I suppose my conversion started much the same way as anyone's does; with a testimony.
I was expecting our third child and was experiencing a very troublesome and scary pregnancy. At 20 weeks along I had to quit my job and go on full-time bed rest. I was confused and frightened and had two little boys at home to take care of while my husband worked. We had to ask my mother to help with our children so I could rest.
Shortly after she began to assist us my mother started studying with the Sister Missionaries. I was aware of this, but I was sceptical. All my life my mother had been searching for the truth. She had studied with several different Christian faiths and sometimes my sister and I had joined her on these ventures, but something always seemed to be missing from what we were being taught. I was concerned that this would end up being another disappointment for my mother. Regardless, she seemed happy when telling me about her studies and I wanted to be supportive.
As my due date approached, I had to make several trips to the hospital due to labour scares. These experiences were wearing us all down emotionally and we were all very concerned for the well-being of my unborn child, due in late December 2013.
At first, I found this new prayer method a little odd, as I had never referred to God as “Heavenly Father” before, nor had I ever included the Saviour in my prayers. Regardless, I figured it couldn't hurt to try, so I began to pray on a nearly daily basis for my baby to be healthy and for the delivery to be smooth, safe, and quick.
With all of our combined prayers, on December 29, 2013, I gave birth to a full-term, healthy baby boy, with no medical intervention, after labouring for only 56 minutes.
Though I realized that our prayers had been answered, I was confused. I didn't understand how by making such simple adjustments to my prayers the results could be so strong. I started to wonder if maybe my mother had finally stumbled upon something true.
A few months later, in March 2014, we were preparing to move into a new apartment. We had everything packed and ready to go and we had hired a moving company. Unfortunately, a few days before the move, the company backed out and we were left wondering how we were going to manage. We could rent a truck, but we still needed help with loading and unloading.
Since we were moving on a weekday, all our friends were unavailable and we had three children to look after as well.
On moving day, we had three pairs of missionaries and two brothers arrive to help us move. I was stunned. I couldn't believe that all those people were so happy to help. They helped us load and unload the truck and even helped to scrub the old apartment clean afterward. When the move was complete I tried to think of something I could do to repay them for their service. In the end, I decided to invite the sister missionaries over to study with me. At worst, I would lose a few hours of my time. At best, I would figure out what my mother had discovered.
At the end of my first meeting with the sisters, they invited me to pray, to ask Heavenly Father to tell me whether or not the Book of Mormon was true. That night, when I did as they had said, I got an immediate response, a feeling of surety and my own voice saying “why are you even asking? You know it is true” and I knew then that I would be baptized.
My husband, Ben, was a little surprised by my quick decision but he was supportive. He purged our house of all the tea we had stocked and promised to come to Church with the kids and I. He said he would not get baptized himself but that he wanted to show the kids that he supported me and that he would support them as well.
Our first day at church was March 9, 2014. I quickly became friends with a sweet family in my ward, Sofia, and Cesar Gavidia, who helped us get settled in, and I was baptized on March 30.
The weekend after my baptism was the 2014 spring General Conference. On Saturday morning, Sofia called me and said that Cesar was going to ask Ben to attend the evening priesthood session with him. She said they both felt that it was gravely important for Ben to attend that session. Ben agreed to go mostly to have some time with Cesar.
The next morning Ben told me that as he listened to the speakers during the priesthood session, he started to realize how important the power of the priesthood was. He said he started to feel frustrated when he realized that our household would be without it, and the idea of having to call on someone else to give our family blessings made him feel like he was letting his family down. He walked away from the session realizing that he believed in everything the Church had been teaching us. He was baptized two weeks later.
In nine weeks, my mother, sister, husband and I all found our own testimonies, each in completely different ways. It is no accident that we all found our way to the truth together. Testimonies are some of the most powerful gifts we can be blessed with.
President Dieter F. Uchtdorf taught “If you seek God’s truth, that which now may appear dim, out of focus, and distant will gradually be revealed and clarified and become close to your heart by the light of God’s grace. … It is my testimony that this spiritual light is within the reach of every child of God. It will enlighten your mind and bring healing to your heart and joy to your days.” Your personal testimony of light and truth will not only bless you and your posterity here in mortality, but it will also accompany you throughout all eternity, among worlds without end.” (October 2014 General Conference).
Links: https://www.lds.org/general-conference/2014/10/receiving-a-testimony-of-light-and-truth?lang=eng