Portraits of Faith

Words of Truth

By Weiling Chen Canfield (Winnie), Taiwan

I had many questions, but my fiancé and the Church helped me find answers.

Photographs courtesy of the author

Growing up in a non-Christian culture in Taiwan, I was not raised to be religious. I did believe in God, but I knew nothing about Jesus Christ. My religion was my career and the busy social life that went with it. That included much drinking and smoking. I was also a big coffee and tea drinker. This is all part of our business culture.

I became acquainted with The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints through my fiancé and his family. Chase was American. He was raised in the Church and served a mission, but he was not active at the time. His oldest son, however, was preparing to serve a mission, and Chase supported his decision.

During the COVID-19 lockdown, we attended sacrament meeting in the home of Chase’s parents, watching broadcasts originating from their church meetinghouse. When the talks ended, Chase’s two sons blessed and passed the bread and water.

I had many questions. My fiancé answered each one patiently. Who was Jesus? What was this feeling in my heart each time we gathered to have church meetings? It was a feeling I had never felt before. What did the bread and water represent? Why did tears come when I took the sacrament? What was this peace I was feeling?

One night I found a website in my native language that explained who Jesus is and that told about His life. The next day, I told my fiancé’s mother that I understood who Jesus is and that I believed in Him.

One Sunday the bishop came to the house because Chase’s oldest son was going to ordain his younger brother to be a priest. When the older son put his hands on his brother’s head, I could not stop crying. I felt such a big emotion in my heart, I could not stop the tears. Later, my fiancé explained that I felt the Holy Ghost and that he felt it too.

I could see that my fiancé’s love for his church was returning to him. Somehow, I knew that everything I was feeling was connected to God and to something true. I felt love like I had never felt before.

“I Called Out to God”

My tourist visa ended and I had to return to Taiwan. During the following months alone, I missed what I had felt. For a time, I was filled with despair and darkness. Those feelings were so overwhelming that I wanted to give up. I didn’t really know how to pray, but I called out to God and told Him everything I was feeling and thinking. A feeling of peace came—the same feeling I had experienced when I had attended our home church. I know it was the Holy Ghost. He calmed me down.

After this, my fiancé sent the missionaries to teach me. I told them I already knew the restored gospel was true and that I understood what the Holy Ghost feels like. But I was concerned that it would be difficult for me to give up smoking and drinking coffee and tea.

I began to attend church, read the Book of Mormon, and meet with the sister missionaries three or four times a week. Eventually, the Holy Ghost helped me stop smoking and drinking coffee and tea.

My childhood friend began to see changes in me week by week. I invited her to my missionary meetings. As she listened, she also felt the Holy Ghost and gained a testimony. When the COVID-19 crisis slowed down, my fiancé, now active in the Church, was finally able to come to Taiwan. We got married, and he baptized me. I was a new person.

Sister Weiling Chen Canfield (Winnie) with the sister missionaries and ward members who taught and fellowshipped her. “We still talk every week and work together in my new Church calling in Relief Society,” she says.

My lifelong friends and business associates, including some bankers and stock market agents, said they could see I was different and happier. I invited them to my baptism, and they came. Afterward, they told me they felt something they had never felt before.

I am not afraid to tell others what I know and feel about Jesus Christ—that what I know is true. I know that my testimony is bright. Others who have known me my whole life see this. Their respect for my faith has even stopped them from smoking and drinking during business meetings and dinners. This is something unique in our business culture.

Sister Canfield with Jin Hua, a lifelong friend who became interested in the Church through Sister Canfield’s conversion.

I am not afraid to let others see, hear, and feel my testimony. I believe that many people who do not know how to find God and Jesus Christ will feel the same things I felt when they hear the words of truth. I will always be ready to share the words that changed my life.