My parents are Catholic, thus I was born a Catholic. So, I went to Catechism (Catholic Sunday School) all throughout my primary school years. However, I grew up with my grandpa in Melaka and not my parents, who were working in KL. I remember when I was 8 or 9 years old, I would ask questions like, “Why are we here on earth? What is the purpose of life?” Well, I asked those questions, because I hated doing homework ALL the time! ^_^
Nonetheless, my questions were answered when I was 16 years old. The answers came through a series of events. I didn’t know then, that they would lead to my baptism in the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. Looking back, I never regretted the path I chose.
My baptism was a member missionary effort. My aunt Lillian shared the gospel with her sister, Susan and Susan’s husband, Michael. During that time, Michael and Susan were also living under the same roof as my grandpa and I. The missionaries started coming over to teach the discussions to Michael and Susan. Subsequently, they would also go to the missionary couple’s home for the new member discussions, watch church videos and also hold family home evenings. Of course, I would always tag along.
In the beginning, I would just tag along for fun. When new missionaries came, I would be the “investigator” for them to practice teaching the discussions. All these happened around the time when I was 15 and 16 years old. Not long after that, I started skipping Catechism to go to “their” Sacrament meetings. My parents were not happy about it. However, I felt that the Plan of Salvation the missionaries had been sharing made sense. It’s very logical. So, I wanted to learn more. I also started praying to know the truthfulness of the gospel.
Wanting to learn more meant spending more time in the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints with the Saints and mostly missionaries at that time (as it was still a very small branch). Thus, I gradually removed myself from the Catholic Church. There was one particular Sunday (I don’t remember the date) I went to my usual Catholic Mass in the morning. I sat on the aisle seat looking at the people seated in the cathedral. During that time, females were assigned to sit on the left side of the cathedral and the males were on the right side. I remembered thinking to myself, “What if ALL the males in this cathedral hold the priesthood of God?” That would be A LOT of members in Melaka!
I sat there weighing heavily on the pros and cons of staying until the Mass was over and most importantly if I should leave the Catholic Church for good. I believe I was only about 16 going on 17 at that time, nonetheless I decided there and then to get up and leave the Cathedral and subsequently the Catholic faith. I still remember vividly the moment I walked out of the Cathedral, telling myself, “There’s nothing here for me anymore.” I didn’t feel a loss, I felt at peace.
This bold decision that I made was aided by a few incidences which happened as answers to my prayers. I shall share one. As I’ve mentioned before, I’d already been praying to find out whether the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints is true. There was one time I had a religious discussion with my English teacher in school. I brought up the topic of ‘Mormonism’ and my teacher went on to share what she knew about the ‘Mormons”. I started to correct her and defending the church. The moment I realized what I was doing, it dawned on me that I already knew this church to be true.
As a Catholic, I’d already been taught to pray to our Heavenly Father. However, the most crucial part of prayer that I’ve learned in the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints is that He answers our prayers. He truly does! I found out for myself through prayer that the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints is true and that the prophet Joseph Smith Jr. was called to restore the gospel of Jesus Christ here on earth. I also know the Book of Mormon is written by ancient prophets for the people in our day.
I was finally baptized when I was 18 against my parents’ wishes. Nonetheless, I had support from my aunts and uncle. My grandpa also joined the church after I did. He was 71 when he joined. ^_^ I was privileged to be able to serve a mission in the Kaohsiung, Taiwan mission. After that, I was blessed to attend BYU Hawaii and the University of Hawaii. All these came to pass, because of the gospel in my life.
I testify that when we stay faithful, doing and giving our best to build His kingdom here on earth, we will be guided by the Spirit to do whatever that is right and necessary for us to go back to our Heavenly Father. Through that, we are able to help our brothers and sisters as well.
Heavenly Father has been very kind and generous to me. The atonement of Jesus Christ has enabled me to repent of my sins and get back on track every time I fall short. I truly am an unprofitable servant. That’s when I learned that when much is given, much is required. This life is for us to prepare to meet God. We will have to learn to endure to the end and endure it well, work together with our families and our loved ones and bring them to the knowledge of the gospel. With Christ as our Savior, we can and will make it when we do our part.
