocks and looking in the corners for those who are searching for answers in their lives, and bringing a message of hope and peace. I was one who was ready, "in the looking zone" as we put it in the relationship marketing business.

But in all honesty, I can understand the feelings of those who are at peace with their lives, and who have to deal with an ongoing flow of Fuller Brush men