June: Sisterhood Post
My name is Shelly. I’m a wife, mother (1 daughter and 3 sons), friend, substitute teacher, runner, healthy eater, battler of Multiple Sclerosis, Missionary Mom J, and I am a Mormon!
My name is Shelly. I’m a wife, mother (1 daughter and 3 sons), friend, substitute teacher, runner, healthy eater, battler of Multiple Sclerosis, Missionary Mom J, and I am a Mormon!
I was raised in the Catholic Church in Roy, Utah. Although I honestly have no memory of being baptized in the LDS church, it did happen when I was eight years old. My parents are deaf, and said they didn’t quite understand what the missionaries were telling them when they would come visit. So my parents asked me, an eight year old, if I wanted to be baptized! I imagine that I didn’t even know what that was, and so I said yes! We went to the Catholic church the next Sunday and that continued for me until college.
When I was 19, I was working for a dental office in Roy. I was cleaning one of the rooms one day, and a very loud and distinct voice said to me, “You need to take the missionary discussions!” I remember looking for someone in the room because I didn’t understand where this voice had come from. Being the pretty obedient person I was, I walked straight into the dentist’s office that I worked for and told him I need to take the missionary discussions! Ha! You can imagine the shock on his face. Because I had never been active in the LDS church, I had to take the missionary discussions completely and be active in the church for a year before I could go through the temple. I took the discussions, met my husband, got married in the temple, and the rest is history! Although I may not be a convert by some standards; I believe and tell people that I am.
The real purpose of this post is about our daughter who is on a mission in Mexico City! She is the first missionary on my side of the family and the first girl on my husband’s side to serve. I cannot describe the utter joy and contentment I feel in having a daughter on a mission. When we dropped her off at the MTC, one thought kept coming into my mind: I have changed the course of my posterity by joining this church and teaching them the ways of Christ! Here is one of my favorite excerpts from an email she sent us:
“Something really inspiring that I came across in the bible, was in chapter 5 of Romans, and talks about how with trials, we gain patience, with patience we gain experience, and with experience, we gain hope. I love this. Because at times the plan the Lord has for us doesn’t make sense, but this helped me realize, that his plan has an order and there is always a process for us to learn things and become refined. So I know there is a reason for all things. It was frustrating at times that we couldn’t find anyone to teach, but this helped me realized that this is for our experience. It will only help us become more refined servants of the lord :).”
These words bring tears to my eyes! This gospel changes lives! It has changed mine and I am so thankful for that every day. I know that all our trials are for our good. I know that this gospel is true. I know that Jesus Christ is my Redeemer and that Heavenly Father loves me. I know that I have changed the course of my posterity’s lives…and thank God for that miracle every day J.
Shelly- Rocky Mountain Ward
