Sandy’s Missionary Chart

By Craig E. Moore

A true story

I am a member of the Church because of a five-year-old member missionary.

When I was young, my mother was searching for a church to answer all her questions. We attended a different church each week, but none of them satisfied Mom. Finally she gave up.

My best friend at the time was Sandy Guthrie. We played together nearly every day. One Saturday evening she asked me if I would like to attend church with her the next day. I asked her which church she belonged to, thinking I had visited them all. She told me it was The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints.

It was a church I had not attended, and I agreed to go. Unfortunately, when I asked Mom, she said she had other plans that Sunday.

The next week Sandy invited me again, and once again I asked Mom. She had another excuse, and I wasn’t allowed to go.

Being a good missionary, Sandy didn’t give up. She suggested I get up on Sunday morning and get ready by myself before asking my mother if I could go. I thought it was a great idea. If Mom didn’t have to make a special effort to help me get ready, she might be more willing to let me go.

On Sunday morning I put on my best clothes and woke up Mom. This time she flatly refused. She offered no excuse and left no room for bargaining. She simply said no. So I did what most five-year-olds would do. I cried.

I suppose the tears and my desire and determination touched my mother, because she agreed to let me go on the condition that she go with me.

Mom and I attended church with Sandy and her family that morning. Mom felt the Spirit very strongly and knew immediately we had found the true Church. That evening the missionaries taught her the first discussion, and she agreed to be baptized.

More than 20 years have passed since then. When I tell my own two children this story, I draw a chart showing everyone who joined the Church because Sandy invited me to come with her. There are more than 100 people on the chart. Many of them, like me, not only accepted the gospel but also served full-time missions and helped bring others to the knowledge of the truth. The chart proves that one child’s dedication to sharing the gospel can bless the lives of many people.

I don’t know how many others Sandy invited to church or how large her complete chart might be. I do know that I am more grateful to her than I can say. I also know I can’t repay her. But I can follow her example and share the gospel whenever and wherever possible—just in case I meet another family looking for the truth.

1. Sandy Guthrie; 2. Craig Moore; 3. Craig’s mother, Marilyn Moore. (Photographs of Sandy Guthrie, Craig E. Moore, and Marilyn Moore courtesy of Craig E. Moore; all other photo illustrations courtesy of Photodisc and Digital Stock.)