Baptism
My early days in the church were filled with baptisms. As the youngest, I had to wait until I turned 8 years old before I got baptized. Each of my siblings went under before me. Dunk, dunk, dunk. That was more than okay with me. I was terrified of large pools of water. I did not go under water voluntarily. Not ever. Not even in the tub. I hoped everyone would get over this Mormon thing before my turn came or maybe everyone would get busy and forget. Yeah right. Mormons keep records. Good records. Records so awesome they gutted mountains just to store them. Before my 8th birthday the bishop summoned me to his office. Our bishop was at least 6’5”, taller than any other man at church. I thought that was why they made him bishop. His height, together with his...
Missionaries
In Mormon culture, keeping a journal is pretty much a commandment. Before my mother started taking the “discussions” and socializing with Mormons, I’d never heard of journaling, but I thought books were pretty awesome, especially The Bearenstein Bears. The realization that I could write a book all about myself intrigued me. I didn’t know what to write in my new oversized journal or where to begin, much less how to spell things. So I drew a lot and wrote a little. My very first picture is of the missionaries. It was suggested that I start there by my mother or by one of the sister missionaries that was in our lives at the time. I’m not sure. But I distinctly remember being told to write that the missionaries came to visit me so that I’d...
My First
Above is a picture of my very first journal. I refer to this one as my Mormon journal because it seems every Mormon is given this exact journal in red, navy, hunter green, brown, or black as soon as they step out of the baptismal font so you can write about your “feelings”. However, I was one of the lucky few who received this journal before my baptism. My mother, sister, and brothers were being baptized before me and I guess,a my mom didn’t want me to feel left out while everyone else was getting presents. Who knows. I just remember sitting on our living room sofa thinking So this is how people write books! I get to write a book!?! Shit, I need to work on my handwriting. Mormonism was very influential in my writing for a very long time. ...