Conversion Story
of
Tokerchuk Nadyazhda Valentinavna

It began when I was 7 years old. My parents decided to baptize me into the Orthodox Church. We came to Apsheronsk church (Krasnodar krai) accidentally met the young couple that were supposed to become the godparents. Talked to the priest and agreed on the ordinance. We didn't have to wait long, the priest called me and my parents to do the ordinance. We walked in circles, and he sprinkled the holy water on us, and was saying a prayer. At that moment my grandmother opened the door and asked him something, he got very mad and yelled at her with uncensored language. That's how I was baptized in the Orthodox Church.
A woman named Vera came into our life very suddenly. She came from Moscow, accidentally met with my mom, they became friends, and she talked to my mom a lot about God, Holy Ghost, Jesus Christ, baptism by immersion. Our grandfather became very interested in it, and he started to read the Bible very actively. Sometime later when he realized everything, he had a revelation come to him in a dream, that he can baptize with the Holy Ghost. When I was 8, grandpa asked me do I want to be baptized, I said yes, so he laid his hands upon my head and said a prayer. I felt very happy at that moment.
My grandfather taught us about some of the signs of the true church of Jesus Christ and encouraged me to look for that church.
Walking on in my life with the word of God, I had many difficulties, some of which I managed, some didn't, but everything with me was turning out the way God wanted. He knows better where we need to go, and what we need to do. You just need to trust Him with your whole life, give Him all your problems, and you'll see how everything is working out fast and great. And remember, that whatsoever a man soweth, that he shall also reap. This law works perfectly.
I found the Church of Jesus Christ in a very interesting way. I lived in Krasnodar, in a rented apartment, and as I was cleaning up, I found a book that had so much dust on it, that I couldn't read the cover. I cleaned off the dust and read – the Book of Mormon. I started to read it, and couldn't come back to my senses. It astonished me so much, especially the vision of the Angel to Joseph Smith. I was motivated to read this book and I did set a goal to find the true Church of Christ. I received a revelation in a dream that I must look for the church, and not back down. How do I find it? Where is this place, and how do I find it? A year passed by, and I happened to be in Krasnodar again. I had a dream, where I saw the church and the people and came to the service and I liked it. This gave me more motivation to search. I thought maybe there was a branch of the church in Krasnodar, so I looked on the Krasnodar web site, and I saw the address right away. That day I went to that address, and I found the church. You can't imagine my feelings when I saw the building and The Church of Jesus Christ (the plaque), and I saw the name Joseph Smith in a window. I was so happy, but I came in a week day, and I couldn't talk to anyone, I just got to pet the church cat.
I came to church on Sunday, and I was more astonished when among the speakers that day I saw the Holy Ghost, and he didn't disappear, and I still see him. When I saw Elder Patterson sitting on the stand, I thought I knew him, but I couldn't remember where I could have seen him. So I was even more motivated to learn more about everything that was going on. The Church of Jesus Christ is great power, when everything is according to God's laws, and all laws are kept – it is a great amount of blessings!
I was baptized on January 22, 2011 in the Krasnodar Branch by Elder Clark Lynn Patterson and the next day I was confirmed a member of the church and received the gift of Holy Ghost.

Water to Wine

Being a stay at home mom has taught me a lot about myself and about God’s love. For example, the other day I was telling Leila about how Jesus turned water to wine. I’ve always wondered why this is the first miracle. In comparison to raising the daughter of Jarius or healing 10 lepers this one seems small and somewhat insignificant. But as I looked into my daughter’s sweet face and remembered how often I have received divine help in raising my children I realized how very important this miracle truly is to me.

In that moment I learned that possibly Jesus was trying to show us that though he truly can do grand miracles still in our day, like healing an illness or raising the dead, he also performs simple miracles in our everyday lives. He has helped me to know what my crying baby needed. He has given me strength to finish my degree while being sick with pregnancy and raising a toddler. He has given me courage to smile and face the day even when my heart is troubled. He has healed my heartaches, and replaced fear with hope. All of these things seem simple, but to me in the moment they were nothing short of a miracle. The miracle of turning water to wine is now a very significant scriptural event to me, and I have resolved to try to see more of the simple miracles that God does for me every day, and thank Him for them.

Little Ethan "The Sweetest Little Man"

Every spirit that comes to this earth to take upon it a tabernacle is a son or a daughter of God, and possesses all the intelligence and all the attributes that any son or daughter can enjoy, either in the spirit world, or in this world, except that in the spirit, and separated from the body, they lacked just the tabernacle of being like God the Father. It is said that God is a spirit, and they who worship him must worship him in spirit and in truth [see John 4:24]. But he is a spirit possessing the tabernacle of flesh and bones, as tangible as a man’s and therefore to be like God and Jesus all men must have a body. It matters not whether these tabernacles mature in this world, or have to wait and mature in the world to come, according to the word of the Prophet Joseph Smith, the body will develop, either in time or in eternity, to the full stature of the spirit, and when the mother is deprived of the pleasure and joy of rearing her babe to manhood or to womanhood in this life, through the hand of death, that privilege will be renewed to her hereafter, and she will enjoy it to a fuller fruition than it would be possible for her to do here. When she does it there, it will be with the certain knowledge that the results will be without failure; whereas here, the results are unknown until after we have passed the test. Joseph F Smith

True love

“And Jesus called a little child unto him, and set him in the midst of them,

“And said, Verily I say unto you, Except ye be converted, and become as little children, ye shall not enter into the kingdom of heaven.

“Whosoever therefore shall humble himself as this little child, the same is greatest in the kingdom of heaven” (Matt. 18:2–4).

A Teacher

“Each of us, at some time during our membership in the Church, will be a teacher,” President Dieter F. Uchtdorf, Second Counselor in the First Presidency, told seminary, institute, and religion teachers and educational administrators at a Church Educational System fireside. “That is one of the beauties of this Church,” he said. “The call to teach is an opportunity to follow Jesus Christ, the Master Teacher.”

The fireside was held at the Tabernacle in Salt Lake City, Utah, on January 28, 2011.

President Uchtdorf offered five selected topics of counsel for teachers:

First, follow the Master Teacher. Everything we do should center on the Savior—“His gospel, His teachings, His example, and His love.” By expressing our love for the Savior, we help others to develop the same love.

Second, teach the truth with courage and clarity. The world offers many morally-confusing philosophies. Remain committed to the eternal, unchanging doctrines of the gospel and teach them so clearly that they cannot be misunderstood.

Third, teach by the Spirit. Having the Spirit enables teachers to touch hearts and lives and allows those listening to receive eternal learning.

Fourth, teach from the heart. President Uchtdorf recalled the greatest teachers in his life as those who spoke “spirit to spirit, heart to heart . . . with sincerity, passion, and conviction.”

Fifth, testify. “The teacher who bears testimony by the power of the Spirit will be able to touch the hearts and minds of the students,” President Uchtdorf said. He reminded teachers of the example of Brigham Young, the second president of the Church, who felt the Holy Ghost in the testimony of a man without eloquence or talents for public speaking. He quoted Brigham Young: “The Holy Ghost proceeding from that individual [illuminated] my understanding . . . and [I knew] for myself that the testimony of the man [was] true.”

“as if”

I believe in the principle that you ought to act “as if” you were the person you would like to become. As you do that, you will grow into that kind of person. Ultimately your very actions, your attitude, will lead you into being the kind of person that you want to be. George Bernard Shaw said: “People are always blaming their circumstances for what they are. I don’t believe in circumstances. People who get on in this world are the people who get up and look for the circumstances they want, and, if they can’t find them, make them.” (Quoted in John Bartlett’s Familiar Quotations, 15th edition, ed. Emily Morison Beck, Boston: Little, Brown, and Co., 1980 p. 680.) We must learn to become creators of circumstances and not creatures of them. Oh, how important that is at your stage in life.

M Russell Ballard

“You have great expectations, not as the result of an unknown benefactor, but as the result of a known benefactor, even our Heavenly Father.”

Thomas S. Monson
Great Expectations for Youth of Church

EXAMPLE

“You can preach a better sermon with your life then your lips”

Sometimes it is necessary to be obedient even when we do not understand the reason for the law. It takes faith to be obedient. The Prophet Joseph Smith, in teaching obedience, said that whatever God requires is right, though we may not know the reason until much later (see Teachings of the Prophet Joseph Smith, sel. Joseph Fielding Smith [1976], 256).