Donny Osmond

I have thought many times over the years of how things just fell into place in my life. I know without a doubt it was Heavenly Father's plan for me to find the gospel and be baptized into the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. Though He never took away my free agency, I know I was guided and protected from making choices that could have kept me from reaching that point in my life when the gospel would come to me and I would accept it.

When I was about 14 years old I started having a strong desire to learn more about God, to understand what part Jesus Christ played in my life, and have some religious ties. My parents were very good to teach my brothers and I what they knew about Him. They taught us right and wrong and how to be good people, but I wanted, and needed more.

I started reading the Bible and trying to understand it.

One day two young men knocked on our door, missionaries from the Church, we politely told them we weren't interested and that was that.

That summer a friend of mine asked me to attend a concert at the Allentown Fair, that was in 1972, it was the first year the Osmonds came to our fair. I was not a fan, and decided not to go to the concert. But, I had a cousin in Michigan who just loved Donny and my mother, yes my mother, convinced me we should go to the hotel and try to get his autograph for my cousin. Reluctantly (hard to believe) I went and had the opportunity to meet not only Donny, but all of the performing Osmonds. That's all it took for me, I was hooked!

Soon it was September, I made some new friends who were Osmond fans, we just "happened" to wait at the same corner for the city bus to go to high school. I mention this because I truly believe with all my heart that they were part of the grand plan because their friendhip had helped better prepare me for things to come.

Again, in 1974 missionaries knocked at our door, this time we had them come in. We were more familiar with the church because by this time my parents had taken my friends and I to several concerts and I had been learning alot about the Osmond family and their beliefs. I had even taken The Book of Mormon out of the school library. My mother, youngest brother, and I took some of the missionary discussions, then I became quite sick with the mumps and the elders couldn't come into our home(I was contagious)and soon they were transferred and lost track of us.

In 1975 I was having some health problems and suffering from panic attacks and on the way home from a doctor appointment, as I drove down the street with my mother in the car something very scary happened.

It had been a very windy April, and this huge tree just fell over on top of my car, we barely escaped being crushed! Now that was not an ideal situation for someone suffering from panic attacks! I honestly felt Heavenly Father was trying to tell me something (I could be wrong on that one!) and the more I thought about it I knew I had to do something.

So one day I told my mom that I thought we should start looking for a church. She said that maybe we should listen to the missionaries again and go to the LDS church. She said the Osmonds really seemed to be a strong family and to have very good beliefs and were such a good example. Well, we looked up the church in the phone book and found the name and phone number of the bishop and called him and told him we were interested in learning about the church.

The following Sunday there were missionaries at our door, this time we took all of the discussions, and the first Sunday that we went to church the missionaries had it announced to the congregation that we were being baptized the following Saturday!

We hadn't told the missionaries at that point that we would be baptized, but they said they knew we were ready! So, on July 19, 1975, my mother, youngest brother, and I were baptized in the Allentown Ward of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. In Dec. of 1977 I moved to Provo, met my husband who is from Salt Lake in Feb. of 1978, and on Valentines Day of 1979 we were sealed(married) in the Washington, DC temple.

A few years ago I told Alan Osmond how thankful I was to his parents and family for the example they set and for helping me to find the gospel. He graciously accepted my thanks, then added, "but remember, it's the spirit that converts." I know this is true, but I also know that meeting the Osmonds, which led me to new friends who were a better influence on me than my other friends,seeing the example of the Osmond family, all this was part of the journey to my finding the gospel, they planted the seed, and for that I will always be grateful to them.

I know the gospel is true, it has made all the difference in my life. As I have studied the Book of Mormon and teachings of our latter-day Prophets the Holy Ghost has witnessed the truth of these things to me. I know that Jesus Christ is my Savior, that He knows me and loves me, and each one of Heavenly Father's children. I know the Book of Mormon is true and that Joseph Smith is a prophet, and that Gordon B. Hinckley is our present prophet.

I am so thankful for all that I have been blessed with, to be married in the temple to a wonderful husband, and for two beautiful children. I am so thankful for my wonderful parents who taught me well, who set a good example for me, and for my dad for supporting us in all we do even though he didn't join the church. He passed away in May of 2002, but I will see him again, this I know.

Last but not least, I have been so blessed with the best friends anyone could ever ask for, they are like my sisters. I will always be grateful for the kindness that Donny, Marie, and other members of the family have always shown to me, and my family and friends.