Conversion story

Ok so here is an article Linnie saw in the Honolulu Advertiser. He is stationed at Pearl Harbor for the Navy.


Faith offers peace, whether you're Muslim or Mormon


By Mohammed Baayd

It is true that faith is believing in something you can't see. I would add to that: Faith is being led by a feeling of peace.


Sitting here, typing this now, I can still remember my days as a 12-year-old boy in the city of Casablanca. I remember daily walks to the mosque and a particular day I committed myself to God's worship. It was such a wonderful feeling of peace. Every time I think about it, I get chills throughout my body. I am indeed so thankful that I listened to that still, small voice that had me kneel on my knees and commit my soul and life to worshiping him.

My commitment held, day after day, as I left my friends to answer the call to prayer five times a day. Twelve years later, I continued to reach to God's peace and comfort in his words every time I went to mosques, happy to feel his presence in America, as in Morocco.

While in America, an unexpected thing happened. A good friend invited me to her church and, without any hesitation, I accepted her invitation. I remember the storm of thoughts that overwhelmed me on our drive to church. I wondered if I was doing the right thing. I worried I was betraying my commitment to God by visiting another place of worship. When we arrived at the church building, I silently read the verse from the Quran that reads, "There is only one God and that God has no children."

When I walked in, several friendly people greeted and welcomed me. I sat down and carefully observed all that was taking place inside that beautiful building. I did not understand the meaning of what was on the table covered with white cloth but I knew it was something sacred that I had to respect. I remember vividly a young man speaking from the pulpit about having humility to accept God's will in our lives. At that moment, I felt the same deep peace that I felt in the mosque 12 years earlier as a young man. At home, after the meeting, I took my little praying rug, and faced east and prayed to God to forgive me if I have committed any unforgivable sin that day.

To my surprise, an overwhelming feeling of peace again came upon me and at that time I knew that I had not done wrong by attending a new church. That truth was re-emphasized after visiting my friend's family. The first night of my visit, my friend's father gathered everyone in the living room and welcomed me, and asked about everyone's day. Then the father asked his 14-year-old son to offer the evening prayer. I folded my arms and followed them in their prayer.

The truth of what I was feeling was confirmed to me when I made the decision to embrace the Latter-day Saints faith. I was extremely overwhelmed because I had these two beautiful faiths and I did not know which one to commit to. I knew deep inside that whatever decision I made would lead to good things, because my decision was based on faith.

It has been eight years since I have joined the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. What a joy it is to know that indeed good things have come from my faithful decision. It is such a blessing to know that indeed God has children on this Earth, and what joy it is to know that his son Jesus Christ was baptized and sacrificed for the sins of the world.

The fact that I am calling God "Father" is certainly a change from my Muslim beliefs, but a change which has increased my faith rather than diminished it. Having an understanding of my purpose and my family's purpose on this Earth has brought my family and I great peace and joy. Knowing that one day I will reunite with my deceased ancestors proves to me that God has given fair judgment to all humanity.

Having living prophets is indeed a wonderful reminder to me of God's love for us and his willingness to continue to remind us of our purpose on earth. I will never forget the words of a previous prophet, Gordon B. Hinckley, when he said that we share our faith by inviting people to share with us what they believe and sharing with them what we believe; if they like what we believe, we invite them to take what they believe, add to it and bring it to perfection. I have brought my Moslem upbringing, added to it, and I feel and know that I have brought it to perfection because I relied on his will.


Mohammed Baayd is a religious programs specialist for the Navy and is stationed at Pearl Harbor.