Aligning My Life with the Gospel
Change wasn’t easy. But it was absolutely worth it.
Photograph courtesy of the author
Growing up in a multicultural household with a Moroccan dad and a Dutch mom was amazing. We had a lot of good food, a lot of different traditions, and a lot of love. My dad is Muslim and my mom was raised Christian, but my parents decided to raise me and my siblings without any specific religion. All we learned was that there was a higher power. My dad called Him Allah, and my mom called Him God.
One day when I was 18, I got on a tram to head home after a fun evening with friends. There was one spot left in the tram cabin, right next to a pair of strangers dressed in suits. I quietly took my seat and tried to relax.
But soon one of the strangers asked me what stop he and his friend needed to get off at. He was clearly a foreigner, so I helped him figure out where they needed to go. I noticed that he and his friend both had black badges on their chests. Two girls with black badges were also sitting behind me and waved hello. They all told me that they were missionaries, and we had a brief, friendly conversation before they handed me a small card and got off the tram.
Although my interaction with them was simple, I kept thinking about it. For my whole life, I had never really thought about religion, so the idea of these missionaries intrigued me. I felt different after talking to them.
Later that night, I grabbed the card out of my wallet. “The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints,” it read. As I sat and thought about what the missionaries had told me about what a “mission” was, my thoughts snowballed: Why was this the only church I knew of that had “Jesus Christ” in its name? Were God and Jesus Christ two separate beings?
I yearned for answers, so I found the missionaries’ phone number on the card and sent them a message. And I was so interested that I agreed to meet with them the next morning!
At the time, I didn’t know my whole life was about to change. But during my first lesson with the missionaries, I felt something I couldn’t explain (which I now realize was the Spirit preparing me to receive the gospel). And as I learned more, that same unique feeling returned. Everything about the gospel felt logical, real, and familiar. I found myself praying and asking God questions every day, and slowly and according to His time, I received answers.
As time went on, I started feeling impressions to change little things in my life. I went to church on Sundays, I went to institute on Wednesday nights instead of going out with my friends, and I changed a lot of other habits. My family was shocked. I used to come home late after a night out with friends, and now I was walking in the door with a Book of Mormon in my hands. Ultimately, after much study and prayer, I decided to follow the example of Jesus Christ and be baptized.
I’m grateful I was given the opportunity to change my life to come closer to Christ. Although changing was tough, it was absolutely worth it. As President Russell M. Nelson said: “The Lord has commanded us to repent, to change our ways, to come unto Him, and be more like Him. This requires a total change.”1 And now, five years later, I have totally changed. I feel the joy that comes from surrendering my will to Heavenly Father’s, and I’ve come to understand the importance of adjusting my life to align with the gospel rather than adapting the gospel to accommodate my life and old habits.
I’ve also had wonderful experiences through serving my own mission and through engaging in family history work. I’ve witnessed how the principles of the gospel help us experience the true joy and blessings that only Christ’s gospel can offer.
Changing isn’t easy—especially if everything and everyone around us remain the same—but the difficulties pass and turn to joy when we “let God prevail” in our lives.2 And through our efforts to become like the Savior, life can blossom into something beautiful. I love this gospel and know God is real. He loves each of us and will continue to support us as we strive to become more like our Heavenly Father and His Son, Jesus Christ.