Bakersfield.com

My name is Dr. Michael A. Nazario (PhD.). I belong to the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints, known to the world as "Mormons." I converted and was baptized in the United States Marine Corps Boot camp, Parris Island, South Carolina in August 1983.

I remember when they asked me at boot camp, “what religion are you?” I answered, “I don’t know, my parents are Mormons," so they classified me as one.

I told the LDS Navy Chaplain, however, that I was not a Mormon as of yet, that I was the last one still not baptized in our family. Even my wife at the time (now ex), became baptized before me. I just was not sure.

All of my life we had followed my mom wherever she went. I could never understand why my mother went from church to church. Then, I figured, “since we moved at the rate of about once every year, anyway… I guess, that’s the reason.”

My mother says now that the reason why she moved from church to church was because she was looking for something the other churches did not offer. I said to myself, “I wonder what that could be?”

I remember my dad (he passed away in 2000) as the very intellectual type and not as the religious type. I guess he would just follow along and keep his mouth shut because one, he did not know much on the subject, and/or did not want to get too involved in anything. My mom directed the “faith” department in our house.

I grew up believing in a Heavenly Father and that through hard work, belief in God and wholesome actions was the way of being. My first conviction was when I began boxing as an amateur. Out of the blue, I decided to wear a sports shirt with the words on my back of: "Glory Be To GOD." I prayed a lot and read the Bible and went to church, as many as there were.

Whether by divine intervention or just plain coincidence, the person who brought our family to the LDS faith was my dad. I remember when my mom was taking the discussions from the two young 19-year-old unpaid missionaries from the LDS church. I said to her, "you are not going to join that church, are you?" She told me, "I am praying about it, reading the scriptures and the Lord will give me an answer."

In fact HE did. She became a member soon thereafter as my dad baptized her.

I remember going to the LDS church at first with my family. My brother became a member, his girlfriend, one of our high school friends, my wife at the time. It appeared everyone was getting baptized. I did not want to do it because I wanted to be sure. And then, by divine intervention, or plain Coinki Dinki, I joined the U.S. Marine Corps.

I consider myself a bit backwards at times, and probably that’s the reason why my conversion happened the way it did. All I knew was that I was very glad that on Sundays while at boot camp, we had the opportunity to get away from the “Drill Instructors” even if it was just for an hour. Anything was better than nothing, and they were not there with us, this was a private affair.

Those drill instructors were very, very hard and tough, and if getting away from them was good to my soul, then it was fine by me. I did it backwards by first getting baptized, then began to investigate the church after. You see, in the Marine Corps, they tell you to do something, you just do it. They told me go to church, I went. They told me get baptized, I did that too.

But it wasn’t until 1986, when all hell broke loose and I had to start asking some serious questions about myself, my spirituality, and how I was going to mesh the two.

I began using alcohol like it was going out of style. I did that as a way to pave the way for me in life, and because of it, I lost my newly growing family. At the time, I was married to a very beautiful girl with two boys, and I lost them. All because of my dependence on alcohol. Looking at it now, I used drinking to fight away my depression. Brilliant, huh?

I remember my Mom, when she found out about all my problems. She said, “seek the missionaries and go to church.” I did just that.

I never read the book of Mormon because it was just so foreign. I did not know who all those people were. I was very familiar with the Bible, but not the Book of Mormon.

However, it wasn’t until one night that I began to read the Book of Mormon in my apartment. My roommate was out working at night and I was alone. I began flipping through its pages and reading when I found this common part in it, that read in the book of Moroni, page 529, Chapter 10 verse 4 that says: “And when ye shall receive these things, I would exhort you that ye would ask God, the Eternal Father, in the name of Christ, if these things are not true; and if ye shall ask with a sincere heart, with real intent, having faith in Christ, he will manifest the truth of it unto you, by the power of the Holy Ghost.” That was it! That’s all I needed. No one was going to try to convince me about anything, as long as I had a “sincere heart with real intent," and I had that, but I still had some homework to do, and I did it.

I remember as I read the book. I remember that occasion as clearly as it is today. The words came to my mind “how can anyone deny this book? This is true!” Tears began flowing down my eyes. The more I read, the more I wanted to read. It was like a thirst that was being quenched, over and over again. I read the Bible before, but I never received that kind of revelation. I guess "where much is needed, much is given."

I needed to feel this right at that time. I needed to find for myself the truth. I did that, that night. Nobody was there to push anything down my throat. I know now, it was the Lord’s way to send me a message, that as long as I do what is right, as long as I walk in obedience, doing what’s good, He will bless me. It’s an unbreakable promise. God does not lie.

I understand now the words of our beloved prophet Joseph Smith when he said: “I told the brethren that the Book of Mormon was the most correct of any book on Earth, and the keystone of our religion, and a man would get nearer to God by abiding by its precepts, than by any other book.” That was the missing link I was needing. I also believe in the Bible as long as it is translated correctly, like the King James version.

I realize now why things happened the way they did. My dad was the first one to get it. It made sense. He was the intellectual of the home. He saw things better than me. I also think the Lord used him, because He honors and begins everything with the patriarchs of the home.

My dad changed so much the last five years of his life. He became this docile child of God, that would do the service of the Lord, always.

Also, my own life has become so different. My brother, his wife, my ex-wife and my friend from high school are not in church anymore for whatever their reasons. My mom is still in the church and I am still in the church with my family. I guess that’s just the way life is, but I know that’s also important to me.

For me, the LDS church is everything in my life, and I would not have it any other way. It’s funny when people ask me if we worship Joseph Smith. I usually say, “the name of the church is The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints. Do you see Joseph Smith anywhere there? He was a man just like any other chosen like any other prophet, what’s so unbelievable about that? This is a good way of life.”

Personally, to me, it’s such a clean way of life, that I consider it not a religion, but a way of life.

Again, I repeat personally, I am not speaking for the church in any capacity. I am writing these words out of my own free will and I accept full responsibility. The same way, I know what I felt and heard that night and I could never deny it, just like our prophet Joseph Smith said about his vision, “I knew it, and I know that God knew it.” So I could never deny that marvelous answer on that beautiful night.

The Lord always keep his promises, it is I who fail. Nevertheless, I am again blessed like Job, blessed with a beautiful young wife (10 yrs younger), I have a 7-year-old son and 3-year-old daughter, and we are happy. I married my wife first civil, then we became sealed for a time and eternity, a very special ceremony to us, not secret, but sacred. We are sealed as an eternal family here on earth by someone with the authority to seal us eternally. We were sealed in the Orlando LDS temple on the 15^th of May, 2004.

For the children, we are planning for them to attend Brigham Young University.

Hopefully, and it will be a privilege, at our expense, they will go to a mission for two years somewhere in the world, to represent our Heavenly Father, seeking the elect.

Everything will be ok. I just have to continue to remember… “as long as I do what I am supposed to, He will do his part…Obedience, Michael, remember that.”

All I know is that the Lord has blessed me again, beyond my understanding!