Me: How was you life like before you considered investigating the Gospel?
Cade: For me because I grow up in Utah and a lot of my family members are really active
members in the church. They really had a big influence on me in my upbringing. I was around
it my entire life. I have been around active members. My life was almost Gospel like before
actually being baptised. before fully having the Gospel in my life.
Me: Yeah Michael said he was similarly. When he can back to the church, he did not need to
change that much. He needed to learn a lot when he was coming back to the church but he did
not have to change his life too much
Cade: I did not need to change my life at all pretty much besides studying the scriptures, going
to church regularly, going to all the church activities and stuff, schedule change, doing things
to be more spiritually uplifted, be more involved in the church. For the most part my life before
having the gospel was almost like I had the Gospel, but not actually having it. Does that make
sense?
Me: Yeah that makes sense, if your family is really into it, and most of your family was in it. The
majority of the people in Utah are Mormon.
Cade: All my friends you know, and I was never pushed to be baptized. I know when I was eight
years old. I went into have an interview with my bishop. I had the interview. The missionaries
would come visit me weekly. My parents got a divorce that what kind of put a hold on it;
unfortunately, that was the way it was. After my parent got divorced, they went inactive;
therefore, my baptism was put on hold. After that I was really down. I saw a change in both
of my parents, not being active in the church, a change in their life. How they acted. Not in
an extremely bad way not way off course, but the happiness that the Gospel brings. You can
see that difference. I have seen that difference. Having the Gospel in my life, and not having it
before I was baptized.
Me: Can you describe that in anyway?
Cade: Describe having the Gospel in my life as compared to not having it
Me: yeah but also about your parents.
Cade: The happiness level. their mannerisms. It was different. They just went about life
differently. They did not have anything to look forward to. Its hard to explain to be honest. Its
just a feeling. People that have the Gospel in their life you can see that. You can see when
someone looses or when someone becomes less active. You can totally see a difference. Its
crazy
Me: Yeah
Cade: Ten years later after that interview with my bishop. I am baptized. In those ten years,
I always wanted to be baptized. After moving, we had to move because my mom could not
afford the house, and my dad moved out. I was living with my mom. My mom could not afford
the house because she was a stay at home mom. We had to move, and we stayed at our
grandparents in Murray. I always wanted to go to church and join the church. I always told my
mom “hey mom we should go to church on Sunday.” She would be okay lets go. I would try and
push her but we never went. I was not my mothers fault at all. I could have gone if IL wanted to.
I don’t want to blame my mom, but that was how life was.
Me: What sparked that idea? Didn’t you to go to Mormon.org and request the missionaries?
Cade: Yeah thats what I did. I was in Utah over winter break. Moving out to Santa Cruz, It
is really different here obviously. I could see a difference in the people that had the Gospel
with my friends and family. I could see a difference there obviously. Just how they go about
life compared to people here. Its just difference because I am not able to connect on a great
level with people here in Santa Cruz that don’t have the Gospel, so I thought about the church
because that is all that I grew up in. That is what I am use to. That is the path that I wanted
for myself. I did not want to go down that road of smoking weed, drugs. Thats very common in
Santa Cruz.
Me: Yeah I kind of want to hang out with some people at school. I feel weird sometimes
because in my biology lab class I saw another person casually ask another guy for a roll to
smoke marijuana. I feel it would be hard to hang out with people at Cabrillo. I don’t know how to
get into it.
Cade: Its really hard. I was very fortunate and blessed to be friends with Jason. I can connect
with him because our personalities are basically the same. It was really hard make friends and
connect with people. I was thinking that I really need to go to church. On day I said okay, I am
going to seek out the missionaries. I have been thinking about this for months before I did it. I
was really thinking about baptism because that was on my mind for all those ten years. I just
never did anything about it. I felt I was in the gospel, and I was living a good clean life. I was
hanging out with the right people. Doing the right things. having the right influences in my life,
having the influence of the Gospel. I talked with my parents about it, and got their impart on it.
They were ecstatic about me, making my own decision, and actually going through with it. That
is how a lot of my family are. I am grateful to know how happy they are in my decision to be
baptized, so I just went on to mormon.org, and Elder Jamaias and Wulfenstein showed up at my
door. Was in Wulfensteen or Wulfenstine?
Me: Yeah Wulfensteen. I like Elder Wulfensteen. He is a good teacher.
Cade: Both of those guys were exceptional.
Me: How was investigating the Gospel?
Cade: I always looked forward to them coming over. Teaching me something new
Me: It was new?
Cade: Well
Me: You received it easily.
Cade: I knew most of the stuff. It was kind of a refresher; also, it cleared up questions that I had
because I had missionary discussions before from missionaries a couple times. I was familiar
with it because I went to church with my friends. One of my really good buddies that I played
basketball with, his dad was a bishop, so they would invite me to church every Sunday. I would
go. I knew quite a bit. It was a refresher like said before. It answered questions that I had. I
would write down question that I had from reading scriptures throughout the week and what not,
and we met on a weekly basis, but the first time we met. I told them I wanted to be baptised.
There was no question. I was familiar with the church. It did not spark me as a wild decision.
Me: How did your friends invite you (to help you in missionary work, you)
Cade: My friend who’s dad was a bishop
Me: How did he invite you at first?
Cade: I don’t know. I think that he straight up asked me. Will you come to church on Sunday?
He straight up asked me.
Me: That is what I was thinking. I think it is not too uncommon
Cade: yeah
Me: You can ask pretty straight forward, and they would not be offended. I don’t like being in a
round about way. I like being straight forward.
Cade: yeah
Me: Like with another friend Ivette. I would straight up ask her. When can the missionaries
come, and we can meet with her? At first in the friendship I did not talk to her much about the
church. I had the missionaries at Utah call her, ask her if she would be interested, and willing to
investigate the Gospel. I think that you can be straight forward with people.
Cade: I would like to invite Jason to church. It seems like he is always a little stand offish. Its
common. I hope I can get him to church one of these days.
Me: How do you feel about having your testimony, growing? Like reading the Book of Mormon
and stuff.
Cade: I would say my testimony was a seed when I first took lesson from Jamaias and
Wulfensteen; then, it spouted like a plant, and he flower bloomed when I was baptised. My
testimony was there. It just continued to grow. How long has it been?
Me: 7 months now
Cade: 6 or 7 months it has continued to grow. Seven months since I have been baptised and
active.
Me: How would you describe it? to have your testimony grow.
Cade: Through see other people come into the Gospel. Like Val for instance. It’s a good
example of how I can share my testimony with her and help her understand that I know these
things are true. The Church is true. The Book of Mormon is true. It helps me strength my
testimony to see her, gaining a testimony because he is in those stages of gaining a testimony.
Things like that strength my testimony. Hearing, the prophet, Thomas S. Monson, the apostles,
and the seventy, that helps a lot because I went to General Conference the weekend after I was
baptised.
Me: I know what you are describing. Its not like pin point anytime. just going to church line upon
like precept upon precept.
Cade: Not its like small. When I was baptised, my testimony was very strong and still is. It
was like. I did not know as much as I know now, so it was kind of small. In a sense it was kind
of unknowledgeable yet not unknowledgeable, but small amounts of knowledge. Now I have
more knowledge, so my testimony is therefore stronger than it was before. Its from see, and
witnessing things, and experiencing things like Val, seeing the prophets speak
Me: How has baptism changed how you feel?
Cade: Well I am almost twenty times happier. I am a lot more happy now because I know my
purpose in life and stuff like that. I just have answers for things. Whereas before I was baptised
I did not know the answers to those questions really. I knew the beliefs of the church and stuff,
but I never really thought about it. Having the Gospel in my life has made me a lot more happier.
Me: Have you been thinking about the interesting question? What have you done for yourself?
Cade: What have I done for myself?
Me: for your family or
Cade: What have I done for myself?
Me: What have you done for yourself in the Gospel?
Cade: I don’t want to come off as selfish. I am definitely not a selfish person at all. When you
ask, what have I done for myself? I help others.
Me: Yeah
Cade: It benefits me to help others. help others to the Gospel
Me: I was thinking that you’ve gotten yourself in the Gospel. I wanted you to bare your testimony
of all these things blessing that you have received for yourself.
Cade: Okay
Me: like I have gotten the Gift of the Holy Ghost for myself. It is a wierd question. I didn’t
understand. I didn’t say it right.
Cade: yeah I don’t know. Its kind of an interesting question because it is kind of a selfish
question, so it is hard to think of it and an unselfish way to answer it. So well yeah I guess.
Me: I did not expect it to be selfishly. You can say. It is also for your family because you are
setting up your family in the future for receiving the Gospel, and working on yourself.
Cade: Yeah yeah thats right. Being baptised and having the Gospel in my life has truly a
blessing because it benefits my family way in the future. My wife and my kids, and also my
family in the present, my birth dad and mother and sister because I will be able to help them
come unto the Gospel or
Me: are they not in the Gospel much
Cade: No they are not. They are inactive. My parents are not active. My sister has not been
baptised yet. I have two sisters. One has been baptised and married in the temple, but my
younger sister she is like me. She is in the exact same situation. My parents got divorced. She
is in the same boat as me or as I was. I am trying to help her have the blessing of the Gospel in
her life. Teach her. Its a great blessing that I can help share with others. I am grateful to have
the Holy Ghost. I know the truths of the Book of Mormon. I know that Joseph Smith was a true
prophet. He restored the Book of Mormon and restored the Gospel. I know that Thomas S.
Monson is a true prophet. I know that this church is true. I say these things in the name of Jesus
Christ. Amen.
Me: Another big thing that you have done for yourself. I think it is really big. You are temple
worthy. That is a big thing that you have done for yourself.
Yeah Huge. In my eyes it is a really big thing to be going into the temple because I have never
done it. I will be my first time. I was really excited because I thought I was going to go to the
temple in Utah, but then I looked thought my wallet. I was like frantically looking through my bag
and stuff and I did not have my recommend, so I was unable to go with my friends wanted to go.
I was really bummed out. Now with the temple trip coming up I am really looking forward to it. I
will be my first temple trip at the Oakland temple.
Me: Only like one more week
Cade: Yeah are you going?
Me: Yeah
Cade: Yeah alright
Me: I think Josh will be driving. We will have to figure that out.
Cade: Cool Carpool with him. The twenty first right on a Friday. Okay Awesome. I will definitely
be able to make that.
Me: Now we kind of understand the question haha
Cade: yeah yeah
Me: It was a bad question haha
Cade: It was a tough question for me to answer because I am so unselfish. Different people
will taking it differently, but I turned it into an answer where it benefits others. More than myself.
That question will be on my mind for a while, so I will think about it for a while.
Me: You have done a lot of stuff for yourself and your family like Michael he has.
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