Sister Biggs was in my area for the day and we had a moment and she shared her conversion story.
As told by Sister Biggs, a soft spoken, smiling lady:
My husband is 11 years older than me. Long before we met, he had a job in an office with other workers. One in particular was "Jim, the Mormon," as everyone called him. He was friendly and never hesitated to share his religion with the other workers. Over the course of several years, my husband learn a lot about the Mormon religion.
My husband changed jobs and then we met. During our courting, he would, on occasion, share some of what he had learned about the Mormon religion. We had been courting for about a year when he proposed and we began planning our wedding. We were gathered round with family and friends in planning the wedding and where we would hold it. Some suggested we marry on the beach, in a garden or on a lawn, or this church or that church, but none seemed to set with us. My husband even suggested: "We could use the Mormon church." The only reaction to that was: "What ever for?"
We married in the Church of England since we were both members and it was the easiest option.
We were married about six months when I found myself home on a Saturday, the day of Winston Churchill's funeral. My husband was at work when the bell rang. I grabbed up the empty milk bottles and loose change and headed to the door of our first floor flat. (For Americans that would be the second floor.) I opened the door fully expecting to see the milkman standing there. To my surprise, he was not there but instead two men dressed in suits, white shirts, and ties.
One looked at me and said: "Hello. We have a message for you that will change your life."
I thought in my mind that my life was good and I wasn't looking for a change, so I replied: "I am not interested."
He said: "We have been sent to give this message to you. Please let us give it to you."
Trying to brush them off, I answered: "My husband is not at home."
The missionary saw the opportunity and asked: "May we come back when he is here?"
Sister Biggs: "Well, I guess so. Come at half past 7." I fully intended for us not to be home when they came back.
When my husband came home later that afternoon, I said to him: "Your friends were here this morning."
He tried to guess who that would be by naming off one person or couple after another until I said: "No, none of them, it was the Mormons."
With a lightness in his voice he asked: "What did they say?"
I handed him the pamphlet they gave me and he sat right down and read it all the way through and handled like it was something special.
I told him they were coming back at half past 7, but that we would not be home.
He said: "Why not? You can't invite someone to your home and then purposely not be there when they come. That is rude. We will be here! What will make it or break it for us though, will be if what they say matches what Jim, the Mormon has said."
Sister Biggs: "Well, that was in 1964, and here we are."
We began the lessons and after each one we were different in our thinking. One time I would be for it and he against, and the next time he was for it and I against. This went on until the lesson that changed us. The missionaries left that night and we sat there looking at each other, thinking about what we had just experienced. My husband asked me if I was feeling what he was feeling? I asked him what he was feeling. He said it was a warmth right here as he rubbed his hand across his chest. I told him I was feeling the very same thing and it was then we both knew the gospel was true. The spirit had born witness to us of all that we have been taught and our hearts were open and we were willing to believe.
During the period of time we were taking the lessons, we had gone home to visit my parents. I told my mother about taking the discussions and she was angry and told me the Mormons were bad people. She said that as a little girl (early 1900's), her mother would threaten her: "If you don't behave, the Mormons will come and get you!"
In that period of time, the missionaries wore long black coats and tall black hats and it was common for Britons to fear them.
I tried to tell her about the lessons but she said she did not want to hear any of it and to not talk to her about it. So, I didn't.
It came time for our baptism and it happened to be scheduled on a day that later had a family event on it. We did not go to the event, but were baptized as scheduled. Later, we were visiting again, with my parents. Mum asked me why we had not been to the family event and when I told her we got baptized in the Mormon church that day, she went wild. When she calmed down, she wanted to know why I had not told her before.
I replied: "Well, you told me not to talk about the Mormons anymore around you."
I had a hard time understanding why she was always so upset about us joining the church and knew it would cause anger each time I brought it up to her. We continued to maintain our relationship with my parents and were not raising our children to be hoodlums. After being a member for some years, I expressed this concern to my Relief Society president.
She said: "How would you feel if your little boy grew up and then when he was old enough, joined another church? Your mother raised you in the Church of England because she felt that was right and did her best to teach you about God. She sees you choosing the Mormon church as a direct insult to how she raised you."
After that, I had a different perspective about my mum's thoughts and have been careful ever since to respect her feelings. It has made a difference in our relationship.
Now, did what Jim, the Mormon say match up with what the missionaries said? The only difference my husband found was, he thought Joseph Smith was a blacksmith, but learned he was a farmer.
The missionaries shared with us their experience the morning they knocked our door: With it being Winston Churchill's funeral, they were sure no one would want to talk to them as they would be busy watching the funeral on the tellie or listening to it on the radio. With this thought, they had talked back and forth about going out, until they both agreed they just needed to go out.
The Biggs have one grandson returned from a mission and three currently serving.
If you are looking for a moral to the story, here is one of the many you can find in it:
As a member, you never know what influence you have on others as you live and share the gospel. Jim, the Mormon planted the seeds for their conversion many years before it happened.
Wednesday: The sky was a mixture of clouds, blue, and sun all day. Not really any rain, but the possibility looming every now and then.
When I got to my station for the day I could not find my rota. I had prepared it so nicely but it was no where to be found. So, I just used the regular one and it was surprising how well it worked after-all!
There seemed to be more patrons than last week. School is out for the month of August and then the temple closes the first of September for two weeks, so maybe the members are taking advantage of the month to come.
The sisters worked well with seeing to the needs of the patrons and there was a good spirit among us. Bob was busy with sessions and other assignments. There are less men than sisters, thus, they are always needed.
From Home: School has started and grandchildren are off to the classroom!
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| Adellae, off to 1st grade in Yuma! |
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| Carson, Marissa, & Emily. Emily begins Kindergarten in Gilbert! |
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| Pearson, Jack, & Isabel in Tucson. |
We were on the shopping excursion this morning and got the items on the grocery list. M&Co has become my store of choice for clothing. I check them every week because they have some pretty good sales. Today I found a very nice blouse marked way down and in the bag it went! Dad checked out the jewelry store for a new band for his watch, but forgot to bring the watch. He got cash at the bank, we picked up delicious produce from the vendor, and finished up at Sainsbury's for all the rest of the stuff.
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| Flat peaches - delicious! From the produce vendor. |
It is always difficult to wind down when we have worked the afternoon shift. We get home, change clothes, and feel like the day is just beginning, yet it is 9 p.m. Thus, our nights have been late, up to the midnight hour. But, this is the time we can call America since everyone is awake there. Dad has been busy working on car insurance and that has required calls here and there.
I have been looking for flannel to do baby blankets for the new grandson coming in November. I have been to two fabric stores here and they do not carry what we call flannel. We have looked Online in the UK, finding flannel, but not in infant/nursery prints, colors, or styles.
Friday: We woke up to rain and more rain, but it cleared by the time we went to the temple. We worked late tonight. The workers seemed a bit sluggish and there were not as many patrons as usual. We ended the night with a happy birthday call to Juliann. We had a great conversation and she seemed happy and having a great day. We went to bed with rain falling down.
Saturday: Our day began with a face time call from Nelson. Isabel was there and they talked and shared with us what all they are doing and how Isabel did the first week of high school where her dad teaches seminary. She has done well getting into the groove of new surroundings, schedules, teachers, and fellow classmates. Jack received the Tiger Talent "Patience" Award! It was a surprise to his family as his classmates all felt he deserved it.
We had a great day in the temple being busy. Patrons were here and there and we had enough workers to accommodate them. I "popped" our clothing in the washer when we got home. Juliann called up via face time for the girls to talk. Brynlyn has a bright smile and loves to put her face up close to the phone. (Of course, that is then all we can see). We sang Sunbeam and she joined in until she fell over and bumped herself on a chair. She and Adellae had built a fort and took the phone inside for us to see.
After dinner we went to the TV room and found "Back To The Future" to watch. It wasn't long before the Parkinson's and then the Mulholland's joined us. We finished up the laundry and went to bed.
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