I love the Orlando temple! Today I went to do initiatories for my ancestors. I did Maria Elena Cofresi, my grandma's great-grandmother!! Maria Elena's paternal grandfather came from Trieste, Italy, his name was Francesco Giuseppe Von Kupferschein (Cofresi). I can't wait to go to Trieste this summer and see the city where he was born and also where the rest of his ancestors were born. I am thankful for this gospel that unites families forever. Yesterday I had the time to translate my dad's conversion story to English. In 1992 I was going to give a talk about his conversion story so I asked him to send me the story. This letter was part of a talk he gave in his ward. I am so glad that I asked him for it, because now I have this as a remembrance, his testimony, written by him. I had forgotten about that letter and the other day just came to my mind. So I decided to translate it.
My dad's conversion Story
In 1970 the missionaries knocked on the door of our home. I told them to come in, which they did. I
asked them if I could help them with something and they said they were
missionaries of the The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints, and they
had brought a message and a book they wanted to give to me. I was inebriate at the time they came to our
home, but I listened to them and they gave me a Book of Mormon. These
missionaries never came back, which made think that it was because I had been
intoxicated. Four years later I was
drinking at home and watching a movie on television in which a pastor who had
been chaplain of the U.S. Congress, had a problem, of which I can’t remember,
but it affected me emotionally. When this happened went to my room and started
to cry, my wife came and dropped the Bible next to me. I opened the Bible and started to read and
from that moment I felt a strong desire to pray and ask God to help me get out
of the life I was leading. I prayed for
two weeks, when one night there was a knock on the door. When I opened it, I
found two giant young men that I recognized not only as missionaries of The
Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints, but also that they came as an
answer to my prayers. When I saw those
faces that shone like angels from heaven, I told them to come in and that night
they taught us the first discussion. I was intoxicated, but when they asked me
if I knew something about the Book of Mormon, I answered, “the blue book that
talks about the pre-Columbian inhabitants of America?” “Yes, that one”, one of
them said. I answered, “I have a copy of that book here. The missionaries gave it to me four years ago
but they never came back to see me.” I
had read enough of the book to have obtained a strong testimony of its truth
and this helped me get to the baptismal waters. I know with all my heart that
this is the true church, it is the only one that has the fullness of the
gospel. I know Jesus is the Christ, our Savior and that He lives and that He is
on the right hand of God. Everything has
been different in these last 18 years. I
remember the second night that the Elders came, I stopped drinking alcohol, and
although smoking cigarettes was harder to quit, I was able to quit the night
before our baptism and I have never missed it. This is how the
Gonzalez-Sotomayor family met The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints.
One year after we were baptized we had the opportunity to go to the Washington
DC temple and be sealed as a family for time and all eternity. Our son had the opportunity to serve a
mission and now serves in as a High Counselor in our Stake. He was married in the Atlanta temple and
continues serving the Lord. Our daughter
was also sealed in the Los Angeles temple and serves the Lord in her Ward. I am
thankful to our Heavenly Father that our granddaughters are being raised in the
gospel.
This has all been in my mind since we went to the open house of the Ft. Lauderdale temple. You see my dad's conversion story is a miracle. My dad did not believe in anything, really, his life must have been a mess, he drank all the time. My aunt Sandra and my uncle Carlos went to the open house with us. After the temple open house we went to lunch. My uncle invited a friend of his, Marcelino and Marcelino's wife to lunch because they lived just a few minutes from the restaurant. Marcelino and my uncle Carlos have been friends for over 60 years!! They grew up together. Marcelino also knows my dad and mom. My uncle and Marcelino started telling stories about my dad. My poor dad was an alcoholic. I knew that because I remember seeing him drunk. My dad also started smoking at the age of 13. My dad moved from San Juan to Ponce and that is where he met my mom. Marcelino and my uncle remember my dad at the bowling alley where he worked. My dad liked to go bowling, and he would often be drunk and make a fool of himself. The day before my mom and dad got married, Marcelino remembers my dad being drunk at the bowling alley and telling everyone "Tomorrow I am going to marry the best woman in all of Ponce." My dad also suffered from depression (due to having been in the US Air Force) and my uncle told me that my dad climbed to the top of the Ponce Coliseum. He wanted to commit suicide. My uncle said that someone went and told my grandmother (my mom's mom) and my grandma's response was "let him". My grandmother did not like my dad too much. So when I read his conversion story it truly is a miracle that he converted, that he stopped drinking and that he stopped smoking. My dad never drank or smoked again. I was little when we were baptized so I don't remember much of my "old" dad other than being drunk a few times. I do remember my dad loved me and would do anything for me and for anyone in need. He was always giving service and helping people in need. So my dad must have had a huge transformation after his baptism. Even my uncle said that my dad changed after his baptism. To me this was a miracle, that was only possible through the atonement of Jesus Christ. My dad was able to change because of his faith in Christ's atonement, that He suffered for him and knew how my dad felt and my dad had so much faith that he was able to overcome his weaknesses. My dad who was poor in spirit was made whole. Elder Holland said, "If you are lonely, please know you can find comfort. If you are discouraged, please know you can find hope. If you are poor in spirit, please know you can be strengthened. If you feel you are broken, please know you can be mended."
After speaking to my uncle and Marcelino I realized how hard it must have been for my dad but I am thankful that never gave up. That he wanted to find the truth. That he had enough faith to pray for two weeks and patiently wait for an answer and to know that when the missionaries knocked on our door that they were the answer to his prayer, and he was drunk at the time! To me that is a miracle.
I am thankful for that miracle! Because of it we were baptized and now hundreds of my family members have been baptized in the temple! Because of that decision in 1974, I can go to the temple and unite my family forever!
