Chapter 16: Seek and Ye Shall Find

"Ask, and it shall be given you; seek and ye shall find; knock, and it shall be opened to unto you: For every one that asketh receiveth; and he that seeketh findth; and to him that knocketh it shall be opened." Matt. 7:7-8.


This scripture is true in so many areas of our lives. I think of it meaning, "Whatever you are looking for you will find." If you look for happiness, you'll find it. If you look for faults in other people - you'll find them. If you look for hypocrites, they will be right in front of you. If you look for good people, you will find them. So the question is, "What are you seeking?" Getting into the Hereafter, depends on what you're after here.

I've been reading a few more journal entries from 1984-85. There are so many details I've forgotten - some gladly! I've also started organizing my photos and came across the ones I need for this story.

I was so excited to have the true gospel in my life. I really wanted to tell everyone about it, but most of my peers were already church members. The ones who weren't LDS weren't interested. I prayed that I could find someone to share the gospel with. I prayed that I could meet someone and bring someone the joy that I had. I didn't end up meeting anyone.


But the scriptures say: "Ask and ye shall receive".......even in Utah. My friend Deana and I were getting to be very good friends. We were mostly acquaintances from high school but eventually became best friends shortly after we graduated. Deana was a fun, pretty, exuberant Japanese American girl. I cannot even begin to tell you how much fun we used to have going to dances, meeting boys, and just hanging out together. We did a lot of laughing. A lot of laughing. Just thinking about that makes me smile.

I'm very happy to say when I called Deana up on the phone to ask her permission to tell her story (which would be from my point of view, of course) she gladly gave me her consent. I was hoping she would consider writing a blog herself but she has returned to school and has become a crazy, busy student. But I caught her at a good time, right before break and she now has her blog in progress. Her link is here.

A question I used to get a lot when I first joined the church was, "What does your family think about you joining the church?" My parents are divorced and my dad didn't mind at all. My mom said it was my choice and I would have to live with it. It was actually difficult because I lived with my mom and she did eventually give me a hard time about it. She kept telling me, "Church, church, church! That's all you do is go to church." I went from three times a week as a Baptist to once a week as a Mormon.

We had a strained relationship for a lot of my youth. I respect her as a single mom who was working to support us but I still think I took a lot of the brunt of the problems. My brother entered drug rehabilitation at age 14 so you can imagine what she had to deal with. I think it's a miracle that I didn't go down the same path and I think it's only the fact that I was surrounded by wonderful friends that I didn't.

Deana, being my best friend, was a great support to me at the time when I was having many difficulties. I would talk to her about things and try to stay positive by saying things like, "I know this is only a test and I will be blessed in the end." One day, she asked me questions about the church and being a new member I really didn't think I knew how to answer them. I said, "You should talk to the missionaries, they'll be able to answer all your questions." The missionaries were scheduled.

.....to be continued.....