new ward

The new ward is so great!  I recieved my recommend for my patriarticle blessing which I am very excited about. As soon as Bryan is done with finals we are going to get my blessing. We love our new ward, this weekend is the ward Christmas party that we are hoping to make it to, depending on when Bry gets off work. Everyone has been so helpful in this ward and making us feel welcome. The other night Bryan came home from work and there was a huge Red velvet cupcake sitting on the front porch for us welcoming us to the ward from a member of the ward. It has made us very happy. Moving to a new ward can be scary, but also so exciting especially if you have wonderful ward members.

Newsletter advice....

The ward newsletter asked me to write a little paragraph about Bry and I. Here it is.... let me know what you think, I am open for suggestions as I have never done this before.

Bryan and Taylor Morton are so excited to be a part of this wonderful ward. Bryan goes to school at Weber State University of Mechanical Engineering and works full time. Taylor works full time at Kohl’s in Centerville. Bryan served in the California Carlsbad mission and returned home November 2010. On August 20, 2011 Bryan baptized Taylor and on October 20, 2011 they were married. In their spare time they enjoy riding dirt bikes, camping, and spending time outdoors.

And then I added a picture from our baptism at the bottom.

We are so happy here, everyone is so helpful and sweet, especially the Stubbs. They picked me up the first week and then last week Sister stubbs called me to tell me that she would save me a seat, (since Bry had to work) I sat by her in all three meetings. On Wednesday there is a relief Society activity and she also said that she would be happy to come and pick me up so that I could go with her. Sometimes people have no idea how a little helping hand can turn someones perspective right around. Moving was the best thing for us, and we are happy beyond words.

Relief Society

Yesterday the Relief Society presidency came over, they were the sweetest ladies. I told them all about me being a convert and our plans to get sealed soon, and they said the bishop is great and will gladly help us. They also brought over the Relief Society manual of the year 2012. I have never in my life seen this book before, and Bryan thought it was super weird that our old ward never used it (they did a lot of things.....differently)
Sometimes you get put into situations you would rather not be in, like a ward that doesn't seem to care, or a church leader that doesn't seem to care. Keep your head up and continue studying the gospel and do what you can to get out of the situation. For Bryan and I, we moved (not the only reason we moved might I add)
This new ward seems so great and we are so happy we moved here, Bryan has not been yet because of work but I told him how wonderful it is, and how welcoming every one is. Kaysville 17th ward is so great and soon bryan and I are going to meet with the bishop and see what he can do to help us progress in the gospel.
Those of you in poor situations, keep your head up and try and stay positive.
"Things will work out"- Henry B. Eyring

First Sunday in the new ward

Church on Sunday was a success, the ward mission leader and his wife came and picked me up and I walked to church with them since Bry had to work. Everyone was so friendly to me, and the Relief Society presidency is coming over on Thursday to get to know me. The bishop of this ward is out of town in South America, so when he gets back Bry and I are going to go talk with him about working towards getting sealed. We love our new apartment, and I am very happy we have moved into a great ward.

Tues Night

Last Tuesday Bryan and I were sitting on the couch watching TV, first time watching
tv in like a week, and we heard a knock at the door. It was the ward mission leader from
the ward welcoming us to the ward. We were very happy to see him,
he gave us brownies and a ward directory. We explained our situation to him, that i was a convert,
and that we are working toward getting to the temple, and that Bryan works most Sundays lately.
He offered to have his wife come and pick me up for church.
I wish Bryan could come with me on Sunday but it will be okay,
I am so grateful that we already have helpful people in our ward, and that Sister Stubbs is willing
to pick me up and let me go to class and church with her.
I know this move is and will continue to be a great blessing for both Bryan and myself.

Moving

I am sorry I haven't written a post, we have just moved and we are in packing, next Monday I will post about the first day in the new ward. Check back!

Visiting Teachers

When my visiting teachers first contacted me to meet me a few months after we moved into the ward, I was so nervous. I didn't know what to expect, I'd never had the visiting teachers over before.
I was so nervous when they came, but wow.
I love my visiting teachers, Bryan and I are moving this week, and I am SO sad to leave them! They have been so helpful to me. They have made such a difference in my life, and really helped me stay active in the church with Bryan working Sundays all the time.
I am so grateful for my visiting teachers, I hope I can make an influence on another sisters life, like they have mine. Thank you Kimmi and Emily.

Great Talk

"http://www.lds.org/ensign/2009/02/succeeding-as-a-new-convert?lang=eng

I love this talk, it is so true, and just what a convert needs to hear.
I wish that ALL wards would remember this article, when they get a new
convert into their ward.

An Honest Heart-Richard M. Siddoway

I read a great book recently, it is called An Honest Heart it is an easy read
probably written for the teenage reading level. I didn't care, this book is
so wonderful, about a young girls hard life, and how it changes when she
meets 2 sister missionaries.

If you read or have read this book, share your

thoughts with me, I'd love to hear what

you have to say.

Book of Mormon

Right now, I am so focused on reading the Book of Mormon,
my goal is to finish it by New Years Eve this year.
 Over the past couple of months, I have realized how much it helps you
to understand the scriptures if you read EVERY DAY,
I get so much more out of my scriptures if I read every day,
sometimes I read twice a day, (with Bryan studying for school all of the time),
sometimes, I read a page, other times I read twenty or more pages, it varies;
but I read every day!

I challenge you all to read every day.

It keeps you focused on what is really important in life, I also find myself
 understanding the stories better when I read everyday.
 Invite the Spirit into your heart, home, car and read everyday.
I found a great book at Deseret Book that I purchased that is
very helpful guide in studying the scriptures.
It is called, The Book of Mormon Companion this book introduces every new character in every chapter, it gives a summary of each chapter, and also gives the chapters main theme.
I LOVE THIS BOOK! it will definetly be one that I keep on the bookshelf for reference, are also many internet sites you can find that are helpful.
on lds.org you can find great resources to help with the Book of Mormon
Listening to the Book of Mormon as you follow along reading is also helpful to some people.
You can download the Book of Mormon for free on iTunes.

Happy Reading!!

The Right Direction

I recently met a lady in my ward, she was telling me about herself,
and I learned that her husband in a convert, who is not active in the church.
 They were married civilly, and have been married for 5 years and they are
not yet sealed in the temple together.

She attends Gospel Principles with me, she attends this class to help teach
 her husband about the gospel at home. When I heard this story, it made me
so grateful for my own testimony. As a convert of a little over a year,
my husband, Bryan, his work schedule does not allow him to attend
church on Sundays with me. I still attend every Sunday, all three hours.
It gave me reassurance that I am on the right track to eternal life.
I know that Heavenly Father wants Bryan and I to be sealed,
I know that if we keep working towards it, it will happen.
It may not happen as soon as we want, but it will happen.
In between conference sessions on Sunday, they played a short video
about the new Brigham City temple, in the video, it talked about
a couple who had been married for 58 years and they were not
sealed in the temple yet, they worked very hard to be ready for
the temple, and they were the first couple sealed in the new
Brigham City temple. This strengthened my testimony,
I know that we will be sealed, just because those around me
are getting sealed right now, doesn't mean that Bryan and I
are supposed to, as long as we are living the gospel I know
that Heavenly Father will point us in the direction he wants
 us to be, and he will not lead us astray. For any of you
 that are in our same situation the best advice I have for
 you is to keep looking forward, and keep following the
 commandments, heavenly father will bless you as you
walk your path towards the temple. That is my testimony
 to you, in the name of Jesus Christ, Amen.

Conference October 2012

Here are some quotes I loved from October LDS General Conference

"Our message is one of faith and hope in the Savior Jesus Christ"- Boyd K. Packer

"Take his hand, and with him enter in"-Boyd K. Packer

"The Lord is in the details of our lives"-Thomas S. Monson

"Become the person Heavenly Father wants us to be"- Dieter Uchtdorf

"We determine our happiness"- Dieter Uchtdorf

"Find happiness regarding circumstances"- Dieter Uchtdorf

"I pray we will not wait until we are ready to die, before we truly learn to live"-Dieter Uchtdorf

Dieter Uchtdorf is my favorite, his talks always speak to me, my favorite talk of his was the Saturday morning session, "Of Regrets and Resolutions"

I want to hear some of your favorite quotes and talks.

Conference Countdown

Tomorrow is the start of the LDS General Conference October session. I can't even tell you how excited I get about conference. It seriously my favorite time. I love hearing the counsel of the Prophet and apostles. Every conference i've watched since I began investigating has always had talks jump out at me, always saying just what I needed to hear. I always say a prayer and I keep a notebook with me while I watch/listen to conference. I know the speakers will have great messages, just listen with the Spirit and I know that it will guide you in any bit of trouble you have or are having in your life.

I hope you all have a wonderful conference weekend. I would love to hear your thoughts on the upcoming conference. Feel free to comment, or email me.
-Taylor

Our Search for Happiness

A few months ago, Bryan gave me a book to read that a member of a ward from his mission
gave him. The book is called, Our Search for Happiness, by M. Russell Ballard.
I read this book in two days, it is so good, it helped myself as a convert understand the
gospel a lot better. It is a great book for non-members of the LDS church, new members, young adults, adults, or those becoming active again.  If you want a quick read, I highly suggest this book. If you know someone looking into the church, or needed help and guidance in the church suggest they read this book.
The book covers it all, The book of Mormon, The restoration of the gospel, and articles of faith, just to name a few.

Baptism Day

August 20th 2011

I woke up on August 20th so excited!! Bryan came over and we got all ready and ate breakfast with my family. My baptism was at 4pm, I was so excited all day long. We went to the church at 3pm, and my good friend Jaclyn and her husband Brian met us there, Jaclyn was helping me change after the dunking. Everyone started coming in, I went and changed into my jumpsuit (the adult one was too big so I had to wear a kid one) and Bryan changed into his white attire. We took some pictures with friends and family, and people started pouring in.We first sat in the room, and Bryan gave a talk n baptism, and he did an experiment with water, food coloring and bleach, the water was me, and the food coloring was all of my sin, ( ha ha), and the bleach was the baptism making me clean again. Well, he put too much food coloring in, and it turned pink, so everyone was joking about how I was so bad that I couldn't be all the way clean. My friend Melissa gave the talk on the holy ghost, she did such a great job.  We went into the bathrooms next to the font and Jaclyn came with me. Bryan had given me the low down and we had "practiced" that morning on what to do.

We stepped into the font and Bryan took my hand and said
"Taylor Janiel Rampton, Having been commissioned of Jesus Christ, I
baptize you in the name of the Father, the Son, and of the Holy Ghost. Amen"

Then he dunked me.

I came up out of the waters of baptism, and it was a feeling that I will never forget,
I felt the most amount of peace that I've ever felt in my whole life.

I was so happy. I reached over and gave Bry a huge hug. I stepped out of the font and gave Jaclyn a huge hug as we are both crying because we are so happy. Jaclyn helped me change my clothes and then I went back into the room.
My dad stood up and I gave him a huge hug. I am glad that my parents were happy for me. After the program, so many people were coming up and hugging me, and telling me congratulations, some people that I had never met before. Bryans aunt and uncle even came down from Weber county and had only met me two times. My whole family was there, my parents, brother, grandparents and aunt and uncle and 2 cousins.  It was an experience that I will never ever forget, and neither will Bryan. I am so glad I asked him to baptize me, we have a special bond, that other marriages don't have.

Bry and I in our whites before the baptism

My amazing supportive family

Minging after the baptism

How I became an Investigator Part 3

I continued attending church, and studying the scriptures and meeting with the missionaries,
I also attended institute at the DATC where I met Brother Harding, he is such an amazing teacher,
and he really taught me about the gospel. It was now July and Bryan and I had just been talking about how I wanted to tell my parents that I was going to be baptised in August, I had said a prayer and asked the holy ghost to help guide me for the perfect time to tell them. We were sitting down to dinner one night and my mom says, "So Tay, when are you going to get baptised" I was SO happy, and I told her that I wanted to be baptized in August. I immediatly looked right at my dad after this, and he told me that as long as I was happy that they were happy and they would be at my baptism and support me.

August 18th
My baptismal interview
We were told to meet the missionaries at the stake center for my interview, when Bry and I got there the missionaries informed us that it was locked! So the missionaries made some phone calls, and we ended up driving to Centerville to meet a different missionary who gave me the interview. I was really nervous, but I don't know why. I remember when I walked out, I looked at Bry and I gave him a thumbs up and said "I passed." Everyone was laughing. I remember going to bed that night so excited for the next day.

Relief Society Conference

Tonight because of my amazing visiting teacher, I was able to attend the Relief Society Conference,
we sat on the 3rd row!! We were SO close!! It was a great message and a lot of talk about service and many heart warming stories. The relief society president talked about how repentence is like
climbing out of a pit and you need to put the ladder in the pit to get out. To me, the ladder signifies the steps of repentence, you need to admit your wrong doing, talk to someone about it, and promise your heavenly father you wont make that mistake agian.When Henry B. Eyring got up and talked he talked of how visiting teaching blesses our lives when we least expect it. He told of his daughter who lived in another state and she was 5 months pregnant, she started bleeding and as she went to call her husband someone knocked at the door, it was her visiting teacher who suspected something was wrong and she took her to the hospital and had her husband meet her there. She had to have an emergency C section, and she gave birth to a preemie girl who weighed 1lb 11 oz, now I find this so amazing because I too was born premature weighing 1lb 11oz at birth! The baby is now healthy and 2 years old.  I am so thankful that I live here and that I was able to attend the conference tonight. As we were leaving President Uchtdorf was standing by the exit and he looked right at me and I reached out and we shook hands. It was so amazing!
I am so excited for conference. I know that the speakers will have great messages.

President Uchtdorf

Investigation Part 2

When I attended sacrament meeting, I was so nervous and I didn't know what to expect.
Bryan was a teacher of a Primary class. So I just met him there for sacrament. He came out to my car
and got me and we went into sacrament. I listened to the talks and was taking everything in
and it all really made sense.
I decided I would go again the next week.
I went to the ward in my boundaries with a friend named Skye, we went to that ward
a couple times. I decided it was time to meet with the missionaries.
I was so nervous to talk to the bishop, Skye came in with me and we talked to the bishop and
told him I was investigating and that I wanted to take the discussions. He took my
number and later that week Bryan and I went out to Salt Lake to Temple Square. On the way home I got a phone call from the missionaries.
I was so nervous to meet with the missionaries, I was home alone one day, and I sat down in my room and said a prayer, asking Heavenly Father if I was doing the right thing by meeting with the missionaries, and to give me an answer if the church really is true. After I closed my prayer, I took my Book of Mormon and I randomly opened it. I opened to 3 Nephi 11:33

"And whoso believeth i n me, and is baptized, the same shall be saved; and they are they who shall inherit the kingdom of God."

After reading that the spirit was so strong, I knew I was doing the right thing, I immediatly sent a text message to Bryan, I knew I had felt the spirit.

We met the next week at the ward mission leaders house, Bryan came with me to most of the discussions. The lessons were so helpful, I learned new things and I also realized that most of what they were teaching me were things I had believed my whole life.
I continued reading the scriptures attending sacrament and meeting with the missionaries. By the way,  I started meeting with the missionaries in May. My parents were fine with me meeting with them since it was at someone elses house.
The next lesson the missionaries asked if I would be baptised on June 20th. I said yes. Later when I told my parents, they didn't like this and thought it was too soon. So I decided to put it off and wait a little longer.
I continued to attended the church meetings and I attended a gospel principles class that was very helpful for new converts and investigators. I continued meeting with the missionaries.

A family member of mine wanted to have lunch with me, right away I knew what this was about, my cousin was very anti and was not happy with me investigating the church. I went to lunch with him
and he gave his two sense.The next day I attended sacrament in Bryans ward, a man got up and
spoke about the Book of Mormon, in his talked I learned he was a convert. It made me study, pray and seek harder because I knew that in my heart I was doing the right thing by investigating.
The last week in June some amazing things happened to strengthen my testimony.
I went to lunch with my mom who is a hairdresser, and she told me how she did a girls hair that
is a convert and she was telling my mom how happy she is now that she joined the LDS church.

On Friday June 19th Bryan and I attended a wedding reception of one of his old mission companions. We sat down at an empty table and a middle aged couple came and sat down by us.
The man started talking about how he had joined the military when he graduated high school, in talking about the military he used the words "and when I was baptized," Bryan and I froze.

After the reception we were driving back to Bountiful and we both thought it was crazy that all of these signs had happened the same week I had orginally planned to be baptised. I had my answer, I knew that I was supposed to be baptized. Part 3

How I became an investigator part 1

Growing up all of my life in Bountiful, UT I had a pretty anti-mormon attitude.
I had friends invite me to Mutual and Young Womens. I went a few times and I
always had fun but always felt a little akward. I had never read the Book of Mormon
I always just said I never believed it but I never gave it a fair shot. I had never even been to
an LDS Sacrament meeting. I shut myself out from anything "Mormon." Almost
every single one of my friends was LDS. A boy I dated named Bryan (who is now my husband)
was one of the only people I dated in high school that never bothered me about
not being "a member" Bryan and I went to his Senior prom together and dated
that summer, he always said if I had questions to ask. The end of the summer we
went our seperate ways and we started talking again in January. I knew Bryan
was preparing for a mission, we hung out quite a bit and I even attended his farewell (this was the first LDS sacrament I had ever been to) a good friend Caslyn came with me. I was so nervous going
into the meeting, she gave me the run down and told me what to expect. Bryan got up and talked,
he did a wonderful job, at the end when he bore his testimony to my surprise I started crying.
I didn't know why I was crying, I later found out it was the holy ghost speaking to me.

He left on his mission and I wrote him the whole mission, he had a girlfriend that was waiting
for him to come home who also wrote him often. Bryan told me alot about the mission. While he was gone I started getting into alcohol and drinking a lot with some friends.

I found an old friend from a church I used to attend via Facebook, we started talking and we exchanged phone numbers. Tabi, is her name, when we used to be friends she was a big partier,
and she was into a lot of bad stuff, I never really hung out with her during those days. I was never into drugs. We got together one day and she told me that she was reading the Book of Mormon, and how it has really turned her life around, I thought it was pretty amazing because she was a lot different than the person I used to know. She started telling me about her experiences with the church, and I was filled with amazed at how much she was telling me was things that I had believed my whole life. We kept chatting and would get together every so often.

When Bryan came home from his mission we got together and just caught up on all the things we had missed during those 2 years. We talked a lot and I told him how I was thinking that I should stop drinking, I didn't know why but I had a feeling that I should. Bryan and many friends supported me in this decision. I was a much happier person and a few health problems that I had went away to my sustainment of alcohol.

I hung out with Tabi and Bryan a lot, and I would always ask them questions about the LDS church and what they believe, I had a whole 3 pages of questions that I had, I was also doing research online about the LDS church, I would search church sites and also anti-mormon sites. To my surprise every single question I had was answered by one of my friends or friends parents. Everything was making so much sense. Bryan asked me to come to church with him, somehow I didn't feel ready for that.
Bryan got me a Book of Mormon and I started reading it. Later that week I sent him a text saying I was ready to attend a Sacrament Meeting with him. .... Part 2

Welcome

Welcome to my blog, in this blog I will share my conversion processes, testimonies as well as wonderful experiences I have had and continue having in the church. I will review books I have read associated with the LDS church as well. Feel free to pass this link along to a friend. Thank you readers.
This picture is from August 20, 2011. My wonderful fiance, who is now my husband baptised me and gave my confirmation the next day.