I serve in the military, so my family has moved a lot. But the whole time, the missionaries seemed to follow us, inviting my wife, Kara, to come back to church. She grew up as a Latter-day Saint, but her family stopped attending when she was 12.
Usually, Kara would answer the door, tell the missionaries we believed in Jesus, and they would go on their way. But one day, I was the one who answered the door.
It was at night, and normally I wouldn’t have opened the door, because we weren’t expecting anybody. I’m thankful I did.
The two missionaries outside talked with us for a while and offered to say a prayer on our home. I was touched that two strangers would care about us enough to do that.
I stood there with my kids on the doorstep as they prayed. It was probably the most amazing prayer that I’ve ever heard, not because of what they said, but because I felt the sensation of, “This is what my family needs.” I invited them to come back. I had tears coming down my face. I called my mom right after that to tell her something had changed.
At the time, there was a heavy weight on my shoulders. I was struggling with work and life in general. But as we learned about the gospel, it felt like the heaviness was lifted off my shoulders. I knew that I needed to change my lifestyle, set an example for my kids, and take them to church. And this church would help me do that.
Kara also experienced a change of heart. She says that much of her conversion felt like remembering, as she began to understand the doctrine as an adult.
Those missionaries were with us throughout our whole journey: when my kids and I were baptized, when our family went to the temple for the first time, and when we were sealed. They even took my son to general conference and met him at the airport before he left for his mission in Brazil. Our youngest was recently born into the Church. We’re so excited to experience the gospel with him from ground zero and encourage him to serve a mission someday, too.
God sent us the two perfect missionaries at the perfect time, and it’s been an amazing journey. I’ve felt a newfound peace and assurance, all because of that simple prayer on the doorstep.
Editor’s note: This article first appeared in the May/June issue of LDS Living Magazine.
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