“Seek Ye First the Kingdom of God”

In August 1995 Sylvie Coutin was living with her boyfriend, Samuel Poussin, in Saint-Gilles, Réunion. They were deeply in love, and she wanted to build a life with him. But she also knew that God wanted family relationships built on a firmer foundation than what she and Samuel had. “I talked to him about marriage, how marriage was sacred to me,” said Sylvie. Still, Samuel felt that the love they shared should be enough for them both. Feeling distraught, Sylvie walked along the beach one evening to calm her mind. “I was gazing at the horizon along the beach and I had tears flowing down my cheeks,” remembered Sylvie. “I prayed with all my heart and with fervor. … And I remembered a verse in the Bible that said, ‘But seek ye first the kingdom of God and his righteousness; and all these things shall be added unto you.’” She knew then what she needed to do. “I promised God that He will always come first in my life, no matter what.”

The same night Sylvie told Samuel that she still loved him but couldn’t live in this situation anymore and was moving back to her parents’ home. “I told God that I would get out of this sin, despite knowing that this man I loved with all my heart was my soul mate,” recalled Sylvie. Exhausted and uncertain of her future, Sylvie felt drawn to open a book that her friend Nathalie Manné had given her two years earlier: the Book of Mormon. Though Sylvie hadn’t been interested at the time, she’d kept it. As she opened it, her eyes were drawn to the passage where Christ visits the Americas (3 Nephi 13:17–25). “As I started reading those verses, I saw Christ. I saw Him,” said Sylvie. “It was as if my spiritual eyes were opened and I saw Him … teaching His people.”

The next day Sylvie reached out to Nathalie and asked where to find the Church in Saint-Gilles. She learned the closest branch was in Le Port, 20 kilometers away. Not knowing Le Port well, Sylvie arranged for the missionaries to meet her and show her the way. Unfortunately, no one came. Determined to attend this church, Sylvie wandered Le Port until she found a house with the Church’s name on it. “As soon as I entered,” Sylvie recalled, “a feeling of serenity spread through me. I felt like I was at home despite not knowing anyone.”

Another surprise was also awaiting Sylvie. A week after their conversation, Samuel proposed to her. Sylvie soon joined the Church. Samuel was baptized later, and they were sealed in the temple. “For me, as a wife, as a woman, this is one of the greatest gifts which I received on this earth,” Sylvie reflected. “Our children, [Angélique and Béthanie] were born under the covenant.” By putting God first, she had started her family on a good foundation.