The Mormon Voice

One morning in mid-July, I got up early to bid my husband good-bye before leaving for work, then headed back to bed. As I lay resting on my pillow, all cozy in my bed, the Spirit distinctly told me to "get up and get up NOW!" I was tired and since I am a not a morning person, I rolled over and attempted to go back to sleep. Again, the prompting came, "Get up NOW and send an email to the Houston Chronicle." Then without warning, I felt myself being pushed out of bed, a similar feeling that I had experienced when "moved by the Spirit" to bear my testimony on Fast Sundays.

A few weeks before, I had been called to serve on my stake's Public Affairs Committee. They were overjoyed to learn that I had a degree in Journalism and was quickly assigned to write articles for The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints which were sent to many local media outlets--one of which was the Houston Chronicle.

My first assignment had been to write about the conversion story of a lady in my ward who found the Mormon Church while serving in the Army. My Public Affairs director and I prayed all week that the Houston Chronicle would publish that story.

On that morning in July, the Spirit told me to submit that story to the Houston Chronicle via email. Although I would be breaking the protocol of my calling since I was normally supposed to submit all my work to my stake director before any publication, the Spirit told me not to worry and that I should go ahead with the email.

With faith in my Heavenly Father, I submitted the email to the Houston Chronicle's Religion editor and waited. Just 24 hours later, I heard back from the Chronicle, only it was from a different editor who happened to be the editor and producer of the paper's online Belief section. She invited me to write a Mormon blog. While I was thrilled for her invitation, I told her I first had to get permission from my Church leaders.

From there, my local leaders sent word to our regional leaders who sent word all the way back to Salt Lake. After three weeks of waiting, I finally got permission to write the blog--which we named the Mormon Voice--under the direction of my stake and local leaders (http://blog.chron.com/mormonvoice/).

Now I know it was a great blessing to the people of our area to have Mormon blog to teach and inform our community about the Church. My leaders told me that it was a miracle because the paper had refused to publish anything of ours for years. Now with a new, young online editor with a Master's Degree in religions studies, the door had been opened to us. Annnd, that initial story about my Army friend, was one of our first posts on the blog and was read by many more people online.

In spite of receiving much opposition to destroy this work, I have experienced the sweetest joy and have gained a fulfillment that my life was lacking.

While I enjoy donating my time to write for the Church, I know that the Mormon Voice blog does not belong to me, but to our Savior, Jesus Christ, since it is His Church. It reminds me of the scripture from Moses, "For behold, this is my work and my glory to bring to pass the immortality and eternal life of man."

Although I do not know if this blog will help or convert anyone, I at least know it has changed me.