The Ad

The Ad

By Sandee Gladden West

I grew up in a small town in Virginia where the Church had not yet been established. Although a member of another faith, I had always been interested in religion and sought to become closer to the Savior.

In the summer of my junior year of high school, I read an advertisement in Reader’s Digest about the Latter-day Saints and some of the Church’s teachings. The ad sparked my interest, so I called the toll-free number to receive a copy of the Book of Mormon.

A few weeks later, my copy arrived in the mail, and I began to read it. I kept it on my bedside table as I studied it in bits and pieces. I wasn’t sure why I was so compelled to read it.

The following spring, an experience convinced me that there was something special about this book. One evening, as I was reading the passages in the book of Mosiah that explained death and resurrection, my understanding blossomed. I was overcome by a feeling of hope and promise. The following morning, I awoke to the news that my father had died. After a few moments of grieving, I felt my heart fill with a quiet peace. I knew that the promises in Mosiah about the resurrection were true.

At that time, I had never met a Latter-day Saint, so I knew no one who could answer my many questions. After high school graduation, I moved to Portsmouth, Virginia, to attend college. The first night in my new home, I looked up The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints in the telephone book and found it listed. I was unfamiliar with the address, but I resolved to attend church as soon as I could find my way there.

About two weeks later, I suddenly realized that the meetinghouse was only two blocks away from where I was staying. My fingers couldn’t dial the phone fast enough. I anxiously told the man who answered of my interest in the Book of Mormon. He promised to send the missionaries to teach me.

After I hung up the phone, I decided that I couldn’t wait that long, so I immediately went to the chapel, found the bishop, and said, “Teach me!” He called the missionaries, and they came right away.

Two weeks later, I was baptized. Since then, I have been richly blessed beyond measure. I am grateful for my testimony of the Book of Mormon and for President Ezra Taft Benson’s charge to take it to all the world.

Sandee Gladden West serves as a Sunday School teacher and as Relief Society pianist in the Hahn Servicemen Ward, Kaiserslautern Germany Servicemen Stake.