Mom was Born on February, 25th, on a Thursday in 1932. Mom's next & final birth began 48 years later, interestingly again on a Thursday night, September 25th, 1980. Mom was a sixth-generation Mormon. Her ancestors knew Joseph Smith and joined the Mormon church in the early eighteen-hundreds. They endured hardships, persecution & some of them death as they crossed the plains with their families and new found faith, settling in the South Salt Lake Valley.

Flash Forward to 1980, Albuquerque New Mexico. Our family were devout and well loved Mormons and held multiple church positions throughout the years. Our faith encapsulated not just Sunday but every day of the week, influencing neighbors to join the church.

About a month before that September 25th night in 1980, mom's long-time Mormon friend Darlene told her she was reading a book called “The Mormon Mirage” which put doubts in Darlene's faith. Mom, very concerned for her friend and having confidence in her faith said she would read the book & disprove it. One of the topics in this book surrounds the Book of Abraham.

What is the book of Abraham? In 1835 Joseph Smith purchased Egyptian mummies with papyri & as prophet translated the hieroglyphics contained on the papyri, claiming they were the writings of Abraham. These writings were later incorporated into the Mormon's sacred book of scripture called the Pearl of Great Price. The papyri were later lost and thought to have been destroyed in the 1871 Chicago Fire. However, they were rediscovered in the New York Metropolitan Museum of Art in 1966. By now scholars knew how to translate Egyptian hieroglyphics thanks to the discovery in 1799 of the The Rosetta Stone and later unlocking of its language by French scholar Champollion with his first European publication in 1822 and completion 5 years after his death in 1837 of the 1st ancient Egyptian dictionary. In 1966, experts looked at the papryi Joseph Smith claimed were the writings of Abraham & found they were a portion of a funery text known as the Egytian Book of Breathings and had nothing to do with Abraham.

At this point mom realized she had been lied to & if Joseph Smith lied about this, the Book of Mormon translation was also a fraud. She had been deceived all along. As she was pacing back & forth her next thoughts were, “if Mormonism is false – then there is no true religion and no God.” However her logical mind could not stay there, as she continued pacing now in the middle of the night, her thoughts racing, “There has to be a God – there's love and good in the world and there is definitely evil.”

At this point Mom realized there was a presence with her & she was not alone. Words - not audible but even more clear and piercing than sound produces - began entering her thoughts: “Do you believe that Jesus was a historical figure who lived on earth? “ To which she answered, “Yes that's historical fact. “Do you believe that Jesus died on a cross for your sins?” “I would like to believe that.” Sitting down and reminiscing Mom began to think of her past good life which now didn't seem so good in light of Jesus' death on a cross for her sins. She kneeled down & began a cathartic session walking through her life, talking to God and asking him for forgiveness. Finished, she stood up – feeling immense peace and the weight of the world removed from her shoulders. As she began to walk away – new piercing non-audible clear words came in her thoughts – she wasn't done. “You need to get back down on your knees and ask Jesus to come into your heart.” She kneeled back down & prayed asking Jesus to come into her life and heart. This time she arose, knowing she was a new person. It was now early Friday morning September 26th, 1980 and thus began Mom's 2nd birth that would last through the rest of her earth life into eternity. God's Holy Spirit had been right beside her through the night and early morning, speaking to her, gently leading her out of darkness into his light, & filling her with complete forgiveness, peace & love – the start of her new life & exciting adventure with God.

The next day, she asked God to never let her be deceived again. The now recognizable voice told her to: “Read my Word.” Thus began Gloria's love and hunger for his Word the Bible.