Mormon 2.0: What it means to learn with a Missionary online -- A conversion story

Kenny flying an airplane!!! Awesome!

Well you have been reading the blog of a Mormon Missionary. It could be that you are a friend of the Elder whose blog you are reading, it could be that you are interested in learning more about Missionary work, or more about the LDS church.  As you have been reading this blog you may be asking yourself what it exactly means to learn with a Missionary.  This was a question that until recently I myself could not answer.  In early July I began the wonderful and life changing conversion experience that has lead me faithfully to be a member of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints.  I want to share my story, and experience with Elder and Sister Missionaries so that others may know what a wonderful gift our Heavenly Father has given us by way of the missionaries.  My story starts 31 years ago...

in Rochester New York where I grew up, not more than 15 minutes from the Hill Cummorah, where Joseph Smith was visited by our Heavenly Father, Jesus Christ, and eventually also received revelations from the Angel Moroni.  I grew up in a family that rejected religion, and despite being so close to a Mormon population in Western New York, I had very little meaningful contact with LDS members.  Over the years I had heard any number of stories and tall tales of what it means to be a Mormon but I had very little real knowledge of the church and the beliefs and practices of Mormons.  After I grew up I went to college, became a teacher, went back to college and received a Master and PhD degree and am currently a professor of education.  About 3 or 4 years ago my parents moved from Rochester New York to Las Vegas Nevada and I eventually moved to Madison Wisconsin.  Several times throughout the year including summer vacations I go out to visit my parents in Las Vegas and every time I have ever gone I always fly.  This year, however, God had different plans for me.  Despite having purchased a plane ticket for my usual summer visit I had an overwhelming sensation and feeling; when I received this feeling I had no clue what I was experiencing, but the feeling told me that I needed to cancel my plane ticket and make the  drive from Madison to Las Vegas.  The decision to drive was not something I had ever done before and it is not in my nature to drive such a long distance, however the feeling was so intense and strong that I could not ignore it.  I packed up what I needed for the trip, gassed up my car, and off I drove toward the city of lights – or so I thought. 

Taken by Kenny while at Temple Square

The typical way to drive to Las Vegas would be to drive down to Iowa, over through Nebraska and Colorado, down through southern Utah, and end up in the Las Vegas valley.  Somewhere around Dubuque Iowa the feeling I previously talked about came back, equally as intense as before and told me not to continue to Nebraska but to veer off the main road toward Sioux City Iowa and once I again I let this feeling guide me.  I stayed the night in Sioux City trying to figure out what was going on, and decided that I was not too far out of the way and could get back on track.  When I went to get back in the car, the feeling came back, and before I knew what was going on I was driving up (far out of the way I thought) into South Dakota, crossing the Black Hills and into Wyoming, eventually ending up in Casper Wyoming.  In Casper my car, only a few months old, began to act up making a funny noise in the back wheel bed.  I decided to stop, spend the night and have a mechanic look over the car to ensure that nothing was wrong.  The mechanic determined that perhaps a rock or stone had imbedded itself in the wheel bed, told me he thought it would be safe to continue on, but suggested that I split the remaining 12 or so hours in half just to make sure that I was not over taxing the car.  I departed Casper, and eventually ended up on an expressway.  About six hours later I found myself outside of Park City Utah, and again drawn like a magnet by the feeling veered to the right and into Salt Lake City.  I got a hotel which turned out to be only a couple of blocks from Temple Square. 

Elder Albright, Kenny, and Elder Meza

I decided to go to Temple Square, and when I passed through the entrance gates my entire body was flooded with the same feeling that I have mentioned before, only this time the intensity had increased significantly.  Flushed with emotion and this feeling that had guided me to Salt Lake I was confused and curious as to what was going on.  At that point I met a Missionary, Sister Roylance, and spent the next 2 hours or so with her and her companion (partner Missionary) touring the grounds, visiting the Tabernacle, the information center, and learning more about the Mormon faith, all the time with the intensity of the overwhelming feeling.  When I left Temple Square the feeling subdued and I made it back to my hotel where I logged on to mormon.org, a website that had the option to chat live and learn more about LDS.  When I logged on the screen said “Hi my name is Joshua, how can I help you” or something to that effect.  On the other end was Elder Joshua Albright, a 19 year old Missionary from the Seattle Washington area.  He explained who he was and I told him a bit about my summer experience thus far and my need to understand what it was that I kept feeling.  Elder Albright is one of the 50,000 Missionaries in the LDS church who goes on a mission in their young adulthood – for the Elder Missionaries a two year period and for the Sister Missionaries an eighteen month period.  On their mission they are charged with spreading the gospel of Jesus Christ, of our Heavenly Father and help people understand the principles and doctrines of the restored church along with the meaning of the Gospel.  Elder Albright asked me if we could speak on the phone the next day I agreed in part with the hope that I could figure out what had happened to me over the past few days.  Reverting to the little I thought I knew about Mormons I expected Elder Albright to begin trying to convince me what was true, getting me to “join up,” but  what I found in fact was a young man, replete with intelligence and wisdom that did not tell me anything to believe, but rather asked me very meaningful and significant questions about the direction of my life, what my beliefs were.  He encouraged me to pray and reflect about these questions before we spoke again.  I did just that and began to realize that what I was feeling was not a hostile takeover by my body, but was God, communicating vis-a-vis the Holy Spirit, his love for me, and his desire to pull me back into the fold of God.  When I spoke with Elder Albright again we talked about God’s love for all of his children and examined what the spirit was doing with me and Elder Albright asked me if I would consider taking the lessons that the missionaries teach to investigators (prospective members).  I agreed and thus began a teaching and learning relationship over the weeks to come.  I learned about the restoration of the church and how Heavenly Father chose Joseph Smith to restore the true church of Jesus Christ.  I learned about the fall of man, our need to have faith, repent, and be baptized.  I learned about the choice all people on earth made to follow Heavenly Father and how what I experienced was not a new faith, but a return to a faith and decision I had already made.  I also learned about the promises our Heavenly Father makes with us and the eternal glory of the Celestial Kingdom and how as we strive to live the principles of the gospel we can grow closer to our Heavenly Father.

Sister Mack, Kenny, and Sister Johnson

  As an Elder at the Missionary Training Center in Provo Elder Albright and the other handful of Missionaries have been called to use technological tools to not only communicate on chat but use phone, video, email, and other interactive means to help teach people interested in learning more.  I was able to speak on the phone, as well as e-mail and Skype in order to be taught the lessons despite being several hours from each other physically.  Elder Albright is amazing!  As a missionary committed to the Gospel of Jesus Christ he was able to help me learn not by telling me what to believe but by showing me the path through scripture and other media/documents available.  Elder Albright also contacted Sister Missionaries Mack and Johnson who were located in Las Vegas so that they too could teach with me.  Over the course of the next three weeks I had frequent phone calls, emails, and Skype conversations with Elder Albright, learning about the church, the values of faith, repentance, baptism, conferring of the Holy Ghost, and what it means to endure to the end.  I learned of the commandments of God, the Word of Wisdom that helps to guide the direction of Mormon’s behavior, and other important aspects of the church.  Elder Albright sent me a Book of Mormon, complete with a personal message from him about God’s love for me, and I began to read the Book of Mormon and learn more about the Gospel.  As I progressed with the lessons I decided that I wanted to be baptized and join the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints.  Typically the Missionaries who teach you in your physical location participate in the baptism, but Elder Albright was far away.  We were able to arrange for me to go to Provo Utah on my way back to Wisconsin and for me to spend a couple of days in Provo, visit the Missionary Training Center, get baptized by Elder Albright, and ultimately confirmed by Elder Alrbight’s companion Elder Meza.  I was able to meet other Missionaries and Sister Mack was able to write and have some friends come to the baptism while Sister Johnson’s family was in Provo for a family reunion and her entire family ended up coming to the baptism.  We read about the wonders of communication and our digital world – my experience learning with a Missionary online and the many blessings that have come from the work he was able to do with his tools and resources have helped me to understand how flat our world truly is.  Heavenly Father has interlocked all of his children, all connected through His love and His desire for us to reunite with Him.

At Kenny's Baptism in Provo, Utah

So, will you be the next to take the brave step back toward Heavenly Father?  Are you willing to follow the guidance of the Spirit and take the steps necessary to becoming a member of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints?  Elder Albright and his nine colleagues with their digital calling to Christ can help you, can show you the way, and can connect you with the physical and spiritual resources needed for a truly life changing experience.  I want to leave this blog with my testimony.  I know this church is the one true church, restored through Joseph Smith so that we can have a never ending chain of living Prophets in these Latter-Days.  I know our Heavenly Father loves us, and his love is always and already present and that we have made the choice to follow Him in obtaining our flesh and bones bodies.  I know that the Missionaries have been called as beacons of God’s message and Heavenly Father’s desire for all his children to learn and learn from the best.  I know all these things are true and that you too can experience Heavenly Father’s love for you, the love He has for all of His children, and I leave these things with you in the name of Jesus Christ, Amen!