THE FOLLOWING IS COPIED FROM RON'S AUTOBIOGRAPHY [PAGE 32] _________________ 1969 _________________ 1969-01-27 Susie had been asking me to take her to church. When I finally explained to her that I wasn't convinced that God even existed and I didn't believe in church, she was devastated. She worried for my salvation because she had been taught that non-believers who failed to convert before they died were all going to spend an eternity in hell. Susie began praying that the Lord would send someone to teach me the "error of my ways." About that time, two missionaries from the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, Terry Blake and Gary John of Safford, Arizona, visited our apartment for the first time. I wasn't home so she asked them to return when I was there. She felt that maybe these missionaries were an answer to her prayer. They returned in the evening. [PAGE 33] Many years later I learned from Elder John that they had given up on the area where we lived and had no intention of returning. However, they had prayed that very day and "something" told them they should go back. 1969-Feb I was fascinated by the missionaries' story of ancient America and the Book of Mormon. After 7 trips to Mexico and my father's study of ancient American civilizations, our whole Vincent family was interested in what had happened to so great a society. Dad had talked about it often and wondered why a people who had built such great cities had virtually disappeared without a trace leaving only a few primitive peoples remaining over the centuries. After reading what he could about these ancient people, my dad had told us no one knew what had happened to them. They had simply disappeared. At long last, these LDS missionaries had a reason for the disappearance. They explained that there were two groups called Nephites and Lamanites who warred with each other until their civilization was destroyed. They wove into this story how Ancient America was visited by Jesus Christ, the Son of God, and how this whole tale was written on gold plates discovered by a young man named Joseph Smith in upstate New York. This was a fascinating story. However, what finally persuaded me was a photo. During the showing of a filmstrip, they showed a photo of the Pyramid of the Sun in the Aztec city of Teotihuacan just outside Mexico City. I got all excited and told them, "I've been there. I've been to the top of that pyramid!" That got my attention. I began listening more carefully to their story. I remember Elder Blake coming into our upstairs apartment, sitting back in our recliner, and asking Elder John to proceed with the discussions. Elder Blake had holes in his shoes. I could see them when he leaned back in the recliner. After the first 2 or 3 visits, Susie suggested, "Why don't you drive them home." That's when I asked them, "How did you get here, anyway" Until then, we hadn't known they had been walking nearly 2 miles in the snow, with holes in their shoes, to get to our apartment. I felt bad for them and drove them home from then on. Two nights a week for 3 weeks they delivered their messages. In one lesson they asked us if we could give up alcohol, tobacco, tea, and coffee. In another they asked us to read some passages from the Book [PAGE 34] of Mormon with the pretty blue cover they had given us. In yet another lesson they asked us to pray. That was really difficult for me. Except for a memorized children's prayer my mother taught me when I was small, I had never prayed. They asked me if I would pray and ask God if Joseph Smith was His prophet. I promised them I would but I had never told them that I wasn't sure God really existed. That night, for the first time in my life, I addressed my Heavenly Father in prayer. I left Susie in the living room of our furnished apartment, went to our bedroom, and closed the door. I knelt by our bedside. I remember the bed was covered with a white chenille bedspread that belonged to the apartment owners. As I knelt alone that cold evening in late February it was probably around 700 P.M. in the evening. My first prayer was, "God. If you're up there, and if you're really God, would you please let me know" He did so in such a powerful way that it's difficult to describe. Oh, yes, He let me know He was 'up there'! I've read where people described near-death experiences. They speak of moving toward a bright light where they encounter a presence that makes them feel incredibly loved. They may not actually see this being but they know He is there because they can FEEL Him. That's what happened to me! I felt Him. I felt His love for me. I felt as if He was putting His arms around me, hugging me close, letting me know of His love for me. For the remainder of my life, that's all I've ever needed. Although I've felt His presence many times since then, during that singular experience I felt a closeness, a feeling of being loved that's hard to explain. When I was very young, a pre-schooler, I had felt something similar that was ever present. It was as if someone unseen was always there loving me. As I grew older, this presence left me. I had not felt it in many, many years until I prayed that night when it returned. I know now that God's love is unconditional and His warmth and His presence cannot be matched. That night it felt as if He was in the room with me. From then on, I knew He is real. I knew He sent His son to die for me and I knew that the Book of Mormon was true, that Joseph Smith was His prophet. I didn't have to ask these questions. The answers were already in my heart. God told them to me. I knew the Church of Jesus Christ of [PAGE 35] Latter-day Saints was God's true church. The questions I'd had about religion from my youth had all been answered. From then on, I learned that I could ask any question I desired and they would all be answered eventually. There are still a few I don't know the answers to but I know why I don't yet know and I also know when I'll get the answers. I'm a curious person. I've learned that we can ask any question we wish. So long as we have faith and humble ourselves, God will answer us in His own due time. He's amazing!