Spotlight!

Marissa P. is from Las Vegas, Nevada. She and her husband, Jake, met while taking a year's worth of Physics classes together. They've been married 8 months. Together they like to watch and play sports, make food, play games, and watch Netflix movies. Marissa is finishing up her last term at BYU and is preparing to move back to Vegas where Jake will start Physical Therapy School at UNLV. Her two favorite foods are ice cream and mashed potatoes. Marissa has lived for four months in Hawaii and has been to Europe and the Caribbean. If she could go anywhere she would go back to Hawaii or visit Spain, Jerusalem, or Tahiti. Marissa loves to read. Some of her favorite books are The Twilight Series as well as a book about her ancestor. Some of her personal hobbies are watching and playing sports, reading, traveling, learning and listening to Country music. Her favorite scripture is Psalms 46:10.

Marissa's Testimony

I grew up in a born-again Christian church with my mother and sister. My step-father is a professed and published atheist. My dad believes in God but has not been to a day of church that I can recollect. My step-brother is gothic. Despite my exposure to a large portion of the religious scale in my own home, I had never heard of a Mormon until I went to high school. With the school's population being ~30% LDS, it was not long until I became best friends with two of them. Everyone assumed I too was LDS, being what many called a "dry Mormon." I did not drink, party, or even drink caffeine. It was at this time that I was also receiving lots of weird stories about Mormons, in particular I remembering being told that they baptized the dead. When I asked my friend what that entailed, she told me that they went to the cemetery and sprinkled holy water on graves. Needless to say, I was quite content where I was in my own religion. I agreed to go to some of their weekly activities, but made them attend some of my youth activities in return. We did this for about a year, until five of my LDS friends were involved in a serious car accident, resulting in the death of one of them. I attended the funeral and it was beautiful. I loved the view of death that they held. I was also amazed at the way these Mormons banded together and supported one another. I wanted that sense of community and I wanted their same confidence in a life hereafter. This began to raise questions in mind and it made me wonder if I should reformulate my opinion of this church. A few months later these questions were on my mind as my friend invited me to attend the last day of youth conference with her. I agreed to attend and before I left I prayed to my Father in Heaven that he would let me have an open mind and an open heart to know if there was truth to this church or if I should stay away from it completely. I attended a testimony meeting and then a fireside in which the great-great granddaughter of Joseph Smith told the Joseph Smith story of the First Vision. Everything inside me told me that it was true. My stomach was turning in circles and my heart was racing. I felt the spirit so powerfully. I had no doubt that what I had felt was from my Father in Heaven. That night I wrote in my journal that "I know that Joseph Smith is a prophet of God. Does that make me a Mormon?" It was several weeks later that I was baptized and my life was completely changed. I really could make a tremendous list of all the blessings that I have received from the restored gospel, but let me just name of one of the greatest: a closer relationship with my Savior. I know that He lives. I feel His love for me on a daily basis. He truly is my best friend. He has once again restored His gospel to bless our lives. These things I know to be true.