Lost and Found: Why Jeannie Wu Believes in Jesus Christ
Jeannie and her husband Wei Wu, 2023. Photo by Debby Adair.
As a young wife and mother, Jeannie Wu from Bedford, Texas realized something was missing in her life. In her own words, Jeannie shares how she went from lacking spiritual happiness to experiencing the great joy that comes from developing a testimony in Jesus Christ.
This is her story.
By Jeannie Wu with Debby Adair
An Empty Corner
In September 1987, my young family moved from Maryland to Texas for my husband’s new job at IBM. After weighing our financial situation, I decided to take a break from my professional job and stay home to take care of my two young children. With a brand-new house, two beautiful children, a loving husband with a promising career, not to mention a comfortable retirement life waiting for us in the future, I should have been grateful, happy and content.
Yet, I still felt something was missing in my life. There was an empty corner hidden inside me.
The words of the Declaration of Independence by Thomas Jefferson were often lingering in my mind, that:
“We hold these truths to be self-evident,
That all men are created equal,
That they are endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable rights,
That among these are life, liberty, and the pursuit of Happiness.”
For most of the immigrant families, the happiness stated here is often considered the American dream. Is this my American dream? Deep in my heart I firmly believed there must be a deeper happiness, a true joy centered in the purpose of life rather than the temporary fleeting happiness brought by worldly achievements. What is the true purpose of life? Where is this eternal happiness? How and where can I obtain it?
A Friend’s Church
A good friend of mine invited me to her church. The class discussion interested me greatly and I wanted to know more about Jesus Christ whom I learned from the Bible in my childhood. However, the desire to go to that class gradually diminished, especially when I was urged to get baptized so that I could be saved. I also felt something missing in their teachings, yet I could not clearly point out what they were. It was a very frustrating experience.
Tina’s Family
I had never heard of the name Joseph Smith or Angel Moroni, not to mention Lehi or Nephi until the summer of 1990 when my family made a trip to Vancouver Canada to visit Tina and her family whom I hadn’t seen in over 15 years.
During that visit, I was shocked to find out that Tina’s family belonged to the “Mormon” church, a group of peculiar people with strict discipline and rules, so I learned from the hearsay in my youth.
We stayed at Tina’s house for over a week, I did not see any peculiar practice, but instead, I found love, peace and kindness sweetly centered in her home.
The unheard names and the positive impressions of Tina's home not only stirred up my curiosity and my desire to know more about the Book of Mormon but also destroyed the negative hearsay I learned in my youth and became the driving force for me to investigate The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints personally.
The First Dinner
I still vividly remember our first dinner. Tina’s husband, Bishop Lee, gathered everyone around the table, then he closed his eyes, bowed his head and started saying grace. This action or ritual was a bit awkward and foreign to my family, my two young children looked at me and did not know what to do. I nodded to them to just close their eyes. As I closed mine and listened to Bishop Lee’s words of thanksgiving, a loving and warm feeling gently flowed over my whole body, and suddenly I realized how hungry and thirsty I had been all these years, deep in my soul.
The Book of Mormon
The next day, Tina sincerely shared her testimony of the gospel of Jesus Christ with me. I asked her what made her church so distinctively singled out among other Christian beliefs. Tina told me that they believe the Book of Mormon, they believe Jesus visited the American continent, the book is another testament of Jesus Christ and they believe in the living prophet. I’d never heard of such things! Tina gave me a Book of Mormon in the Chinese language. Compared to the beautiful Chinese translation of the Bible, I was not impressed with the Chinese translation of the Book of Mormon.
However, I trusted Tina’s words and decided to investigate her church.
My strong desire and curiosity kept me continually reading the Book of Mormon. As I was persistently doing so, something miraculously happened. My mind was somehow brought to a higher ground, in a clearer and more spiritual state.
I felt like I was transformed into an innocent little girl with a pure heart, listening to a wise old man telling me a sacred history that was sacred and dear to him. I no longer looked down on the translation but humbly and sincerely began to seriously study this ancient, sacred book.
Missionaries At My Door
During this time, two missionaries knocked on my door. I was cleaning the house that afternoon and I didn’t expect any company. Looking through the side window, I saw two young men dressed in dark business suits standing at the door. I thought instantly that they were the missionaries from another church who stopped by my house occasionally, but as soon as I saw their name tags, I was exceedingly surprised and said to myself: ‘Oh! They are Mormon missionaries! Wait a minute! How did they know I have been reading the Book of Mormon? I didn’t tell anyone, and how did they know?!’
Standing behind the door, I was debating whether or not I should let them in. Then a scripture in Revelation I just had read few days ago softly whispered in my mind:
“Behold, I stand at the door and knock: if any man hear my voice, and open the door, I will come in to him, and will sup with him, and he with me.” (Revelation 3:20).
To this day, I still want to give myself a pat on the shoulder for that unknown courage I was blessed with on that afternoon to open the door and let the missionaries come in.
Jeannie Wu (middle) with missionaries who taught her the Gospel of Jesus Christ. Image courtesy of Jeannie Wu.
Lessons with the Missionaries
Looking back, the early days of taking lessons from missionaries was one of the most sacred times in my life. In the beginning, I did have doubt. “What kind of knowledge could these young men with little real-life experiences teach me?”
I remember during the first lesson, we talked about Heaven and I asked them, ‘What language will we speak in heaven, and how can you be sure that there will be no population problem in paradise?’
The missionaries looked at each other and did not know how to respond. Then one of them said to me, ‘Mrs. Wu, we don’t know the answers, but we will ask our Mission President and will get back to you when we come next week.’
So, the missionaries did not answer my questions but seized the opportunity to schedule another appointment. Very clever! They came the following week. I was eager to know what kind of intelligent answers their Mission President would come up with. Right before the lesson, the missionary said, ‘Mrs. Wu, we asked our Mission President about your questions, he does not know the answers either, but he wanted us to tell you that please do not let those trivial questions become the stumbling blocks on your way to pursuit your eternal happiness you’ve been looking for.’
President White, the Mission President, was indeed a man called of God. His words changed my whole perspective and attitude toward those young missionaries.
Lost and Found and Opposition
Missionaries diligently and patiently taught me new concepts about the Gospel, such as the Atonement of Jesus Christ and the importance of keeping the commandments and enduring to the end. I felt like I had been walking in my spiritual desert. I was desperately looking for that clean and fresh water. For a moment I thought I found it, but it was only just a mirage. This time, by God’s grace and mercy, He sent His own messengers to bring the living water to me, His lost beloved child.
When my friends found out about my meetings with the “Mormon” missionaries, they were in a panic. They rushed to visit me, called me, sent me letters with anti-Mormon literature, and the Pastor of the first church I attended even arranged a meeting for me to meet a couple who had withdrawn their memberships. Out of my helpless curiosity, I did go. But the meeting made no difference to me.
For I had made up my mind to be baptized and join The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints.
My Husband’s Advice
About a month before my baptism, my dear husband Wei advised me to make sure that my decision to join The Church of Jesus Christ was not an emotional decision. An emotional decision often would give the person 50% of the chance to regret it later. I listened to his wise words and made certain of my decision again and again.
That is why all these years my favorite Article of Faith has always been:
“We claim the privilege of worshiping almighty God according to the dictates of our own conscience, and allow all men the same privilege, let them worship how, where, and what they may.”
This Thanksgiving will be 33 years since I was baptized. Do I have any regrets? No! Not even one!
To learn more about The Church of Jesus Christ, visit with missionaries online or in-person; click here.
Jeannie enjoys her retirement life and cherishes anything great and small that the Lord blesses in her daily life. Chatting with children and grandchildren, getting in touch with friends, working on church responsibilities, studying scriptures, exploring better translations between Chinese and English, or even taking a walk with her husband are some of her favorite daily routines.
Debby Adair serves as a Hurst Stake Website Editor and Reporter. She is a former Financial Compliance Officer / Financial Fraud Examiner. She spends her days enjoying retirement, traveling internationally, cooking and interior decorating.