All About Mormons

Hello, my name is Joaquin Fenollar. I am from Valencia, Spain.

I have decided to raise my voice to express something regarding The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, sometimes called the Mormon Church.

If I would like to know something that it is accurate and true about yourself, your life or your beliefs, I for sure would ask someone who may know you very well, perhaps to your parents or siblings or your best friends. I would not ask for sure to those who know very little, or some rumors, or just some wrong gossip about you neither I would ask to those who dislike you.

I was raised catholic by tradition. My family was not actively involved in religion, but I had some feelings that perhaps there should be something true about the reality of God. So when I was about 20 years old, I started to be really interested about finding out which the purpose of life was.

For many years I learned and got very involved in many different religions, doctrines and philosophies of life. At age 25 I considered myself agnostic. I couldn’t say I was atheist because I had no evidence that God didn’t exist, and whenever I would face tough problems, something within my soul would point me out to ask God for help.

Well, these religions or philosophies of life I got involved, including western and eastern philosophies, even though they had some wonderful things and principles, none of them had a fullness of all what I was looking for. I was looking for a specific knowledge. I wanted to be 100% certain that I had found the truths of the reason we are on this earth and how human beings should govern their lives, because to that point in my life, I could perceive what it seemed to me so many wrong things regarding human behaviors in different regions of the world…and I was not exempt of some of those wrong behaviors.

I tried to my best to be 100% honest with myself and follow my heart and those impressions that would bring peace into my soul and mind. I had some experiences that would lead me again close to Christianity. I became well acquainted with some catholic priests, we became very good friends. I decided that I would move and live with them (they were part of a catholic branch or order called Hermanos de San Juan de Dios). Wonderful people! Their lives of service were quite impressive to me. I wanted to help out people so this was perhaps what I was looking for. They lived wonderful principles and seemed to me they were a great example. I became to admire their work. However, once living with them, I found out that, even though they would live great principles, they did not have clear or sounded answers to all of my questions: Who is God? What about Christ? Which is the purpose of life? Where do we come from and where do we go after we die? Somehow, I knew in my heart that there was something else to be found.

So I moved on and went back home. We remained friends. Then, a few months later, during summer 1994, I was introduced to one of the most amazing persons I have ever met. His name was Julio Martinez, a real philosopher of good principles that lived everything he would believe to be good. He was 84 when I met him. He had all kind of tough live experiences (several years in a concentration camp for political views during Spanish civil war, he got to heal himself from a difficult genetic after much perseverance applying healthy lifestyle, he lost his wife, and he lost all he had as industry collapsed…). He loved to practice yoga and go to the mountains each day. He declared himself atheist or agnostic. I could say that his God was nature, energy, elements constantly changing, and other appealing but difficult to understand concepts.

We became best friends, even though I was 60 years younger. After four years of friendship he came back, as every summer to my city. This time he shared something with me that I would have never expected. He said: “Joaquin, I have become Christian”. I put my hands on my head in astonishment. I could not believe it. He never liked religions or never said a word about God, but somehow he told me that he had a really sacred experience after talking with two sister missionaries and he told me that he knew that God lives and his true church had been restored. Then he told me that he had been baptized in the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. He invited me several occasions to the chapel with him or to read the church magazine, the Liahona. I always refused because I thought he was wrong. I realized, however, that his kindness, humility and love for people increased. There was a special brightness in his face that I did not see before. We remained friends and he respected my beliefs.

About two years later, I found myself writing in my journal and had the impression to write down a particular sentence. When I wrote that sentence, quote “…and now, I know that God lives…” I had 100% certainty in my heart and mind, in a way I had never had before in my whole life, that indeed, God lives and he was real. Tears rolled down my cheeks as I experienced a strong feeling of gratitude and peace as I got greatly touched by that sacred experience.

A few weeks later I saw two missionaries of the Church of Jesus Christ of latter-day Saints walking in a street of my city (Gandia, Spain). I stopped them so I could ask them a few questions. We did talk for long time and I had a wonderful feeling in my heart as I would talk with them. A few days later, early in the morning, I found myself talking with them again, this time by the side of a mountain in a city called Alcoy. I took a good college friend with me, Txus, so he may ask the missionaries some questions he had as well.

That very morning, if anyone would have given me a fortune of money or all the riches of the world for the sake of getting baptized and joining to that church, I would have said “no”. Because after so many years of research, frustrations, and not sure about where to find the truth, I was determined to find the truth, and then whenever I would be certain I would accept it and live it as well as I could. I knew that money could not buy me that knowledge neither the reasoning nor rationalization of learned men.

Well, that very morning, later on, while we were talking with the missionaries, one of them said to me: “Joaquin, because Jesus Christ suffered and died for us”. Then, again, I knew that those words were true. That day, August 20^th 1998, I received a testimony by the power of the Holy Ghost, in the same way I got to know that God lives a few weeks before, that Jesus is the Christ, the son of the living God and that Joseph Smith was indeed a prophet of God called to restore his gospel again on earth and those missionaries were indeed sent by God to testify of these truths.

Then, I got baptized the 29^th of August 1998. This was almost 10 years ago. My friend Txus and most of his family members got baptized as well. When Julio knew about my baptism he was more than happy and he said: “I am glad. This is the right thing to do” and I also knew that it was the best decision I had ever took in my life.

So I have been a member of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints for almost 11 years. I lived in Utah (headquarters of the church) during six years and know how this unique and wonderful church operates. There is nothing similar to this organization in the whole world, nothing as good and well conducted. I got a graduate degree from the unique university of the church, Brigham Young University.

Let me tell you from the bottom of my heart that I know as certain as you are listening to my words now, that God lives and the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints is the church of God on earth. The church is guided by the Lord himself through living prophets he has called. The world indeed needs this marvelous knowledge.

I have many friends in this church. These friends, combined speak more than 40 different languages and live in all five continents, in more than 40 different countries. I personally know over a couple thousands of people that will tell to you the same I am telling you, and I rejoice in that. They know it in the same way I have come to know all the wonderful things I just shared with you. We know it by personal revelation and thanks to our association with the living church of God, the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints.

Now, I invite you to find out by yourself if what I have shared with you is or is not true. If you really want to know, you will know, because God loves all his children the same, and that includes you and your family. He will reveal to you as he did with me by the power of the Holy Ghost that he lives and Jesus Christ, the Lord, is his beloved son, the Savior of the world, and that Joseph Smith was a true prophet of God who by the power of God brought forth sacred scriptures that supports the Bible, yes the Book of Mormon and many other revelations. He also was instrumental in restoring the authority and priesthood of God to conduct his church and bless humankind. I know that the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, to which I am very, very privileged to belong, it is indeed the kingdom of God on earth.

My friend, may the Lord bless you and may you find peace in your heart instead of contention or rejection as I did for several months before I was able to soften my heart and let these joyful truths penetrate my heart and become the center of my life. You may see, listen or read materials that diminish the church I belong, but if you ask sincerely in your heart, you will find that all those materials are sophistries far away from reality.

Now you can say that you know something true about God and his living church on earth from someone that knows. When you listen negative comments about the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints from those who do not belong to the church or those who persecute it you will always find the same pattern: there is not love in their words, but mockery, darkness, and bad intentions. I would never talk negatively of anyone or any other religion. Almost every person has so much goodness to contribute. Everyone is invited to bring the good things they have and let this wonderful church to contribute more, in a way you would never imagine.

I share this with you, in the name of our Savior, the Lord Jesus Christ. Amen.

With so much love and gratitude,

Your friend, Joaquin Fenollar