After my baptism, my life took off in a whole new direction. I learned about branches, wards, and stake houses that weren’t really steak houses, as many people mistakenly think when they hear that term for the first time. They are just part of the structure that makes up the whole church which is divided into different areas depending on where you live. Branches are the smallest unit and once they reach a certain number of members, they then become a ward. A stake house or stake center is made up of several wards and branches. Several stake centers make up a district and several districts become a region and so forth.
Anyway, there’s a very organized system in everything they do. No matter where in the world one goes, the church is the same … the meetings, lessons, the doctrines, the ordinances and teachings, the materials used, etc. … they don’t vary from one area to another, they’re all the same where ever you go. The lessons may all be taught and the ordinances performed in different languages, but they are still in the same manner and format. You can go anywhere in the world and feel comfortable and right at home because you know what meeting or class that you’ll be in and what is going to be taught. Some places may be a week or two ahead or behind in the lessons, but you still know what to expect.
It wasn’t long before I had made more friends in just a few months than I had ever had in my entire life up to that point. I enjoyed a whirlwind of activities and events that made my life so completely full of joy and a contentment that I hadn’t felt in years. As I said before, it was like I had finally found and returned to my spiritual home after being lost for so long!
There were activities for the youth, and then there was the Young Adult Program for those who were single and between the ages of eighteen through thirty, and the Single Adult Program for adults over 30 who were still single, divorced or widowed (the names of these auxiliaries have been slightly changed over the years). There were Firesides every couple of weeks or monthly, where we could hear inspirational talks and experiences from speakers and there were so many wonderful activities and other people my age to get to know and make friends with that I don’t think I could have gotten into any trouble even if I had wanted to!
Because of the area I was in, there were a lot of people in the entertainment industry who were also members of the church so there were always musical productions, plays, camping trips, dances, and other activities to keep the young people in fun wholesome activities and out of trouble. I later found out that the actor, Gordon Jump, was also a member of my ward.
Some of the types of activities we enjoyed:
I have to say that it was one of the best times of my life! The dances (as well as the other activities) were well supervised, the music was carefully screened, and best of all, there was no vulgar language or people who took advantage of you! As I may have mentioned before, all of the young men, and I’m talking about even the smallest from around five or six years old, were taught to hold the doors open for the ladies.
I have never met such nice, well-mannered young men in my life! They treated us girls like royalty and I absolutely loved it! It didn’t even have to be a date, even if you were just friends or had just met, the guys ALWAYS opened the doors for us girls whether it was going in or out of a building or getting in or out of the car. From my previous experiences, I never would have guessed that people like this even existed at all! It was wonderful! I was loving life again and I loved people, who I now saw through different eyes, and I was able to be more tolerant and understanding towards those who weren’t so kind.
Even though I was enjoying my new life and had a lot of new friends—when I was asked to give my first talk, I was scared to death! Talking with friends and people one-on-one was one thing but standing in front of a whole congregation with everyone looking at you was something else altogether! I didn’t want to do it and I found that I was still pretty shy. However, I got a lot of support and encouragement from everyone and when I got up to the stand and saw all of those eyes staring at me, I saw many who were winking, nodding, or mouthing encouraging words and somehow, that gave me the strength to get through those ten minutes even though I was sweating and my voice was shaking the whole time. I don’t even remember what the topic was now, but I’m sure it had something to do with how the gospel had changed my life.
I had just achieved a major accomplishment—standing before a whole congregation of people and giving a talk! That was something I would NEVER have dreamed I could do, not in a million years! I was so happy with my life that I told Sister Bailey and Sister Sperry that I wanted to do what they were doing. I wanted to share the gospel with others and bring them the same happiness that I had found! They said that I would have to wait a year before I could become a missionary, and I decided that was exactly what I would do!
In the meantime, I read everything I could get my hands on, studied the scriptures with my Bible and Book of Mormon side by side, attended institute classes where the lessons were really in-depth and detailed, and just enjoyed my new life to the fullest.