LDS Church: Oly 2nd Ward is the One True Ward

I just had to come and tell everyone briefly about the best thing that’s happened in my life in the last year. My wife was baptized to the Mormon church when she was eight years old, but when I met her, she had given up on them. The Mormon church in Sequim, WA had mistreated her mother so badly that they stopped going, and my wife thought she had stopped believing.

So the church found her when she moved to Olympia (they have a near-mystical ability to keep track of ex-members), and they came over to our apartment once in a while to try to bring her back into the fold. Unfortunately for them, I grew up with an abhorrence of organized religion that bordered on pathological. Fortunately for them, one guy, Elder Derrick Moore, about a year ago, started to connect with me.

The first time that we went to Church, my wife was upset that I had decided more-or-less without her input that we were going. It was incredibly foreign and bizarre, but everyone kept smiling, shaking my hand, and welcoming me. By the time we left, my wife was positively glowing, and she warned me on the way home that I had created a monster. We’ve kept going back, and I have been continuously amazed at the generosity and support the ward has given us.

Since I lost my job, the church has used its collected donations to pay my rent, and individual members have seen fit to donate to us directly, either with food, or money, or baby goods. The way in which the people of the 2nd ward welcomed us in and made us a member of their extended family breaks my heart. I feel sometimes like I couldn’t possibly be worthy of all that they have done for us. Needless to say, once I have a stable source of income, I am going to offer up whatever I can, knowing firsthand that the money isn’t going to some bank in Salt Lake City or into some mysterious fund — it is used by people who are in positions like mine, right here in the 2nd ward. That knowledge is profoundly impacting.

Our bishop’s assistant always jokes to newcomers or investigators that Olympia 2nd Ward is the “one true ward”. I can’t speak for anyplace else in the world, but I can tell you that I’ve met other bishops that feel like used car salesmen, and I’ve heard horror stories about how my wife was treated — but I can’t help but feel like there is some truth to the joke. I encourage anyone who lives on the west side of Olympia to come to the Mormon church (600 Overhulse Road NW) some Sunday at 11 and ask for Brother Danielson. I’ll be happy to show you around.