Andrea Nelson McDonald wrote

I grew up with a friend who was a very devout Christian.  She was taught many wonderful truths -- reading the Bible, giving service, faith in prayer -- but she was also taught some harmful things -- Mormons are bad!  One time we both participated in a meeting of religious high school students.  The organizers hoped to foster respect and understanding among the religions.  But I felt attacked, accused by my friend of not being Christian.  She very strongly stated that she knew what we believed, that she had seen movies about us, and wouldn't listen to what I had to say.

 

But we remained friends through high school graduation. A few years ago we reconnected, and as I had several children and she was expecting her first, I became her parenting consultant.  We talked a lot, mostly about how to keep food down, how to survive a colicky baby, and hoping that some day we'll sleep again!

 

This friend has been divorced twice, and now has two children with her third husband.  He was raised by a single mother, and never met his father.  They want to build a strong family, but doesn't have many resources.  Again, having been married for 16 years, I have become her consultant.  At first I followed the same pattern from when we were pregnant together -- what books have been helpful, which authorities have good ideas.

 

I was very hesitant to tell her which books I really rely on, and which authorities I really trust, because of her earlier attitudes (and because I'm a wimp).  But while talking to her I couldn't keep talking shallowly about tips and suggestions.  I finally bore my testimony that the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints teaches us how to have strong families, and that the Church is led by a living prophet, who guides us today.

 

She responded very positively, saying that she thinks that "there is something different about the Mormon Church."  She said she would be nervous to attend, not knowing what to expect, or if she would be turned away at the door.  I explained how the meetings are run, and reassured her that she was welcome.  I also directed her to some Church-sponsored

web sites.

 

I haven't heard back from her, but I am so happy that her attitude toward the Church has changed so much.  And even if she never pursues anything more regarding the Church, I have been changed.  I feel more courageous and more ready to bear my testimony.

Peter Nelson wrote

While interviewing for employment in the Phoenix area recently, conversation naturally turned toward the church.  I was reminded of the many opportunities to discuss our faith and the need to be prepared.  People often wonder or inquire about recent events in the media or other events like the Broadway production "Book of Mormon".  I try to be prepared to talk about the various questions people ask.  My cousin Tim Eaton recently reported attending the Broadway production and passing out a couple of Books of Mormon; he said that many people were interested in talking with a real live Mormon and that he could have given out many more copies if he had them.

Kris Nelson posted this story for her son Bryan:

While we were in Florida a couple of weeks ago, we took an air boat ride in the swamps near Kissimmee.  As we were waiting for the boat ride to begin Bryan and his girlfriend, Hanna struck up a conversation with several adults.   The people asked where they were from and then asked if they were Mormons. Most of what they knew about the church was from their familiarity with BYU sports teams and that Mormons had lots of babies.  Bryan and Hanna were able to have a discussion about the church and let them know the truth about what we believe. 

Kris Nelson posted the following story:

Last weekend we hosted our ward’s youth conference at our cabin in Bear Lake.  One of the young women in our ward brought a male friend who was not a member of the church from North Carolina.  The youth were able to do baptisms for the dead in the Logan temple and although he was not able to go inside the temple, his friend explained what happened in there and why we do it.  We also had a fireside/testimony meeting where he was able to feel the spirit. I also witnessed and was involved in conversations with him about what the Church believed and he was interested in learning more. 

Scott Nelson added the following post:
While at a funeral recently, Kris and I were able to talk about the church to the Medved family. We told them about our son, Josh who is on a mission in Paris, France.  They were very interested and favorable in their thoughts of having somebody as young as 19 make a decision to take two years out of his life to teach about the gospel.  One of the family members actually wished that all young men at that age would do that, as it matures them and helps them understand what they're about.  They were curious about his activities and whether he was able to choose where he serves and seemed very surprised when they were told that they are assigned to a specific area.  I felt the conversation served as a bridge between different religions and customs.  We were able to see a Catholic funeral service and mass and this sharing of our beliefs was a great way to end the day.

Joshua Nelson, grandson of Z George Nelson, is presently serving as a full-time missionary for the Church in St. Brieuc, France. On April 14^th he wrote:

  ...we had  the opportunity to go to the church and have a baptism for Vanina. I was blessed with the opportunity to be the one who baptized her and after a little forgetfulness at the beginning of her names (she has 5 names) and the words I was able to remember and accomplish the ordinance. It was a great time filled with joy, tears and the spirit.

[On] Sunday, …we had the opportunity to teach Vanina during Sunday school and then be a part of the circle as Elder Hall confirmed her a member of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints and pronounce a blessing. It was a moment of joy, hope and we felt the love of our Heavenly Father as we laid our hands on her head. After the sacrament we had the wonderful opportunity to bare testimony as it was our fast and testimony meeting. I bore my testimony and was edified and uplifted as I heard members and friends bare their solemn and sacred testimony of the divinity of our Lord and Savior and His church here on this earth. 

Cindy Nelson Rowlett posted

In our ward we currently have two sets of missionaries serving.  They have divided our ward in two so that we know which set we are assigned to.  My area has the Sister Missionaries and they are just awesome!  There is such a different spirit with the Sisters and I have enjoyed having them over for dinner and visiting with them.  Last week they called and left a message on my phone asking if I would go with them to an appointment that they had with an investigator.  My first reaction was, "No, I don't want to do that.  That isn't how I want to spend my evening."  Then two different thoughts followed.  I had been reading a book that talked about how crumbs are left in our path and all we have to do is follow them.  The crumbs are there to guide us to either a person we need to meet, or something that we need to do, that will make a difference, or influence in our lives.  This invitation could be a "crumb" that I was supposed to follow.  The second thought was that here was a perfect opportunity to have a missionary experience that I could share on our family blog.  Putting those two thoughts together (the crumb leading to the missionary experience) I knew that I needed to accept the Sister's invitation to go with them to this Sister's home.

We all three went and met with Debbie who had lost her husband to cancer about a year ago.  She has still been struggling with his loss and the loneliness that she feels.  The Sisters felt like we should teach her about the Plan of Salvation.  Debbie was very warm and friendly as we visited with her.  Her attention often left our "agenda" of what we wanted to talk about, but her stories gave us insight into who she was, and what her husband had been like.  She loved to talk!  The Sister's kept re-focusing the discussion back to the lesson and Debbie did ask some questions.  We all bore our testimonies at different times and shared experiences that had helped us to know our Heavenly Father's plan for us.  She agreed to read the pamphlet on the Plan of Salvation and to have the Sister's come back.  

Although there wasn't an instant conversion that night, I felt that Debbie knew that we cared about her as a person and that because we cared maybe she would be more open and receptive to letting us share the gospel with her.  I don't know what will become of the visits with Debbie, but I think the Sisters were brought to her home and into her life at a time where she really needed someone to listen to her and know that she is loved by her Heavenly Father. I know that for myself I will try harder to follow the breadcrumbs that are in front of me and accept opportunities to share the gospel.

Allison and Peter Nelson wrote

In 2011, we joined a small branch in Yonkers, NY where Peter S. Nelson served as the YM President.  There were only a handful of young men, and Peter felt especially drawn to a shy, awkward African-American youth named Drew Suber.  Drew sat by himself in classes, at activities and during Sacrament Meeting.  He didn't engage in conversation easily, and appeared ready to bolt at any opportune moment.  Over time, Peter showed him friendship and encouragement.  He bought Drew a suit and tie; he enrolled him in the Boy Scouts program and took him to the meetings and on the campouts.  The next summer, Peter felt impressed to take him along on a family vacation-reunion to Arizona.  Drew met the extended family and started to blend in and have fun.  We took him to the Mesa Temple and toured the grounds and visitor center.  He performed baptisms in Manhattan a few times.  He went to the family reunion again the following summer.  We became emotionally attached, and soon began bringing him along on road trips such as Palmyra, Boston and Niagara Falls.  We learned how little family support he had at home - absent father, no siblings, and a mother who worked long hours and seldom attended church.  Life in south Yonkers resembles the ghetto, so his school experience wasn't optimal either.  We threw out the idea of how wonderful it would be to take Drew with us to Arizona (East Valley) where he could have a more quality upbringing with daily seminary attendance and more LDS friends.  Peter is due to finish residency in June 2015, and Drew will still have two years of high school left.   Our wishful thinking soon became vocalized as we wanted to ascertain both Drew's and his mother's reactions.  Drew was ecstatic and his mother embraced the opportunities we could offer him.  The reality of the situation overwhelmed us, and yet we feel peace and excitement.  We have two small children ages two and 10 months.  Wha do we know about parenting a teenager?  We hope to use the next 16 months before Drew comes to live with us in preparation.  Our greatest hopes for Drew involve serving a full time mission, attending college, and marrying in the temple.  We've begun having him over for dinner and FHE once a week with the missionaries to study Preach My Gospel as a family.  We all try to study it during the week as well.  We hope to grow closer to him and to invite our friends and his friends to participate in experiences where they can feel the Spirit.  We are blessed to have these goals and opportunities.        

Stephanie Nelson Jones wrote

I wanted to share a portion of our son Landon's letter from this past week. He has been out just over a year serving in the Mexico, Mexico City North Mission.

Yesterday (March 2nd) was one of the most special days of my entire mission. We had the privilege of baptizing 6 people. We baptized the Garcia family (Luisa, Nelson, Alma, and Neiry) and Betty with her daughter Dennise. Juan (the dad of the Garcia´s) didn´t get baptized for some word of wisdom problems but we are going to keep working with him. What made yesterday even more special was the fact that it was the same day that I got baptized on. March 2, 2002. Little did I know that exactly 12 years later I would be back in the baptismal font, only this time I would be the one performing the ordinance for others. The spirit was so strong as one after another were baptized and came up with a huge smile, something that I will never forget. 

David Nelson Post

The Gilbert, Arizona temple will be dedicated on March 2, 2014.  A public open house is being held prior to the temple dedication. I invited my sister-in-law and her two daughters, not church member, to join me for a tour of the temple. One of my nieces lives about a quarter mile from the temple and has been watching the temple construction. They were all very excited to attend the open house. The Gilbert Temple is the largest temple the Church has constructed in 17 years. The five-level temple is 82½ feet tall with a spire reaching 195 feet, making it the tallest building in Gilbert. The grounds, exterior and interior of the temple are beautiful and I had a feeling of great pride and happiness in being with my in-laws, answer their many questions and sharing gospel principles about Heavenly Father's great plan of happiness for his children. 

On February 9th Melissa Brower posted for Audrey:

Two weeks ago our family home evening focused on making a family mission plan.   I thought this would be a great opportunity to teach Audrey about what our prophets have recently asked us to do (every member a missionary) and to teach Audrey about her Great-Grandpa (Z. George Nelson) and his love for the Lord and missionary work, as well as our combined family goal to reach 100 missionary moments in 2014 to celebrate his life and love of the Savior.  After we set a missionary goal as a family we talked about different ways we could be missionaries, including ways that Audrey (at six) could be a missionary too.  A few days later, Audrey had a play date with her friend who isn't a member of the church.  At the end of the play date, she asked me if she could invite her friend, Dani, to sleepover on Saturday night so she could invite her to come to church with us the next morning.  How could I say no?!  So last week, the girls had their sleepover and Dani came to church with us.  

During primary, we always ask the kids to raise their hands if they remembered to bring their scriptures with them to church. They know if they forget they can go up under the podium and get a pair of scriptures before we ask and it still counts.  So as I was helping some teachers, Audrey came up and asked where her scriptures were.  When I walked to the front of the primary room, I noticed that she had not only gotten her scriptures, but also a Book of Mormon from under the pulpit for her friend.  After church ended, Dani came into the primary room and asked me if I had an extra set of scriptures she could have.  She had noticed that everyone in Audrey's class had a Book of Mormon and she wanted to have one too.  I said, "Of course!"  We found the missionaries and got her a Book of Mormon.  I asked her if she wanted to keep the book at our house in case she came to church with us again.  She said, "No, I want to take it home and write my name in it".  When we took her home, I explained to her mom why she had the book.  Dani got it out and said, "Look mom, I got a Book of Mormon!"  Her mom was surprised to see how big the book was and said she would have Dani return it to us after she looked at it.  I told her that it was fine for Dani to keep.  Dani then started showing her mom the book and said, "Look mom, it even has pictures in it".  I was surprised at the excitement that she had for the scriptures and she continued to tell her mom how she had read the scriptures at church and with Audrey the night before and she liked some of the stories.  This was a house we would have never gotten a Book of Mormon into; yet, somehow, a six year old found a way to do it.  I was amazed.

As we continued to talk, Dani's mom noticed Dani was wearing a cute little bracelet.  She asked if Audrey had given it to her.  I said "No, our bishop gave it to her".  I explained who the bishop was.  I also explained that in our church, before children are baptized, they have to have an interview with the bishop, so our ward has our bishop pass small things out to the children every week so they can get to know him and feel comfortable around him.  I explained that normally, the bishop passes out a small piece of candy, but today was Fast Sunday, so he passed out small toys instead.  Of course, this led to her asking me, "What's Fast Sunday?"  I was then able to talk to her about how on the first Sunday of every month, members of the church all over the world go without food for 2 consecutive meals and give the money they would have spent on the meals to the poor and those in need.  She had a lot of questions about this and we were able to talk for another 5-10 minutes about the church and how Fast Sunday works.  I explained that it is a special day for us, and although the children don't fast until they are older, we try to teach them early on the importance of that day and show that it is a "different" day.  The mom seemed really impressed that we would sacrifice food and money every month for people in need and thought that was a great practice we engage in.

I am so proud of Audrey for her courage to be a missionary!!  She did an amazing job!!  All because of a six year old and her missionary efforts....a non member came to church and learned about God's Plan in Sharing Time, learned gospel songs during Singing Time, read scriptures stories at church and at our house, and received her very own Book of Mormon.  This missionary moment directly lead to my missionary moment where I was able to talk to this girl's mom about Bishops, Fast Sunday, and a little bit more about our church.  This was a great missionary experience for our family and a confirmation that if you pray for missionary moments, they will come!  

Melissa Brower wrote:

As the primary president I have the opportunity to visit many families in our ward.  However, a Spanish Branch was recently merged with our ward, so I now oversee the Spanish Branch Primary families as well.  One of the Spanish Branch families who had been faithful at coming every week suddenly stopped coming to church right before Christmas.  Their 2 boys have the most contagious smiles and I noticed them missing week after week.  I kept feeling the need to go to their home and visit with them.  However, I don't speak any Spanish.  I took a plate of cookies before Christmas hoping to catch them home, but I had no luck.  After Christmas they were still on my mind, so my counselor and I stopped by again.  They were home, but would not let us come in.  So I asked if we could come back in a few days.  When we returned later, we were able to meet with the mother of these two sweet boys.  She speaks very little English, but we were able to communicate with her.  I asked why they had not been coming to church and told her how much I missed her boys and their smiling faces.  When she said they just hadn't been feeling well, the spirit told me more was going on.  So, I bore my testimony to her about the importance of her boys attending primary.  The spirit was there and I knew she felt it.  I asked her if she would bring her boys to church the next week and would allow her oldest son to attend cub scouts if I could find a ride for him.  She hesitantly said, "yes".  I wasn't sure we would see her that next week.  However, about 1/2 way through church they came.  It made my heart happy to see them at church again and was grateful that the spirit prompted me to share my testimony with her about the importance of coming to church where the boys could learn more about the gospel and feel the love our Savior has for them.

Cindy Rowlett

As I came back to work after the holidays my colleague and I were exchanging stories about what we had done over the past week with our families.  I told her that the day after Christmas we blessed baby Will.  "What is that?" she asked.  I explained how in our church after the birth of a child we give a special prayer/blessing for that child.  The blessing includes the name the child will be known on the records of the church along with a blessing that includes the desires of the parents for their child as they grow.  I explained how we gathered with our entire family and the Bishop from my ward to hear the blessing.  Matt had asked Greg and Tyson along with our Bishop to stand in the circle with Matt as they held Will and bounced him as Matt gave him his blessing.  Matt had been very nervous about performing this blessing for the first time but did such an awesome job.  She then asked what kind of things did Matt say? I told her that Matt asked that Will would continue to be close to our Heavenly Father and that although he has gone through so much in his short life he wanted him to always have faith and pray to our Heavenly Father for strength throughout his life.  Matt also said how much Will was loved by his family and the hopes that him and Haley had for him in the future.  When I finished describing the blessing my colleague had tears in her eyes and said what a beautiful and special thing this was.  She knows Matt well and was proud of him for preparing and being thoughtful with what he would bless Will with.  She knows the miracles our family has been blessed with this past year and has been touched by seeing the tender mercies the Lord has bestowed upon our family.

David Nelson posted 
Recently there was a death in my family. My neighbor, who is not a member of the church, came to my door to express his sympathies and ask how I was doing. My first response was to just say “oh I’m fine”, but then I thought about the opportunity to express what I was really feeling. So I told him how kind the member of the church had been and how I was comforted by the knowledge that I am a part of an eternal family. He smiled and said “I can feel the love you have for your family and the comfort you find in the teachings of your church”. Thought the time my not be right for him to embrace the gospel, I think he will remember the feelings I expressed. We didn't take the conversation beyond this point but I feel that the seeds are planted for when he is seeking comfort in his life’s journey.  

My next door neighbor occasionally asks us about the Church.  Recently, I invited him and his wife to attend the Gilbert Temple open house.  They said they would like to come with us.  This will give us an opportunity to explain why temples are unique from regular LDS chapels and how the gospel give us hope to live as an eternal family.