A Letter from Someone Thinking of Converting

(Readers: I received the following question the other day, and while it's not a relationship question, per se, it is from a young person. After contacting them personally, and at their request, I'm posting it here.)


Dear Bro Jo,

I am considering converting to the LDS faith, but I don’t know how to or any of the requirements to doing this. Is there any specific things that I should know about?

- unsigned reader


Dear Reader,

I think the first thing to do is to attend Church. Everyone is welcome, member or not. If you have a Latter-day Saint friend, talk to and plan on attending with them. If that's not an option, go to the Mormon.org website and click on the "Worship with Us" button. By filling out the information it will help you find a chapel and service time nearest you (world wide). It's also a great website for finding out more about the LDS Church.

If you want to learn more, the next step is to take what we call the "Missionary Lessons" or "Missionary Discussions". I've checked, and there are LDS Missionaries in your area. When you attend church you can ask anyone to introduce you to them, and they'll be very happy to do so.

You can of course learn from the LDS Missionaries without attending Church, and attend Church without talking to the Missionaries, but if you're new and want to learn more, it's a good idea to do both together. You'll probably find when you attend Church that there are people there that you already know. Either way it's a good idea to introduce yourself to people: whatever religion you belong to, it's always a good idea to make friends.

The Members and Missionaries will teach you about LDS Doctrine and answer all of your questions. You set the pace, and they'll be there as you need to meet your needs.

I can tell you that being a member of the LDS Church has brought a lot of meaning and joy to my life. Like so many things, you get out what you put in; if you approach Church with a willing heart, you'll be blessed - I promise!

Lastly, to you and to all my readers: if you have further questions about this, or any other topic, I'm always here for you. I answer lots of questions that I never post, so you can always let me know that you want to keep the discussion between us, and that's exactly how it will be.

- Bro Jo