Gary Miller wasn’t searching for a new religion; he loved serving as a Baptist pastor. But when he stumbled on an audio recording of the Book of Mormon, curiosity led him to press play. Gary was surprised to find that the Book of Mormon “made sense” and that studying it was bringing him closer to Jesus Christ. After some time, both he and his wife, Crystal, were baptized.
On an episode of the All In podcast with Morgan Pearson, Gary shares his advice for others who have recently joined the Church.
Have Patience
Gary doesn’t sugarcoat the fact that new converts will need time to adjust. “You’re just going to have to get [in] enough reps and exposure to some of this stuff for it to get from your head to your heart and then into practice,” he explains. “You can’t rush that.”
Gary says there is no specific timetable for new members, pointing out that he waited four years before receiving his endowment. He counsels others to take their time as they become familiar with the gospel, even if they experience pressure from others to move quicker.
“We’re all running this race at our own pace,” he says. “[Have] patience with yourself [and] patience with the people you’re encountering, because a lot of members of our church have no idea how to interact with new members.”
He adds that joining a new religion also means learning a new vocabulary. Recent converts will have to spend time redefining some terms, especially if they come from a different Christian faith.
“If you come from a background like mine, a lot of the language [is] similar, but the definitions are not the same,” he says. “So, it’s like a language dialect issue. We speak the same language, but we’re from different regions. Some of the words are a little different. … It’s just going to take some time to understand the language.”
Keep Coming Back to the Book of Mormon
Above all, Gary counsels new members to focus on the Book of Mormon during moments of frustration or confusion.
“If all else fails and everything is off the tracks, and it will be at some point, just make sure that every single day you are reading and ... pondering. Or in other words, just thinking about the thing; think about what you’re reading, and just keep doing that,” he says.
“A common phrase in recovery circles that I love is ... ‘Just keep coming back.’ That one piece of advice will help you in your journey as a new member, probably more than just about anything. Because, ultimately, just coming back means you’re going to get more reps in; you’re going to feel more comfortable. [And being] more comfortable means more confidence. You’ll feel like you belong.”
It’s been six years since Gary was baptized, and he testifies that the gospel of Jesus Christ continues to help him improve in new ways.
“The amount of change that it has both challenged me to undertake and opened my eyes to about myself—about being a husband and being a dad and being a coworker and being a friend—it is so practical and instructive. It’s just helped me so much to get better. ...
“It’s like this divine GPS that’s telling me where to turn and ... when [I] need to recalculate. And ... I think that it continues to change my heart. When I first came in, it was changing my head. Six years later, it’s changing my heart.”
Listen to the rest of Gary and Morgan’s conversation on the full All In episode.
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