Several weeks ago, Allison invited John and me to hear her speak in sacrament meeting. What a blessing it is to now be in a place where we can hop around to different meetings on Sunday and see the wonderful things our family is doing! We showed up today, and by the end of Allison's talk, I was reduced to tears. John and I were both in awe of the testimony Allison has, and the story of how she came to have any testimony at all. With her permission, I'm posting the bit I have on my computer, but she did end with her own testimony which I hope she will add onto this post.
Hiyas, here is a copy of what I had planned to say, which in general I thought I stuck too quite well, but you'll have to forgive the grammatical errors or any loose thoughts. -edits from Allison
"Hi everyone, for those of you who don't know me,
my name is Allison Boss. Yes my last name is legitimately Boss, no I don’t
think I’m particularly bossy, yes my father is a boss at work but my mother is
the boss of everything else and yes I am probably going to find a way to keep my
last name in some form. I hope that answers all your questions on my last name,
but feel free to ask me anything else afterwards. Anyway, today I was asked to
talk about why I believe.
So I figure a little background on my experience with religion would help. Both of my parents were raised as Catholics but only my mother was practicing. When I was maybe 6, my mother experienced the life-changing truth that a relationship with God is not following a bunch of rituals or checking off a “to-do list” but that it is a relationship built on work and growth like any other relationship. After that moment my mother bore her faith boldly and without hesitation, but she also grew to despise any form of conservative Christianity, which she believed still held the ritualistic nature and took away from the development of a spiritual relationship with God. From that point on we went "church-shopping" and bounced from one church to another, trying Presbyterian, Methodist, and finally landing on non-denominational churches. Everything seemed perfect, I became an active member going on every retreat, volunteering with kids, participating in small groups but I very rarely felt the spirit. I was able to fake it in the moments but I never felt completely whole. In the end the overwhelming loneliness and the friendships that dissolved into fighting and hate took me away from the church.
In college I didn't attend church. My spiritual relationship with God existed as me asking for guidance and help, my frustration with him when things didn't work out how I wanted, the rare moment I would thank him for the good and bad things, and the occasional pensive moment when I'd look back and see the path I had tread because of Him. After I graduated I got two jobs, one in a cell and developmental biology lab at Michigan and the other as a coach for my old high school rowing team, which is where I met Mark. Truthfully, I didn't think much of Mark when I first started. I acknowledged that this guy was different. Mark had a lightness about him, he seemed to get frustrated less frequently than I did and was indefinitely more patient than I was. It wasn't until after we became friends that I found out he was LDS. I'd heard a lot of terrible things about the church and was very hesitant to try it, but I figured that if the church couldn't be awful as it was portrayed since it shaped a great person like Mark. So I decided to come and try. The first time I attended church I was pretty overwhelmed. The long services, references to books and people I had never heard of, not to mention surrounded by a bunch of strangers, but overall I realized I had liked the experience and something about it seemed right.
I started to meet with the sister missionaries, talk endlessly to Mark’s family about their experiences with the church, asked many of you what you knew or felt, prayed for understanding and answers, and read the book of Mormon. I initially stumbled on topics like the plan of salvation and the roles and importance of women in the church, but in time got the answers from all of those resources to help me. Sometimes the answers were easy and sometimes I was left with the impression that the answer would be made clearer when I was more experienced with the scriptures and the church. The sister missionaries would go out of their way to help me find the answers (literally researching information on Mondays to try to find answers instead of reading or answering all their emails from their families). The Kennedy family provided endless support for me, and they were willing to answer anything at anytime in order to help me figure out the truth, even when my own family wasn’t supportive. Many of my new friends here shared their struggles with their own questions, and how they found their answers. Truly it took a village of people to help raise me from my spiritual baby self into the child I am now.
One of the strongest impressions I received from God was when I was trying to decide whether or not to be baptized. After a couple of months of searching, I hit the fork in the road that every person searching the church hits, whether or not to be baptized. I had been praying about it kind of casually, and then I asked Him to tell me if this was the right step for me to do. On October 15th of last year, we had Stake Conference and one of the last talks was by President Ward. He talked about the power we had to bind things here on earth and keep them bound for all eternity; husbands and wives, children and parents, and ourselves t Christ. He talked about the importance of baptism in our journey on Earth. That this action of taking upon the name of Christ and committing ourselves to following His and His Father's commandments for us opened the door for other blessings. Being a scientist, I said, "Okay God, yes I see you've answered me once, but can you make me really sure that this in your answer?" The following day during my lunch break, I was reading the Book of Mormon and came across 2 Nephi 31: 5, "And now if the Lamb of God, he being holly, should have need to be baptized by water to fulfill all righteousness, O then how much more need have we being unholy, to be baptized, yea, even by water!" Then I continued to read to verse 12 "...He that is baptized in my name, to him will the Father give the Holy Ghost, like unto me, wherefore, follow me and do the things which ye have seen me do". After that moment, I thought, "Okay God, yep I got it. I got it." And a couple of evenings later, I set my baptismal date for November 19th, and less than a week after that, I was doing baptisms for the dead with my future in-laws in the Philadelphia temple. It was such a crazy experience, thinking that less than a week prior, I was being baptized myself and then I was suddenly doing it for a bunch of extended family.
I believe because I have seen the absolute love and mercy of God. He could've left me 10,000 times over the last 5 years, but he didn't. He continued to reach out to me, guide me when I asked, and take care of me even when I didn't want his care. He kept me from serious danger and harm, and blessed me with experiences and lessons that he knew I would need in the future. I believe because I know God made me for a reason and to exist in this time. Everything that happens to me is another opportunity to make myself better and prepare for the future God has in store for me. He began to and continues to shape me into a woman of Christ who has a powerful past and an infinitely more powerful future.
My family has begun to come to terms with my conversion. My father and my middle sister believe that I can do and follow what I believe as long as it is my choice. My mother and baby sister who originally put up the biggest fight against it, are coming around. My baby sister who is studying ministry at Indiana Wesleyan, and I have had numerous conversations about our beliefs and I think she has slowly come to realize that we are very similar in our beliefs (as we are in many other aspects of life) and that we are both adding to the arsenal of faith for the other. My mother still does not agree with me, but I have peace in knowing that I am following the path I am supposed to follow and that she only disagrees out of fear and out of love for me.
Hiyas, here is a copy of what I had planned to say, which in general I thought I stuck too quite well, but you'll have to forgive the grammatical errors or any loose thoughts. -edits from Allison
"Hi everyone, for those of you who don't know me,
my name is Allison Boss. Yes my last name is legitimately Boss, no I don’t
think I’m particularly bossy, yes my father is a boss at work but my mother is
the boss of everything else and yes I am probably going to find a way to keep my
last name in some form. I hope that answers all your questions on my last name,
but feel free to ask me anything else afterwards. Anyway, today I was asked to
talk about why I believe.So I figure a little background on my experience with religion would help. Both of my parents were raised as Catholics but only my mother was practicing. When I was maybe 6, my mother experienced the life-changing truth that a relationship with God is not following a bunch of rituals or checking off a “to-do list” but that it is a relationship built on work and growth like any other relationship. After that moment my mother bore her faith boldly and without hesitation, but she also grew to despise any form of conservative Christianity, which she believed still held the ritualistic nature and took away from the development of a spiritual relationship with God. From that point on we went "church-shopping" and bounced from one church to another, trying Presbyterian, Methodist, and finally landing on non-denominational churches. Everything seemed perfect, I became an active member going on every retreat, volunteering with kids, participating in small groups but I very rarely felt the spirit. I was able to fake it in the moments but I never felt completely whole. In the end the overwhelming loneliness and the friendships that dissolved into fighting and hate took me away from the church.
In college I didn't attend church. My spiritual relationship with God existed as me asking for guidance and help, my frustration with him when things didn't work out how I wanted, the rare moment I would thank him for the good and bad things, and the occasional pensive moment when I'd look back and see the path I had tread because of Him. After I graduated I got two jobs, one in a cell and developmental biology lab at Michigan and the other as a coach for my old high school rowing team, which is where I met Mark. Truthfully, I didn't think much of Mark when I first started. I acknowledged that this guy was different. Mark had a lightness about him, he seemed to get frustrated less frequently than I did and was indefinitely more patient than I was. It wasn't until after we became friends that I found out he was LDS. I'd heard a lot of terrible things about the church and was very hesitant to try it, but I figured that if the church couldn't be awful as it was portrayed since it shaped a great person like Mark. So I decided to come and try. The first time I attended church I was pretty overwhelmed. The long services, references to books and people I had never heard of, not to mention surrounded by a bunch of strangers, but overall I realized I had liked the experience and something about it seemed right.
I started to meet with the sister missionaries, talk endlessly to Mark’s family about their experiences with the church, asked many of you what you knew or felt, prayed for understanding and answers, and read the book of Mormon. I initially stumbled on topics like the plan of salvation and the roles and importance of women in the church, but in time got the answers from all of those resources to help me. Sometimes the answers were easy and sometimes I was left with the impression that the answer would be made clearer when I was more experienced with the scriptures and the church. The sister missionaries would go out of their way to help me find the answers (literally researching information on Mondays to try to find answers instead of reading or answering all their emails from their families). The Kennedy family provided endless support for me, and they were willing to answer anything at anytime in order to help me figure out the truth, even when my own family wasn’t supportive. Many of my new friends here shared their struggles with their own questions, and how they found their answers. Truly it took a village of people to help raise me from my spiritual baby self into the child I am now.
One of the strongest impressions I received from God was when I was trying to decide whether or not to be baptized. After a couple of months of searching, I hit the fork in the road that every person searching the church hits, whether or not to be baptized. I had been praying about it kind of casually, and then I asked Him to tell me if this was the right step for me to do. On October 15th of last year, we had Stake Conference and one of the last talks was by President Ward. He talked about the power we had to bind things here on earth and keep them bound for all eternity; husbands and wives, children and parents, and ourselves t Christ. He talked about the importance of baptism in our journey on Earth. That this action of taking upon the name of Christ and committing ourselves to following His and His Father's commandments for us opened the door for other blessings. Being a scientist, I said, "Okay God, yes I see you've answered me once, but can you make me really sure that this in your answer?" The following day during my lunch break, I was reading the Book of Mormon and came across 2 Nephi 31: 5, "And now if the Lamb of God, he being holly, should have need to be baptized by water to fulfill all righteousness, O then how much more need have we being unholy, to be baptized, yea, even by water!" Then I continued to read to verse 12 "...He that is baptized in my name, to him will the Father give the Holy Ghost, like unto me, wherefore, follow me and do the things which ye have seen me do". After that moment, I thought, "Okay God, yep I got it. I got it." And a couple of evenings later, I set my baptismal date for November 19th, and less than a week after that, I was doing baptisms for the dead with my future in-laws in the Philadelphia temple. It was such a crazy experience, thinking that less than a week prior, I was being baptized myself and then I was suddenly doing it for a bunch of extended family.
I believe because I have seen the absolute love and mercy of God. He could've left me 10,000 times over the last 5 years, but he didn't. He continued to reach out to me, guide me when I asked, and take care of me even when I didn't want his care. He kept me from serious danger and harm, and blessed me with experiences and lessons that he knew I would need in the future. I believe because I know God made me for a reason and to exist in this time. Everything that happens to me is another opportunity to make myself better and prepare for the future God has in store for me. He began to and continues to shape me into a woman of Christ who has a powerful past and an infinitely more powerful future.
My family has begun to come to terms with my conversion. My father and my middle sister believe that I can do and follow what I believe as long as it is my choice. My mother and baby sister who originally put up the biggest fight against it, are coming around. My baby sister who is studying ministry at Indiana Wesleyan, and I have had numerous conversations about our beliefs and I think she has slowly come to realize that we are very similar in our beliefs (as we are in many other aspects of life) and that we are both adding to the arsenal of faith for the other. My mother still does not agree with me, but I have peace in knowing that I am following the path I am supposed to follow and that she only disagrees out of fear and out of love for me.
I
testify that God is never far from us. If you are feeling distant from Him, you
need to only reach out and answer the door and ask Him your questions with a
genuine and loving heart. God is always willing to take you back, He’s always
willing to celebrate a prodigal son, He’s always ready to go and search for a
lost sheep. Our mistakes are not final; they can be used as a stepping-stone
for ourselves and others who may struggle in the same way. I say this in the
name of Jesus Christ, Amen."
After Allison's talk, we sang "Testimony" (Hymn number 137), and goodness, I couldn't even sing because I was crying so much.
1. The witness of the Holy Ghost as borne by those who know has lifted me again to thee, O Father of my soul.
2. I know that thou art in the heaven. I know the Savior reigns. I know a prophet speaks to us for our eternal gain.
3. My eyes are wet; my heart is full. The Spirit speaks today. O Lord, wilt thou my life renew and in my bosom stay.
4. As testimony fills my heart, it dulls the pain of days. For one brief moment, heaven's view appears before my gaze.
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