“Mormons Are Invading Our School,” New Era, October 2015, 47
“Mormons Are Invading Our School”
Dawson F., Arizona, USA
That Saturday night, the Phoenix Arizona Temple had just had its cultural celebration, and I came away full of emotions. I felt uplifted, excited, and grateful, and I wanted to do it all over again. How could I possibly share this experience with everyone around me?
Well, on Sunday night my friend and I were talking and came up with an idea. What if we got all the members in our school to wear their bright orange “Be a Light” shirts (from the celebration) on Monday? We knew we didn’t have much time, so we tried to spread the word quickly.
On Monday morning as I walked into school, I didn’t see anyone wearing their shirts, and I got kind of nervous. However, a few minutes later I began to see more and more bright orange shirts. As the day went on, I realized our shirts were getting lots of attention. I kept hearing fun, random comments like, “Mormons are awesome,” “Mormons are the nicest people,” and even, “Wow, Mormons are invading our school!” And people would even ask questions like, “What’s up with all the orange shirts?” or “Why are so many people wearing them?”
Then, in the beginning of my social studies class, my teacher said, “There are a lot of people wearing orange shirts today.” Someone shouted, “It’s the Mormons!” and everybody looked right at me! Right then, I decided to stand up and explain our bright orange shirts. I explained why we were wearing them, and I got to tell them all about the celebration of the temple and how we performed for our prophet. I honestly couldn’t have felt more proud that day!
I am grateful for the temple celebration and the opportunity it gave me to share a little bit about my beliefs. It’s a weekend that will never be forgotten.