New Members

As you meet with the missionaries, you will probably be asked to do a variety of reading assignments. If you’re unable to read, or to read well enough, these may make you feel uncomfortable. If you are using a screen reader to read this article because of literacy needs, you may already have found you can’t read the Book of Mormon or Bible reading assignments.

Let your missionaries know you can’t read. Don't keep this a secret from them, even if you've worked hard to keep it a secret from everyone else. They can help you with the assignments so you are able to hear the scriptures read. The scriptures are also available in auditory form online. Then ask the missionaries to tell you about the Relief Society Literacy effort.

The literacy effort was introduced in 1992. It’s an exciting 18-month program that will teach you how to read and write by using the scriptures. This is an inspired method. We are promised that when we read the scriptures, the spirit will be with us in extra measure to help us understand them. So, when you’re learning to read by reading scriptures, you also have that extra measure to help you learn to read.

There is no cost for the program, but it requires a strong commitment on your part. Classes are held twice a week and you must study at home every day as well. Once you are baptized and are assigned home or visiting teachers, they will be asked to help and encourage you as well. For instance, they might help you with a homework assignment during visits. If your family can read, they too are asked to assist you. You don't have to be a member of the church to participate, but you will be learning scriptures and religion as you learn to read.

Students learn to read by learning words from the scripture, allowing them, at the end of the very first day, to read a short sentence from the scriptures. They also keep a journal. If they can’t write, the teacher writes what they dictate, but once students learn a few letters, they write the letters they know and the teacher writes the rest. Students may also request help learning words they need to know, such as the names of family members.

You may have spent your life hiding your inability to read. Your teachers will not look down on you because you can’t read. They will, instead, be excited and proud that you’ve taken the important step of asking for help. They will work patiently with you until you’re successful. Once you know how to read, a whole new world will open up to you. You’ll be able to find better employment, read to your children, and explore the riches of the gospel. While you can listen to the scriptures online, there is extra power in being able to read them for yourself, studying at your own pace and making notes of the scriptures that are most meaningful to you.

However, you needn’t wait until you can read to continue your missionary lessons. Reading is not a requirement for baptism. Work with your missionaries to find other ways to complete the assignments, but do take advantage of the program offered by the church.

Read the stories of others just like you who have learned to read using this program in "I Have Hope in the Future for Me.”

One of the many wonderful changes you may be making as a new member of the church is in the media you choose for yourself. Sometimes, just at first, this doesn’t seem so wonderful. You’ve had years of listening to certain types of music and watching certain types of movies and television programs. Now you’re being asked to evaluate those and decide which are worth keeping in your life. Do you know why you’re asked to do this?

“To me, it is impossible to maintain the Spirit of the Lord while listening to music or watching movies or videos that celebrate evil thoughts and use vulgar language.” (M. Russell Ballard, Ensign, Nov. 1997, 39)

This is the most important reason to avoid inappropriate media. You will lose the gift of the Holy Ghost you’ve just worked so hard to gain. The Spirit can’t be in the presence of sin, and so it departs, leaving you to cope with life alone. Now that you’ve felt the spirit, do you really want to lose it?

It’s Satan who promotes the use of inappropriate movies, music, video games, internet usage, and other types of media. Heavenly Father asks us to stay with that which will keep our minds and hearts pure. Which side do you want to be on? Every time you choose to participate in media that is inappropriate, even if it’s only “a little” inappropriate, you choose Satan’s team, and that’s not the winning team.

Every choice you make has consequences and affects your eternal progression. You can’t put eternal progression on pause while you experiment with the evil side of the world. You’re either moving toward Heaven or away from it. You’re never standing still. The smallest amount of inappropriateness sends you backwards, like those children’s board games that often send you backwards on the board, making it harder to reach the finish line.

The Thirteenth Article of Faith is our guideline for what we should bring into our lives:

“We believe in being honest, true, chaste, benevolent, virtuous, and in doing good to all men; indeed, we may say that we follow the admonition of Paul— We believe all things, we hope all things, we have endured many things, and hope to be able to endure all things. If there is anything virtuous, lovely, or of good report or praiseworthy, we seek after these things.”

When you’re choosing a movie to watch or music to listen to, test them against these words. Imagine watching or listening in the presence of the Savior. Would you feel uneasy? Then don’t do it. If you find yourself in a situation where your friends are doing something that makes you uneasy, find the courage to ask them to stop. If they don’t—and often they won’t--be ready to walk away. Ask your parents to come for you if you need transportation. Parents are generally happy to rescue you from an immoral or dangerous situation, and will be proud of your choice. It’s not easy to walk away, but even when you’re taunted, you survive. I did, even though at the time I was sure I’d die on the spot.

Use the internet in a room full of family. Check reviews before watching a movie. Really listen to the words of your music. In addition, evaluate the mood of the music. How do you feel when you listen? Does it make you feel something inappropriate inside—angry, perhaps? If so, the spirit won’t be in the room, so don’t just turn it off. If it’s yours, throw it away.

It can take time to learn to enjoy new types of music, books, and videos, but it’s more than worth the effort. God is counting on you.

A new convert once asked if it was okay to continue some of the religious practices she had enjoyed in her previous religion. They didn’t conflict in any way with our own doctrines or practices; they were simply a comfort and a tradition, particularly those related to holidays. She was assured that if those things helped her to feel closer to God, they were okay to do. We tend to do things in a simple way, and it can be a challenge for new converts to adapt quickly to that.

President Hinckley, the previous president of the church, said, “Let me say that we appreciate the truth in all churches and the good which they do. We say to the people, in effect, you bring with you all the good that you have, and then let us see if we can add to it.” (meeting, Nairobi, Kenya, 17 Feb. 1998).

You came to your new religion with a great deal of truth and goodness already tucked away inside of you. You were already making some good choices and had probably developed some routines, traditions, and habits that made it easier for you to do the right things. You’re not asked to dispose of everything you did in the past to take on a new way of life completely. Some things will change, but those things that are in harmony with the gospel are yours to keep. They will help you make your transition easier. If a lit candle makes it easier to pray, light it. In time, you may find you no longer need it, but while you do, no one is going to consider you weak or incorrect. If you previously put your hands together or in the air as you prayed, feel free to do that. Folding our arms is how we pray in church, but at home, do it the way that makes it easiest for you to feel the spirit. There is time in the future to feel at home with your arms folded.

Some things Mormons do are traditional or cultural. Others are doctrinal. Over time you’ll learn which are which. Many people in the church today are happiest with a combination of traditions. Some converts from the Jewish faith continue to celebrate Jewish holidays, often inviting their new church friends to join them and to learn about their Old Testament past. Jesus himself celebrated the Passover and had Seder dinners. There is no reason you can’t have them now if you had them in the past.

As you learn what parts of your old life are appropriate for your new life, you can combine them to make the gospel personal and just right for you.