I grew up with my family being strong Catholics. I always disagreed with so much and decided to become an atheist. My dad, however, is a Protestant. When I first realized that the Lord had been wanting me to seek him, I looked at different things that different denominations believed, and as I went through them I found myself constantly disagreeing with so many things. I happen to be an individual with a disability, and I always thought that if God really was real he wouldn’t allow something so bad to happen to someone.

Eventually, I found myself thinking there was more out there than just nothing. For the first time in 29 years I found myself in deep prayer for my answers. I got an answer in a very profound way, and I just couldn’t get enough of the Book of Mormon. With Covid, I had to contact my local ward and request a meeting with the missionaries.

When I finally discovered the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, I learned about their theology (a lot of it through Saints Unscripted) and found myself constantly agreeing and knowing it was right. I knew that the Lord had a great plan for all of us, and I just couldn’t believe that a loving God would send people to Hell… especially babies, or people who never had the chance to learn the gospel. 

I found so much comfort in learning that these people could receive salvation, and that basically all people have a chance at getting into one of the three kingdoms of glory. I also found it hard believing that the Lord would cause my disability to happen to me if he truly loved me, and as I learned LDS theology I realized that his plan for me was to use that experience to grow into a better person, and inspire others through my own experiences. Getting over that was huge in my life. 

After realizing these things I knew I had found where I belonged and it made me want to read the Book of Mormon non-stop. My testimony has only grown a million times stronger since then. I was baptized shortly after, and my life has changed drastically since then. The Gospel has brought so much light to my life that as an atheist, I thought was never possible!