Religion plays such an integral part in people's lives, people either identify with one or they don’t. On top of that, there are so many to choose from, whether one believes in Christianity, Catholicism, Islam, Judaism, Buddhism, Protestantism, Scientology, Atheism, or any of the many others. Religious views can impact how one perceives the world and even influence their actions. In some cases, people have grown up with certain beliefs that over time have evolved and they found themselves identifying with a whole new religion or none at all. I know this because it happened to me.
Growing up, I attended a Ukrainian catholic church. It was the church that my family was invested in since coming to this country, the one that they had been going to for decades. My grandmother used to go every Sunday until her health made it difficult to go. I used to love hearing her sing along to the songs in Ukrainian, even if I couldn’t understand them.
However, my relationship with the catholic church changed drastically after my grandmother’s death. I stopped going to church in general. I never really considered myself religious even though I believed in God. I never had deep religious ties, despite the fact that I prayed regularly, but that’s another story altogether.
When I began attending a new church with my friends/neighbors, I found their values and beliefs to be refreshing from what I had been raised to believe and practice in the catholic church. I went to quite a few sacrament meetings and spoke with quite a few missionaries. During the summer when I was sixteen, I had had many meetings with the missionaries and read “The Book of Mormon”. I prayed a lot that summer, questioning whether or not I believed the church to be true and whether or not I was ready to make a commitment to the Latter Day Saint (LDS) lifestyle. Was I willing to abide by the covenants and repent? I ultimately found that I was.
I was ready to be surrounded by the nicest people I’ve ever met and share faith and testimonies. I was ready to be a part of something new, something that gave me hope for being reunited with my grandmother again. In the church, there is no stronger bond than family and I wanted to have that bond both on earth and in the afterlife. I had made the choice to convert from catholicism to Mormonism.
Although my family didn’t convert as I had, I have enough faith for all of us. I read my scriptures, I pray, and I always make time for my Heavenly Father through these acts.
I must admit that as things have changed in my life I have questioned my faith, but I always find myself turning to God. I know that he will guide me and I trust the path he has for me.
I may not follow every rule or read my scriptures everyday, but God is always on my mind and always in my heart.
