If you asked me to count all the times I saw God moving in Utah, I don’t think I could ever provide the correct number, because there simply were too many moments to keep track of. What I could provide is a story that will stick with me forever and hopefully with you too. It was the first day of evangelism in Utah, and our group went to tour an LDS temple. After our tour, we broke up into small groups of two or three and pursued spiritual conversations with the people in the area.
I had two partners, who at this moment were both walking decently ahead of me. As I began to try to catch up, I felt some sort of draw to two women analyzing something in the museum. As I approached them, my partners eventually came back to join me in the conversation. Quickly we established who they were and what exactly they believed. It was a mother and a daughter, alongside a father who was somewhere else at the beginning of our conversation. The mother quickly identified herself as an LDS believer, along with the father, while the daughter expressed her recent leaving of the faith.
This intrigued me, because from what I knew about the LDS faith, the worst thing you can do in their religion is to claim to be an LDS member and then reject the faith and turn away. It was quite shocking how boldly the daughter owned up to not being LDS anymore. This led me to ask the important question of “Why?” I was so curious as to what exactly made her leave the LDS faith.
The daughter, Stephanie, expressed to me that because she was in her late 30s and unmarried, she felt unworthy in her community. In the LDS faith, the only way a woman can reach the highest level of heaven is to be a wife. Stephanie felt as though this contradicted the loving character of God. How could a loving God not love me enough to let me into the highest Kingdom on my own? Why am I not worthy without a husband? This was the type of questioning Stephanie had toward that idea. My partner and I asked her if she was open to any other religions, and she responded with “Yes.”
We got to explain to Stephanie the true Gospel that she had been longing for.
The Gospel says come as you are, broken and shattered, because there is nothing you can do, no man you can marry, to earn a salvation that is freely given to you.
Expressing this truth to her led Stephanie to tears. You could see the Spirit working in her, and she expressed immense gratitude because she had been truly longing for this. We left her with some recommendations for churches nearby and credible sources for considering her faith. After we prayed over Stephanie and her relationship with the Lord, she went on her way with a brand new perspective. What a blessing it is to share the truth of the Gospel with those who are longing for it so desperately.
Naomi Hope Walls, Class of 2027
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