My dad's conversion story and Peggy :)

So a few weeks ago I went home for Tricia and Ethan's wedding, which was beautiful and well worth the trip. :) While at home I noticed a wedding invitation on the kitchen counter for someone I didn't know. Which is pretty rare because everyone getting married recently from the Fairfield stake is someone I either went to school with or my sisters did. I asked my mom who the people were and she said, "That's Peggy's daughter." "Peggy? Who is she?" I asked. "She's the one who got your dad into the church." Mom answered. "Oh, wow." I replied.

I have thought about this woman many many times in my life when I have thought about all my blessings and how much I have received as a result of my dad joining the church and my being brought up in it. I think that for you to fully understand this I need to explain exactly how my dad and Peggy met. It all has to do with an A's game, Star Wars, and Jack 'n the Box, and in that order. :) My dad and his roommate from Sonoma State had decided to spend the day thus: Catch an A's game in the afternoon, go see Star Wars (Empire Strikes Back, I believe) in the evening and then see what we can do after that with the little money we have left. Well, after the game and the movie, my dad and his roommate decided to go to Jack 'n the Box. Cheap, yes. Well the girl that took their order caught my dad's attention. Seriously, she did. He didn't know what it was about her, but he needed to get to know her better. He asked her for her number and she turned him down. Poor guy. ;) But my dad knew he needed to get to know her. So he applied for a job there. He was hired on and the funny thing is, when he started Peggy was on vacation with her family and so when she returned to work, there was that guy who asked her for her phone number working there. I can't imagine what she thought when she saw him there. But, she was nice, and talked to my dad about herself and her beliefs and because of her and her example my dad took the discussions and joined the church. He later served a mission, moved to Provo to attend BYU where he met my mom and they were married in the Oakland Temple. When I think about this story I can't help but think about Peggy. My dad knew from a very short conversation with her that he needed to find out more about her. You always hear in Sunday school lessons that the way you live your life will be an example to others; That people will be able to see what you believe by the way that you talk, act and even dress. I know that was the case with Peggy, and I cannot thank her enough. I know that my dad's membership in this church has blessed his life greatly and it has blessed mine and my own new little family tremendously. As I looked at the wedding announcement and saw that she too was being blessed with the marriage of a daughter in the Las Vegas temple I thought of the blessings that must have come to her and her family too as a result of the way she was living her life. Doctrine and Covenants 18:15 "And if it so be that you should labor all your days in crying repentance unto this people, and bring, save it be one soul unto me, how great shall be your joy with him in the kingdom of my Father!" I hope with all my heart that through the years Peggy has had joy in her life for the blessings her life has brought to my family and that the years to come will be filled with joy and happiness as well.