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| Baptized January 4, 2014 |
Unlike some of members of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints that I know, I have distinct memories of specific life changing events that converted me to the Gospel of Jesus Christ. In a letter written 5 months after I had been baptized, I detail the experience of my conversion to the mission president of the California Roseville Mission. It is some 4,000 words, full of grammatical errors and mistakes of a very inexperienced writer. But as I reread the story of who I was at that point in my life, the story starts to replay itself in my mind: details I’d forgotten, gaps are being filled, and the perspective from the experiences I’ve had subsequently now fade as I am reminded that I didn’t have that understanding back then. I’m intrigued that even in my own life, writing the events soon after they happen can have quite a different effect on reminding the autobiographical writer that memory is subject to change over the course of time.
Though this may be true for the minor details of the experience, the overall message is the same. I was still the only member of my family to join the Church, and the fire of my conversion had been lit – a flame in my bosom – and I felt at that time, as I do now, that no matter what, nothing could deter my conversion. Since that time, I’ve learned that journaling and writing my experiences, discoursing in Sacrament, and reaffirming the things that I once knew to be true through writing have been an integral part of my conversion and lasting activity in the church despite the opposition I currently face from family members and in-laws. From that, writing has solidified those memories of life changing events.
I loved how you talked about as you have gone back and revisited your writings of these experiences that you see them differently and remember them differently. We can have so many different perspectives of our own life story, which is why I think it is so important to look back often, because with new perspective we can learn new things.
ReplyDeleteThis is Siera, not sure how to make it my name yet!
DeleteI loved hearing about your experience. I loved it because I remember telling my converts on my mission to write down their experiences as they are being converted to Christ. I don't know that a lot of them did, but it is fun to see your result after looking over your journal. Thanks for the share.
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