From “Silver Question” to Golden Contacts

In Schweinfurt, Germany, where my husband was stationed with the United States Army, there were two military posts. To get between posts, soldiers often walked to the front gate and hitched a ride. Sometimes as we offered soldiers a lift, we’d start chatting. I would ask what unit they served in, where they were from, and how long they’d been stationed there. Then I would casually ask what came to be known as our silver question: “Are you LDS?”

Often the soldier would ask, “What is that?” and we’d have an opportunity to ask the “golden questions”: “What do you know about The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints?” and “Would you like to know more?”

At other times there would be a quiet pause; then a soldier might look over at me with an open mouth and say, “Yes, how did you know?” In those cases, I would check the soldier’s name tag and ask him if he wanted a ride to church on Sunday and to be assigned home teachers. Many soldiers found their way into active participation in our branch with our silver question.

One young Latter-day Saint began coming to church about two months after our first contact. He later told me that his affirmative answer kept coming back to him and he couldn’t forget the feelings it awoke within his heart. He soon found himself passing the sacrament and teaching a class. Before we left Germany, he had met Jackie, another single Latter-day Saint soldier, and married her in the temple.

We have found that the simple question “Are you LDS?” can open many doors to finding members in the military and helping them become active in the Church.

Damaris Fish, Auburn Seventh Ward, Auburn Washington Stake

Illustration by Joe Flores