My name is Tequitia and I have been a member of the Mormon church for 13 years. My husband introduced me to the church when he told me he wouldn’t marry someone unless she was a member of the Church. At the time we had been dating almost five years and I had no idea he was a member.  I wanted to marry him, so I called up the missionaries to find out what this church was about. I had the first discussions and honestly, didn’t feel anything from it.

I didn’t continue with the discussions after that. However, I believe that that was the turning point for me in my life. I wasn’t a religious person. I believed in God and Jesus Christ, but I had no formal teachings about Them and my purpose in life.

A few months after meeting with the missionaries, I experienced many changes. I was having financial problems, family issues, employment issues, etc. I was experiencing adversity that eventually led me to discover my faith. I began to have a strong desire to learn about God and live the way he would have me live. I started going to the church of my youth. I started reading the Bible.

At the same time, my boyfriend (now husband) started going back to his ward [congregation]. One day he asked me to attend church with him. I didn’t think of it as him trying to convert me, but as me being supportive, so I went.

Soon I was coming to church with him every Sunday and afterwards having the discussions with the missionaries in a member’s home. One fast and testimony meeting, I felt the Spirit so strongly. I had been reading the Book of Mormon and praying about the church. That evening, the Spirit was so strong amongst us, I knew that The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints was where the Lord wanted me to be. I got baptized and hold strong to that testimony that the Lord blessed me to receive.

My husband and I were married in the Washington, D.C. Temple a year later. We have been blessed with four beautiful children. I have served in several wonderful callings over the years, but currently serve as the Enrichment Counselor in my ward Relief Society. Besides being a wife and mother, I write a bi-monthly column, East Meets West, for Mormon Times. I fancy myself as an mixed-media artist and enjoy singing, crocheting, sewing, and reading.

I always tell anyone interested in the church to read the Book of Mormon and pray about for themselves. If you ask the Lord earnestly, really having the desire to do what He wants you to do, He will answer.

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When I was a freshman in college, I took Biology. I was in a class of at least 500 students and my professor, as part of the curriculum, had us memorize the skulls of every primate leading to the evolution of man. Our grade for the final depended on this knowledge. But the final was not the problem pressing on my mind. I was more concerned about the fact that my secular and religious studies seemed at odds.

What to do?

Even though I was only 18 years old, I had had many experiences previously where God had answered my prayers. I had all confidence that He would answer my prayers again. I truly believed that God would give me the answers to the universe. No problem.

So I knelt and prayed in my tiny little dorm room, next to my single bed which was lifted up onto cinder blocks for storage. I asked God if evolution was a true principle, and if He in fact did utilize evolution in the creation of man. Then I waited for an answer.

And I got one.

Guess what God told me?

That it was none of my business.

Apparently, the laws behind creating worlds without number are on a need to know basis, and as a freshman in college, I just didn’t need to know.

But what I did find out, was that God answers prayers. Even the far out, wild and fantastic ones. Sure, my answer wasn’t detailed or life altering. But it was an answer. I went on to get an A on that biology test. Well… really a C, but because the test was graded on curve, I ended up getting an A. Since that time I have forgotten the names and appearance of all of those ape skulls, but I haven’t forgotten the way I felt: close to God, full of faith, and loved.

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One Saturday evening, I went down to the temple in St. George, Utah (45 miles (approx 72 km) from my home). My husband stayed home with the kids so I could attend an endowment session. It was lightly raining when I left my home. Seven miles into the drive, the rain started pelting the windshield. It was coming down so hard it was drowning out my music (believe me, that is LOUD). If it had been hail, it definitely would have broken my windshield. I couldn’t see the road in front of me very well; I immediately slowed down to 40 mph (approx. 64 kph) (the speed limit is 75 mph (approx. 121 kph)).

Many cars had pulled off to the side of the road. I didn’t feel safe pulling off because I couldn’t see those cars until I was practically on top of them. I even started hydroplaning a couple of times. The sky was near black. And I was scared. I thought to myself, “It’s not worth it! I’m not going to the temple. Driving in this weather is too hard and scary.”

I pulled off at the next exit, and decided to call my husband at home, where he could look up the weather on the internet and tell me what the next 34 miles (approx. 55 kilometers) would look like. I said, “Honey, this weather is bad. I’m scared. Will you please look up the radar and tell me if it is safe to go on? Or should I just come home?” He looked up the weather and said, “Oh wow. You just went through a couple of red cells (really, really bad rain). There is one more dark green cell about three to five miles away from where you are, but then right after that it is clear. The whole rest of the drive looks great.”

I decided it would be best to continue on.  If I turned around now, I would have to drive through the terrible rain storm again to get home.  I really wanted to go to the temple, and I was glad to know that it wouldn’t be too bad for the remainder of the trip.

The weather let up for about a mile, and then it got really bad again. It was almost as bad as before, and I was a little scared – but not as scared as before, because I believed what my husband told me on the phone. I noticed a few more cars pulled off to the side of the road, but I kept going.

About one mile past where those cars had pulled off, it was like a wall where the rain stopped and once I drove through it, I didn’t even need my windshield wipers anymore. And eight miles (approx. 13 km) later, the sun came out shining so brightly it almost blinded me.

As I had been praying to make it through this bad weather safely, and especially after the rain stopped right when my husband said it would, I saw meaning in my experience:

All of us go through difficult times in life, whether it is depression, family difficulties or other trials and tribulations. I saw the people pulled off to the side of the road, seemingly giving up. As I had faith in the guidance of someone one who knew more than I did, I was able to make it safely through.

But for a moment, it seemed to get worse before it got better. I had to keep going, no matter what. And then when the sun started blinding me, I saw the calmness and peacefulness after the storm.

I learned a lot on that Saturday night.

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