The year was 1987. William Whitney was 26 years old, taking a bus from New York to Washington, D.C. for a work conference.
When William cracked a joke about someone on the bus, his colleague remarked, “We don’t do that here,” and explained that in The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, kindness is key. William soon learned he was the only person there who wasn’t a member of the Church.
When the group arrived in D.C., some of the members invited William to go with them to the Washington D.C. Temple Visitors’ Center.
William agreed, and he vividly remembers watching a slideshow presentation there about a man who lost his wife. The presenters explained that the man’s next-door neighbors were members of the Church and invited him over for a family night. They taught him that he could be with his wife again if he was baptized and went through the temple.
“It was a corny story,” William says, “but it was touching.”
At the end of the slideshow, he put his name down on an interest form to receive a visit from missionaries.
William’s Search for Religious Meaning
William had grown up attending different churches with his father.
He enjoyed worshiping but didn’t find a church community that he connected with. He remembers one pastor encouraging members of the congregation to shake hands with each other and say, “Peace be with you.” But the interaction generally stayed at that, and William says he didn’t learn anyone’s names or build friendships.
Later, during college, he began exploring different faiths for himself, but he never quite found what he was looking for.
In March 1987, he still found himself searching for meaning. “My life wasn’t really going in the direction I wanted it to,” he remembers. “So, I found myself praying, putting it into God’s hands.”
A few months later, he found himself at the Washington D.C. Temple Visitors’ Center. He signed up for the missionaries to meet with him, then all but forgot about it.
Expecting the IRS, Finding the Gospel
One July day, William received a notice from the IRS telling him that agents might visit him if he didn’t submit a payment that he owed. He resolved to follow up on the notice and tossed it aside, skeptical that the IRS would actually send anyone.
But as he got ready to leave his house, a car that looked like a government vehicle pulled up.
“We were in a Black neighborhood in Hempstead, New York,” William says, “and two white guys stepped out—wearing shades, badges, white shirts, and ties.”
He panicked, thinking the IRS had indeed sent agents to collect his money. “I tried to think of an escape route, … but the Spirit said, ‘Let’s face the music.’ So, I did.”
The two men knocked on the door, and when William opened it, they announced, “We’re looking for William Whitney.” He remembers:
“I put my hands out like they were going to cuff me and said, ‘Yeah, I’m here.’ They took off their shades and said, ‘We’re missionaries from The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints,’ and my heart dropped in relief. My whole guard went down. I was just happy they weren’t the IRS.”
William talked with the missionaries on his porch for two hours over lemonade and agreed to listen to their next six lessons at the home of his work friend, who was a member.
A Church That Felt Like Home
Six weeks later, in August 1987, William was baptized.
“I wanted something that really made sense to me and could make a difference in my life,” he says. He felt lost and without purpose before finding the Church. But when he was baptized and confirmed, he says that the Spirit buoyed him up. He felt that the Lord was with him and carrying him through his challenges, just like “the Lord was with Joseph” of Egypt. He found that the members of his congregation were there for him, too.
“It was really different coming to The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints,” he reflects. “It was more than just shaking someone’s hand and saying, ‘Peace be with you.’ It felt more like home.”
Through the Church, he received another blessing. He met Jacinta Barrizo, and nine months after their first date, they were married in the Washington D.C. Temple. Now, nearly 40 years later, they have five children—all of whom have served missions.
William currently serves as a bishop, and he and Jacinta have started working on their senior mission papers. With everything he has learned and gained from the Church, including temple blessings and the knowledge of eternal families, William wants to share its message with others.
“I love everything about the Church because it sustains me in ways that nothing else can,” he says. “[It’s] more than just going to church. It’s more than serving. It’s more than having a testimony. It’s about the spiritual things you cannot get anywhere else in the world.”
More articles for you:
▶ What Pres. Oaks said in his first conference as the prophet
▶ Stirring new painting depicts how Christ eases our personal burdens
▶ How a prayer led this Latter-day Saint to build a support group for men
