Joel N. Janis, then of Mountain View, California, and now living (I believe) in Utah County, wrote this 1970 account of the conversion of himself and his wife Vivian.

I Had a Desire to Pray

By Joel N. Janis

I grew up in a good home and throughout my youth was exposed to the traditions of Judaism and sound moral principles. I believed in God and prayed to him, especially when I needed help with a problem.

In 1953 I entered college, and while majoring in zoology I replaced my faith in God with faith in science. Whatever communication I had enjoyed with God our Father ceased at that time.

Four years later I entered dental school in San Francisco and became very friendly with a group of Mormon students. I found that I had much in common with them. Up to that time I had heard vaguely of the Mormon Church but had never known any members. One of these students was Elmer Larsen from Hyrum, Utah, who became a good friend. Elmer tried to explain that he was an Israelite also. He told me many other things about his religion, but I only listened politely without really hearing what he said. I felt loyal to my heritage and that all Christianity was wrong. I viewed the Mormon Church as part of Protestant Christianity. Obviously, I wasn’t listening to Elmer very carefully.

This took place in 1957; and it wasn’t until 1965, eight years later, that my wife and I decided there was a lack of direction in our lives and an emptiness in our material goals which we thought might be filled by religion. We thought of studying Judaism but felt that our answer didn’t lie there. Generally speaking, our experiences in Judaism had left us with the impression that there wasn’t enough application of the principles taught from the pulpit in the everyday lives of the members. This perhaps was an unfair judgment to make; nevertheless this was our thinking at the time.

However, because of the example set by our Mormon friends in dental school, we thought perhaps there was something to their rehgion. They were the only people we had ever met who seemed to really try to live their religion with fruitful results.

We decided to attend Sunday School one morning at the Mountain View Ward, near Palo Alto, and learn more. Our friends from dental school days, including Elmer and his wife Marian, had no knowledge of this. As a result of our attendance at the Mountain View Ward that day, missionaries began dropping in to see us. They asked permission to give us six discussions. I resisted this for a few weeks, but then I finally gave in and allowed them to start.

In the first discussion we heard the story of Joseph Smith’s first vision, and it had an interesting effect on me. I didn’t necessarily believe it, but at the same time I couldn’t disbelieve it. My people, the Jews, had been without a prophet since Malachi. I felt that the ancient prophets such as Abraham and Moses were far removed by time and many translations of the scriptures. Here was a man of modern times claiming to have spoken face to face with God, and I could examine his life. I had a desire to know if Joseph Smith was telling the truth. I didn’t really want the answer to be affirmative, because if it were I would have to act on that knowledge, and for a Jew to become a Christian is a drastic step. Nevertheless, I couldn’t just brush his testimony lightly aside. I felt that I had to find out.

The elders told us the way to find out was to read Joseph Smith’s complete testimony and then ask God in the name of Jesus Christ if it was true. But I had not prayed in 12 years and had no confidence in prayer; and because of my training as a youth it was difficult for me to even utter the name of Jesus Christ.

We continued with the missionaries, and during the fifth discussion they answered the questions: Where did we come from? Why are we here? After death, what? The answers sounded so logical that I was afraid I was beginning to believe them. At this point we decided to stop taking the discussions and make a thorough study of Judaism.

My wife asked a rabbi to suggest some books about Jewish theology. He gave her the name of three, which she found in the library. While she was there, however, another book on the shelf caught her eye, and she decided to bring it home also. This fourth book was the most interesting to me. It was the textbook used in my confirmation class at our Jewish synagogue when I was 14. The title was Stranger Than Fiction. I opened it and found a chapter entitled “Joshua.” The author was referring to Jesus. (Joshua is the Hebrew name for Jesus.) He was making Jesus out to be an impostor and a troublemaker.

This was in agreement with what I had always been taught, but there was something about reading it now that bothered me. I decided that the technique the author was using reminded me of propaganda techniques I had studied about in a UCLA sociology class. I suddenly realized that my parents and religious teachers had inculcated into my thinking an unfair attitude toward Jesus Christ and that I wasn’t capable of examining him objectively.

When I came to this realization, I had a desire to pray. I knelt down and asked my Father in heaven if all the things I had studied and had learned from the Mormon missionaries were true, and I asked in the name of Jesus Christ. I arose from that prayer with a sure knowledge that they were true and with the conviction that I had to act on that knowledge. I told my wife I knew that Jesus Christ was the Messiah, and I wanted to join his Church. She didn’t immediately feel the same as I did, but she received a testimony a short time later.

I wrote my friend Elmer and said, “We have been taking the missionary discussions and are thinking about being baptized. How would you like to do it?”

He was quite surprised, and when he called us on the phone he just kept saying, “I’m afraid to say anything. I’m afraid I’ll ruin it.”

Elmer baptized and confirmed us both a week later. This was in August, 1965. I couldn’t begin to write down the blessings that have been showered upon us since that time. I can only say that when I think of what my life would be like today without the gospel o f Jesus Christ, I have a great desire to share it with others who are less fortuate than we.