Conversion Wednesday

Once again I am super excited for todays conversion story!

Meet Jessi Weitl...

Jessi is an amazing woman! I feel so lucky to have been able to meet her on my mission. She seriously has a rockin testimony and is just a doll!

Here is her conversion story...

In late May of 2012, I begged our Father in Heaven for a change. I had just gotten out of an unhealthy relationship, was moving out of my dad’s home, and I was also trying to keep up with my two jobs as I was ending the school quarter at a local community college. It’s easy to say, I had a lot on my plate- but this is just looking at the surface of the obstacles I was facing, on a personal level, it was much deeper.

No one really needs to know the details, they’re in the past and quite frankly, that’s where they should stay. I did open up to two people, and told them everything- and I do mean EVERYTHING. I kneeled every day and night asking Heavenly Father what I was to do to be closer to him- I had tried everything else, and I knew the only way I was going to make it out of this dangerous mess I was in, was if I was by his side. I also spoke often with a coworker of mine, Robbie. He was a returned missionary of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints (whatever that meant) and was recently married.

I didn’t know Robbie well, but then again, I didn’t know God well either. However, I did know that Robbie knew God and I knew he served him, daily. I asked him once, “What’s the difference between a Christian and a Mormon?” I don’t think there really is an exact answer to that question because, Mormons are Christians. With this conversation in mind, I kept forcing myself to confide in my newfound friend. I told him of my relationship and the intimate details within it. I told him of my stresses with work and school and all the ambition bundled up inside me just wanting to get out, but I felt like I was running through life on a treadmill, never getting anywhere. I also told him of the heart ache I was facing by leaving my Dad by moving out. He listened intently and only spoke when he felt it necessary. After my meltdown, he asked me one thing, “Have you tried praying about it?”

Okay, so I didn’t tell Robbie everything, I didn’t tell him that I had been searching for the Lord’s comfort for weeks or that I was desperately trying to hear from him as much as he heard from me. The way the Spirit of the Lord works is, giving you the words without telling you why- sometimes you find that out later. And Robbie, definitely had the Spirit of the Lord. I then told him about how much I had been praying and he seemed to be relieved by my answer. He encouraged me to keep praying and bore witness that prayers are answered in the Lord’s timing, not our own, he also promised he would keep me in his prayers too.

It must have been the next week that two young men came into the sports store I worked at. They wore t-shirts and shorts, but also wore name tags. I didn’t notice their name first so much as I noticed “Jesus Christ” across the center of the little black rectangle. Without thinking I said, “Hey are you guys missionaries?” They both looked up, one smiled and the other looked a little shy. I think I caught them off guard, but I was so curious, I couldn’t help myself! “Yeah, we are!” They both said. I didn’t know what to say next, because I didn’t know what question I wanted to ask first. I started with, “Where are you guys from?” That’s safe, right? One said he was from Arizona and the other from Utah. “Why are all Mormons from Utah?” I thought about saying. However, I think it’s best I didn’t say that. They hung around for a little while, and then they were off. “See ya, have a good day!” One said. I later found out these young men were Elders Draper and Haviland.

That same week, at my other job working in a deli in a grocery store, two young ladies walked through the walk way right in front of the food line. They wore skirts and blouses and didn’t stray far from each other, and they wore the same name tags I saw on the other missionaries! They scoped out the scene and one caught me staring. (There’s an embarrassing trend that can be found throughout my entire life, not just my conversion.) I was serving Chinese food, and I don’t know if she even liked that, but she came over to order. I said something about her name tag and we started to talk when my manager came and stood right behind me…. I had just started at this job, and I didn’t want to lose it, so I decided to keep it all business. We still joked and I gave her the food she ordered, but that was it. This was probably one of the first times I felt the spirit, I felt it lift me up, and then felt my heart break as it left. The girls I met this day were Sisters Masoe and Chudleigh

The next time I worked with Robbie was a few days after that, and I was getting my questions answered. What makes your church different from others? Why are there so many churches anyway? What do missionaries do? Why do they go? What do they teach? We ended up spending the four-ish hours that our shifts overlapped talking about his mission he served in Mesa, AZ. I learned about the selfless service that brought him closer to God and the reliance he formed on his Savior. I wanted every part of that! I wanted the faith he had and the growth he had shown in his life, I wanted the patience and the standards he held- everything! Somewhere in the conversation I said that out loud, “I wish I could do that.” He didn’t waste any time…. I had an appointment made with the missionaries right away.

I started the discussions with missionaries (Elder To’o, Steadman, and Gardiner), and each time I met with them I felt myself growing. My worries started to go away, and I started feeling stronger. I tried really hard to keep the commitments they asked me to apply to my life, and I did read from the Book of Mormon. I asked so many questions about the language, and the history that might have taken a life time to understand if I didn’t have the missionaries helping me. Finally, they asked me to pray about the Book of Mormon for the final time.

It was scary thinking that I might get an answer that I didn’t like. I wanted to know if these guidelines and teachings the church had held to were true, and I also wanted to know if there could be one answer that was right for everyone, not just me. So, I had just gotten home from work. I had an extremely long day. I didn’t live in the best conditions, I stayed with a friend and her family- but we didn’t really get along. I wasn’t exactly welcome there. When I showed up this night, it was quiet and everyone was already asleep. I sat on my bed with my computer and my Book of Mormon. There was a Mormon.org card that had a reading assignment from my first meeting that I hadn’t finished yet. Robbie asked me to read 3 Nephi Chapter 11, and so I finally did. This chapter talks about when Christ comes to the Americas.

I don’t remember what I said in my prayer exactly, but I do remember it being a long one. After I said what I needed to say, I lingered a little bit, almost expecting to hear an answer right away. Feeling myself starting to drift off to sleep, I closed my prayer and went to bed. The next morning I woke up to the greatest feeling ever! That’s an understatement, but even the most divine words couldn’t express what I felt. I felt warm, I felt calm, I felt excited and I felt happiness! Mostly, I felt the closest to Heavenly Father that was incomparable to any other time I felt his presence.

Surely, I don’t know everything about the church, and I never will in this lifetime, but I know that it is true. I know that Christ did come in ancient days to teach us, to love us, and to ultimately die for us. But I know he lives. When the perfect church that Christ himself established fell, Heavenly Father some time

later called a boy prophet, Joseph Smith to restore that same gospel on the earth today. Since then I know that we have been led by valiant, faithful men called as prophets by God. I know that if we focus our hearts and center our lives on Christ, we cannot fail. This gospel is God’s kingdom on the earth today. It is the eternal source of love. This is the gospel of Joy.

In the name of Jesus Christ, Amen.

Thank you so much Jessi for letting me share your conversion on my blog! I love you and can't wait to see you again when I come to visit!! 

Happy Wednesday!