“A Good Feeling”

Blendi Kokona and his sister grew up with loving parents who taught them to be honest and good. “One way or another,” he recalled, “they taught me, not as religious aspects, but just as good principles to live a good life.”

Throughout Blendi’s childhood, the Albanian government enforced an official ideology of atheism. Although Blendi’s family was Muslim, his parents warned him never to mention the name of God “because you never know whether someone outside will hear you, and we’ll be in trouble.”

In December 1990, while Blendi was in high school, he took part in student demonstrations protesting the communist government. On one occasion, he and his friends were forced to flee from soldiers shooting machine guns from tanks.

In 1991, Albania entered a period of transition toward a democratic system of government that allowed freedom of religion. The following year, the University of Tirana agreed to host two Latter-day Saint missionary couples from the United States to teach economics and medicine. A friend told Blendi he could go to practice his English with them and gave him the address of a Sunday meeting.

Blendi had “a good feeling” about the missionaries and agreed to meet with them. They taught him about the Book of Mormon, God, and how to pray.

“I went home that day, and in the evening just walked to the balcony in my home with no one around, and I said a prayer. It was my first prayer, and I was not sure if I was doing it correctly or not,” he said. Blendi recalled experiencing a surprising feeling “that someone was there.” He even looked around to see if a neighbor was watching him. From that point on, he said, “I knew there was a God, that it was actually true. It was real.”

Blendi accepted baptism on July 25, 1992, with his parents in attendance. The font was a fountain with two feet of water, so Blendi had to kneel and lie so far back that his shoulders touched the bottom of the fountain.

“My parents really enjoyed seeing me find something that I found happiness in,” he said.

Blendi was the first Albanian to be baptized a member of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. The Tirana Branch grew steadily. Members began to accept leadership responsibilities, such as sisters teaching Relief Society. On August 16, 1992, when the first local branch president was called, Blendi was called as first counselor in the branch presidency. When the branch later divided, 19-year-old Blendi served as president of the new branch.

In December 1994, while Blendi was serving a mission in San Diego, California, he received a letter from his parents. “We have decided to be baptized Christmas day with one of our cousins,” they wrote. “I was so happy, I was screaming from joy,” Blendi remembered.

“The gospel of Jesus Christ and the plan of salvation,” he said, “gave me quite a perspective of life, a real purpose. It gave me something to look forward to.”