At age 36, Virginia Wills felt that she needed to find God’s church—a church that taught the truth as Jesus stated in the Bible. Living in Washington, D.C., and in need of guidance, she drove one Saturday to pray on the banks of the Potomac River. As she drove, she saw what she thought was “the biggest Jewish temple I had ever seen.”
“I decided that on my way back, I would stop by that temple and find out if it was actually a Jewish temple,” Virginia says. “When I entered the gates, a sign said, ‘The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints,’ which I had never heard of. However, I felt God’s Holy Spirit so strongly I started to cry. As I walked toward the temple, I thought, Lord, if they don’t let me in here, then I know I need to learn about this church.’ Because in the Bible, only the Aaronic priests could enter the inner temple.”
When Virginia learned that only those with a recommend could enter the temple, she felt she had the beginning of the answer to her prayer to be led to God’s church on earth.
After saying a prayer of gratitude, Virginia went to the visitor’s center next door, where a senior missionary couple led her to a diorama about Joseph Smith and offered her a Book of Mormon.
“When they said that Jesus Christ had come to the Americas, I felt the Holy Spirit very strongly, and I knew it was true,” she says.
By the following Tuesday, when Sisters Rasmussen and Hodes arrived at her home, Virginia had read the entire Book of Mormon. Impressed with her zeal for knowledge, the sisters gave her the Doctrine and Covenants to tackle next, which she finished by the next day when they returned.
When the sisters asked if she had any questions, Virginia had two: “Did the Church have a living prophet today as stated in Doctrine and Covenants?” And, “Did they still do full water immersion baptism?” When the sisters answered in the affirmative, Virginia told them that she was ready to be baptized even though she had not attended church.
Virginia was baptized as a member of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, and a year later, pregnant with her daughter, Ashley, Virginia entered the Washington D.C. Temple and received her endowment.
Finding Answers in the Temple
Shortly after receiving her endowment, Virginia found herself divorced and a single parent.
“I knew that I wanted to parent differently than how my parents had parented. But how do you know how to do different?” she wondered.
Knowing that personal revelation is real, Virginia went to the temple and asked the Lord how He wanted her to parent. The results were not only faith-affirming but life-enhancing.
“The Lord showed me that He knows me, and He knew my daughter, who is also His.”
Here are four steps that have helped Virginia in her parenting journey:
1. Ask Heavenly Father how He wants you to parent. “Our children are so important to the Lord that He will reveal what you should do to care for them,” Virginia says. “Personal revelation can be used for anything in your life.”
2. Keep the Spirit in your home. “There were times that we didn’t have much in terms of food, but I always made sure that we signed up to feed the missionaries. Our ministering brothers and sisters were frequently in our home. I taught my daughter the importance of asking for and receiving priesthood blessings.”
3. Don’t lie to your children. “I learned this in a parenting class I attended at the Temple Visitor Center. The brother teaching it said, “Don’t lie to your children about anything.” So I held monthly family meetings with my daughter. I told her, always making it age-appropriate, of course. What our budget was, what we had going on, etc. She knew what I knew.”
4. Follow the teachings of the prophet and scriptures. “Sometimes people will tell you what they think you should be doing or what you should believe. I decided long ago that I would never let anyone dissuade me from being in the Church because I know who I need to listen to.”
For more inspiring content, check out the articles below:
▶ When the name you ‘take’ to the temple becomes a real person
▶ A woman photographed her entire Chicago ward. The results are stunning
▶ How striving for a temple recommend saved a heroin addict’s life
