Conference tecrus::mormonism

    Hi Jennifer,
    
    Thanks for this note.  I have been a member for the past 2.5 years,
    having researched and attended many different kinds of churches for
    years.  I finally found what I wanted and needed in the Mormon church,
    and have been very happy with my decision.
    
    In my opinion, attending this Sunday's "Fast and Testimony" meeting as
    your first visit is an excellent idea.  Generally on the first Sunday
    of the month we fast (go without eating from dinner on Sat. night to
    dinner on Sun. night) with a specific purpose in mind.  Many people do
    not;  but lots do.  You might, for example, fast and pray for the
    troops overseas--for their safety and welfare.  You get the idea. 
    The "testimony" part is very special.  The bishop sets aside most of
    the time in the sacrament meeting for us to bear our personal
    testimonies;  that is, our feelings and statements of our beliefs about
    the Book of Mormon, the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints,
    Joseph Smith, etc.  Even little children get up and bear theirs.  It is
    purely a matter of personal choice whether you go up or not.  Often
    such great things happen to us to deepen our testimonies that we
    want to share with everyone.  It can be emotional;  it is always
    beautiful to see and hear. 
    
    I know that as an investigator to the church my first testimony meeting
    was wonderful.  The people who got up to speak were so genuine about
    their thoughts and feelings.  You will also find that the people there
    are very friendly and eager to make you feel at home.
    
    Sorry to ramble on like this, but I do hope that if you choose to go
    this Sunday that you enjoy yourself and the special experience of
    hearing ordinary people share extraordinary things.
    
    Let us know what you think afterwards!
    
    Jane

    Jennifer,
    
    I have been a memeber now for 7.9 years.  In fact, eight years ago
    this week, I was presented the Book of Mormon to investigate.  I
    had no intentions of reading it, or joining as I felt that the church
    was a cult and their beliefs were nonsense.  However, these were my
    own judgements, without taking the time to fully investigate.  WOW,
    was I proven wrong in every area that I thought I was so smug about.
    I joined the Church about 10 weeks after being presented the Book and
    I have never been happier in my life.  What a difference it has made
    to me to have the truth of the entire gospel brought to my knowledge.
    I look forward to attending Church every single Sunday.  It brings a
    warmth and peace to my heart and soul I've never known before becoming
    a Mormon.  I look forward to learning new things each and every week
    and I'm in my late 40's.  
    
    My first meeting was a regular Sacrament meeting, and it was really
    beautiful.  Of course, I'd been raised a Protestant and remained so
    for 20 years. Then I converted to Catholocism when I got married.  So,
    I had these two different ways of worship service to compare my
    experience to in the Mormon Sacrament Meeting (our term for worship
    service).  The regular weekly Sacrament meeting is very different
    from the Fast and Testimony week, but both are filled with a sweet
    spirit of love and a chance to learn why I'm here on earth.  If I
    were in your shoes, I'd want to experience both services.  So, I would
    attend the meeting on 2/3, and if at all possible, experience a regular
    sacrament meeting too.  
    
    I'm truly grateful that I converted to the Mormon Church.  I am also
    grateful that I had the experience of also being a Protestant and a
    Catholic.  This helped make my conversion to Mormonism possible.
    

    Please write and tell us how your experience(s) went when and if you
    do decide to attend.
    
    Penny Sousa
    

Hi Jennifer,
    
Jane mentioned that we express our beliefs about the Book of Mormon, the
Church, Joseph smith, etc.  Those are important to us, of course, but the
most important testimony we have to express is that Jesus is the Lord, the
Christ, and that he died for our sins, and that forgiveness of sin comes
only through his atonement.

There are actually three meetings that take place.  Our worship meeting is
called "Sacrament meeting" and will be the testimony meeting described by
Jane; on other Sundays of the month, Ward members give sermons during
Sacrament meeting.  Following Sacrament meeting will be Sunday School, and
my suggestion is to attend the "Gospel Essentials" class; it is designed for
visitors like yourself and presents Gospel principles in a simple way.
Following that is Relief Society meeting for women and Priesthood meeting for
men.  In some wards the order of meetings may be different, but the three
meetings will still be held.

I do hope that you enjoy your visit!

Allen

    Hi Jennifer,

    I am really glad the that you care about your husband and relatives
    enough to want to know something about their religion. When I met my wife
    I was Catholic and she was an inactive Mormon. After several years of
    marriage she started to get active again. The first time that I went
    with her to a Sacrament Meeting, I was really impressed on how friendly
    the people were and how I was immediately accepted even though I wasn't
    exactly friendly myself. After attending subsequent meetings I realized
    that these people really were different, they were showing me the true
    light of Christ by loving me regardless of how receptive I was to them. 
    Please excuse my ramblings, but I really think that this is GREAT. Please 
    let us know how the meeting went, and what your impressions were, good, 
    bad or indifferent.

    Take care,
    Frank M.

    P.S. I have been a member for 8+ years now.

    Jennifer,
    
    I hope you get this response soon enought, but I just read your note.
    
    I feel that you will get a good feel for the kind of people who are in
    that particular Ward, but it is a little different from the regular 
    Church Worship in that most of the time is set aside for personal
    testimonies.  I don't have the time right now to explain much more, but
    know you'll enjoy the service and I'd like to read a response after you
    attend.
    
    Donna
    

Thank you for all your responses, however we had friends in from out of 
town and due to some last minute plan changes we were unable to attend the 
service(s).  I will keep everything in mind when we do end up attending.

I have attended a few baptisms for two of my sisters-in-law and for my 
mother-in-law.  I frankly was unimpressed. I must confess that my attitude 
was not at its best, but no one came up and spoke to me at any of them, 
with the exception of the family's home teacher. Also, I really felt 
no emotion in the air.  People gave stirring testamonies, but the 
atmosphere was still and very calm.

I also had the pleasure of standing outside the temple for a wedding, 
getting heat blisters.  No one bothered to ask how I felt or tried to make 
me feel more comfortable. I can not express the feeling of being completely 
left out.  My husband, an ex-member was understanding of the exclusivity of 
the temple, although he has never entered its doors either. The second 
temple wedding I was more prepared and had breakfast with a friend and got 
to the temple just as the bride and groom were coming out. This gave me 
less time to feel so left out.

I'm sorry for rambling like this, but I felt I should explain where I am 
coming from, and I guess I just needed to get this off my chest.  I no longer 
have the anger that I once had when thinking about the LDS church and for 
the most part I can thank this conference for that.  I am really amazed at how 
understanding you all are to us unbelievers.  Thank you for your 
understanding and for giving me the chance to get all of this off my chest.

Peace -

Jennifer 

Hi Jennifer,

Thanks for sharing your feelings with us.  I think it is easy for one to be
caught up in his or her own world and not be sensitive to those around us.
I think all of us do that at times, and we need people like you who are 
willing to share your feelings with us to help realize that we do need to
be more considerate of others.

Your plan of arriving at the Temple just as the bride and groom come out
seems like a reasonable plan, much better than waiting in the sun for two or
three hours.  Also, if you are at the Temple during the ceremony, you might
consider waiting in the Information Building.  Non-LDS are invited to visit
there and browse through the various exhibits if they desire, or just sit in
a cool place and read or think about things that are important to them.

Thanks again for sharing!

Allen