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Amelia Brady wasn’t sure why her family suddenly decided to go to church one Sunday morning after not attending for so long. But what happened next was just the beginning of her journey to spiritual renewal.
This was an extremely traumatic experience for Miranda Brady and her two daughters, who had been divorced five years earlier. They sought seclusion to help them cope with the aftereffects of this trying situation.
But one morning, Miranda decided to return to The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints and discuss her situation with her local church leaders. She found a caring bishop who was willing to help her chart a path not only toward weekly church attendance but also toward the pinnacle of discipleship: temple attendance.
“The next week she said, ‘Do you guys want to come to church with me?'” said Amelia, 14. “I hadn’t been to church in five years, so I was a little confused. I didn’t know what to expect or how to act.”
“Maybe it was my mother’s urging, but she’s my mother and I believe she has my best interests at heart, so I followed her.”
When Amelia and her sister, Kayla, arrived at the meetinghouse, a line of smiling full-time missionaries extended hands of friendship. “We felt so welcomed and the energy there was just amazing,” she said.
“I felt peace.”
Amelia Brady
Amelia Brady from Auckland, New Zealand.© 2023 Intellectual Reserve, Inc. All Rights Reserved.
But after the meeting, Amelia felt the sense of being an “outsider” again: while her mother spoke with others inside, she and her sister sat outside the building, wondering what to do next.
At that moment, the Bishop, a kind leader in the congregation, saw them and decided to introduce himself. He introduced himself to Amelia and Kayla and gave them a warm welcome. Amelia says the conversation was meaningful.
“That interaction was probably one of the most significant things that happened to me at the time,” she said. “No one knew me or my sister. We felt a little out of place.”
“But speaking with the bishop gave me the little encouragement I really needed,” Amelia added. “I decided to be patient with the experience and let the situation unfold naturally.”
Amelia decided to go to church again with her family the following Sunday. Having not attended Sunday school for a long time, she was worried that she would not understand the lessons. She felt a bit “behind the times” and was hesitant to participate.
“I didn’t know what the other kids knew, and I wasn’t taught everything they knew,” she said.
Little did she know that the Lord would intervene in her life in such a personal and helpful way in that very Sunday School class.
“I didn’t know anybody, like everyone knew each other, and I felt a lot more isolated than I thought I would be,” she said.
However, at that moment, a boy in my class named India introduced himself.
“Heavenly Father must have heard my thoughts because the moment India introduced herself I felt her kind and caring energy,” Amelia said. “I knew she was the type of person I was meant to be around.”
India’s kind and accepting approach to Amelia’s teaching gave her the peace of mind to participate in class from where she was without any expectations of “knowledge.”
“If she hadn’t reached out to me, I would have been sitting there and feeling very alone, but she reassured me that I wasn’t alone,” Amelia said. “I’m so glad I met India because she introduced me to everyone, she was my guide, and she helped me adjust to the church environment after being away from it for so long.”
“She made me feel included and valued. I’m grateful to Heavenly Father for this community and the people there.”
India and other new friends then invited Amelia to accompany them on a trip to the Hamilton New Zealand Temple, where they would perform sacred baptismal ordinances on behalf of their ancestors.
Amelia had never participated in temple ordinances before and wasn’t sure how to prepare, but with help from friends and new leaders she met in the Young Women organization of her Church, she was able to complete all the necessary advance details and find ancestral records that she could take to the temple.
“I was able to perform a baptism for my great-grandmother, who passed away in January of this year,” Amelia said at the time. “The joy I felt after being baptized for her told me that her spirit is with me.”
“I have also baptized other ancestors going back to the early 1800s,” she continued, “and it gives me great joy to do this for them, knowing that because of what I have done they can have eternal life with our Heavenly Father!”
Amelia said her experience at the temple and performing these ordinances for her family brought her complete happiness and joy: “It was so beautiful, that in itself is an understatement.”
“My experience in the temple has far exceeded any expectations I had,” Amelia said. “I know that God knows each of us and cares about each of us.”
President Russell M. Nelson, prophet and president of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, turns 100 in September. On this occasion, he called for all to have the gift of serving “the one,” as the Savior spoke about in His parable of the lost sheep. #99+1
