Conversion Stories - Mike Fleischacker

Mike Fleischacker, was baptized 13 Sept 1998, and has served as a teacher for the youth in the Cambrian Park ward, and is the current Ward Mission Leader for the Cambrian Park Ward from 2002 to 2003. Mike wrote this May 2000.

I always considered myself a very spiritual person. I spent a great deal of my time studying a wide variety of religious philosophies and metaphysical subjects. While I can honestly say that I found many different levels of truth contained within these teachings, they all seemed to be lacking something. In my quest for the truth, I left no stone un-turned. I was, and hopefully still am, open minded enough to listen to anyone claiming to know the truth. I believe that it was my willingness to listen to someone else's point of view, as well as the prompting of the Holy Spirit, which allowed me to accept the Gospel of Jesus Christ and to become a member of His church.

I hope that I will always remember the night when Elder Humphreys and Elder Johnson knocked on my door. It had been a very hot summer day and even though it was early evening, it was still quite warm outside. I remember letting them into my home because I felt sorry for them. It must have been almost ninety degrees outside and they both had beads of sweat poring off of their foreheads. I remember them asking me if they could talk to me about the Gospel and that was my first introduction to the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. Needless to say, after their first visit I no longer felt sorry for them and I continued to invite them back into my home. What impressed me the most about them was their simple humility and their willingness to try to answer all of my questions. I was baptized a couple of months later on September 13, 1998. I will forever be indebted to those fine young men for introducing me to the Gospel of Jesus Christ.

After reading just a few short passages from the Book of Mormon I knew for a certainty that it was true. But accepting something as the truth and then trying to live your life in accordance with that truth are two completely different issues. I sensed from the very beginning of my conversion what my true dilemma was going to be. "Would I be able to change my lifestyle after all those years of living in sin?" What I finally decided, after many sleepless nights, was that it was all a matter of faith. If I truly believed in the Gospel of Jesus Christ, then I had to put my life in His hands. I had to believe that once I was baptized, and had received the gift of the Holy Ghost, that I could become a completely different person.

If I have a testimony of anything it is that people can change if they are willing to put their trust in Jesus Christ. The changes that I have made in the way I live my life could not have come about if I did not believe this simple truth. While those changes have often been difficult, the blessings that I have received because of them have greatly enriched the quality of my life.