Seth Adam Smith recently interviewed Al Fox. He said,
She calls herself “the Tattooed Mormon,” but I call her a modern Mormon pioneer.
Why? Because the story of her conversion so similar to that of the early pioneers…
An LDS Living article also recently wrote about her story.
Al Fox wasn’t looking for religion. In fact, when the missionaries tracted in to her while she was living in New York, she told them she would let them teach her only if they brought her a steak dinner, sure they wouldn’t follow through and she wouldn’t have to see them again.
They did.
But Fox didn’t mind too much, because there was “something about them that I wanted them to come back. I didn’t know why, but I just loved how I felt around them,” she says. That didn’t mean she wanted to hear about the gospel, though. “Every day I saw them, I did everything I could to do anything except talk about the Church, and I thought I was doing fairly well.”
But gradually, she began to open up little by little, and she started reading the scriptures and praying—hoping more to prove the Church was wrong than it was right—but the change in her heart became greater.
Read more about Al’s story at Seth’s blog or at LDS Living, and/or watch the following video interview that Seth did with Al.
Al shares more about her faith and the happiness the gospel of Jesus Christ has given her on her blog and her YouTube video channel.
Her story is inspiring…like, makes you want to smile and jump up and down! Very cool. Thanks for sharing! I hadn’t heard her story before.
Her interview on YouTube with The Cultural Hall was very interesting–seeing into her conversion and hearing about her choice *after* her baptism about whether to be offended or not when others said insensitive things about her tattoos to her in Utah. She’s a good example to all of us.
Love your blog and the way you scatter sunshine about all things Mormon/Women 🙂
I am an inactive member who is considering returning to church. I also got a very visible (most of the time) tattoo during my period of inactivity. It is not offensive in any way and is a tribute to my late mother, but I must admit that I am afraid of facing the potential judgment of others if I return to activity. Seeing Al give her testimony and reading so many positive reactions to her story really helps me to feel better about my own situation. It is a shame that some members can be so judgmental at times, and I can only hope to be as strong as Al and not let my anxiety get the best of me!
Mrs. C, thanks for your comment! It is too bad that sometimes judgment affects our culture. I love how Al is, as the saying goes, comfortable in her own skin. I think most of us struggle with that process, though, so know you are not alone with that, too, with the quest to not let anxiety get the best of you. (I struggle with that, too!)
Sending hugs your way.
Michelle
editor