Hi I'm Spencer

From the time I was about 13 to 18 I was not religious. I'd been raised in this church, but my family didn't regularly attend, and I was the kid who didn't want to be held down by all these rules. I had fun with my friends, and would way rather spend an afternoon with them then going to church. I thought it was pointless and outdated. When I was about 18, I was living out on my own, and finally read the whole Book of Mormon all the way through, after some prodding from a school teacher I knew. I was expecting to feel something just from reading it, and I did notice that I was less stressed out when I read the scriptures, but I didn't think there was much to it. I finally decided that I needed to pray about it, like it talks about in the book's introduction. So I knelt and prayed. I must have been praying for about ten minutes (by far the longest prayer of my life so far) when I finally asked God, really wanting to know, if the Book of Mormon was really true. I'd really starting thinking about lately what exactly it is that happens when we die. And I knew if this book was true, that it had the actual real answer I was looking for. I did get an answer, as I prayed, I felt like my chest was getting all warm. I felt like God was close by, closer than I'd ever felt him before. I felt it powerfully. Really powerfully. I've never felt anything that powerful, before or since. It was just incredible. Because of that, I knew there were things that I needed to change in my life. I decided to go on a mission... and honestly, in comparison, I was pretty miserable back then. It's not that I was a terrible person, but I was looking for fulfillment where there wasn't any fulfillment to be found. Honestly I really am way grateful for that prayer that was answered. I don't know why I'd been so stubborn before. Well, I do know why. I was a knot head. But God had His plan and time for me. I just wish I'd have been ready for it sooner.

This was written while I served a mission and I decided to just keep it this way, "So, obviously, as a missionary there's no real big secret as to how Mormon I really am. As a missionary, you ride bikes...goofy helmets, and you try to talk to as many people as possible. Honestly, if I wasn't a member of the church, I would want someone to try to talk to me about it. I don't get paid anything, and I don't date, go to school, or really do anything else but try to teach others the Gospel of Christ. When I first started at it, I was nervous all the time. But now I feel comfortable connecting to people. Along with testifying of what I believe in, I can't really do that unless I follow what I try to teach. I really think the small, so often repeated things are the most important. Try to live the best you can, repent of your sins, read the scriptures and pray."