00:01
James, you’re in Ohio, is that right?

00:03
Yeah, just a small farm town outside of Dayton, Ohio.

00:06
It’s called Brookville, Ohio, where we’re at. How long have you been there?

00:09
We moved here in 2016. Before that, we lived in the town over called New Lebanon, just a few miles down the road. Small farm towns, you know how it is—five minutes this way, five minutes that way.

00:29
I’ve been through Ohio once, and if I remember correctly, it was really cold.

00:33
It’s really cold right now; it’s about 40 degrees out, so you’re not missing much here.

00:37
I talked to your sister a couple of days ago; she’s a real firecracker! I enjoyed her a lot.

00:42
Yeah, she’s great!

00:44
Bring me up to speed about you. You have a family, I understand?

00:47
Long story short, I’m remarried to my wife, Sharon. She had two kids, Penny and Parker, who are older. I have a son from a previous marriage named Caleb, and then once we got married, we decided to have another child together, Luke. So we have a total of four kids, ranging from 19 down to 8.

01:05
Very nice! One is out on her own?

01:07
Yes, she’s just down the road. The other boys are here.

01:10
Well, James, I like to ask three questions. First, can you tell me what your life was like before you found the gospel?

01:16
Oh man, life before the gospel was a mix of things. I was in a dark place. I had just recently been medically retired from the Marine Corps and went through a divorce, so my life felt completely dark during that time. I struggled with custody battles for my son and was an alcoholic, though I was never formally diagnosed or went to meetings. I was at the bar every day, probably drinking about half a bottle or so.

01:42
Then some things happened in my life, and I realized I couldn’t continue like that.

01:47
Long story short, that’s when Sharon came into my life a little later on, after I wasn’t drinking as heavily anymore—just a couple here and there.

01:55
So you knew her before?

01:57
Yes, our story is kind of unique. I met her when she was the bank manager, and I played softball with a coworker of hers. I tried to get her number, and after some back and forth, I finally got it. She pretended through text that she didn’t know who I was, so I thought I crashed and burned!

02:17
But six months later, I got a random text from her after she had transferred banks. We went out on a date, and the rest is history.

02:25
Was she the one who brought you to the gospel?

02:28
Yes, through her and her family. My first introduction was during a family camping trip shortly after we started dating. Her whole family is involved in the church, and they were all single at the time, so they were introducing their boyfriends and getting engaged.

02:49
It was unique, and I felt a bit like an outsider since I was the only one who wasn’t a lifelong member.

03:01
Did you see something in them that spoke to you spiritually?

03:05
Yes, I had great conversations with Trevor, who’s my brother-in-law. The family atmosphere and their closeness really drew me in, especially as my life was starting to turn around.

03:22
It sounds like they accepted you right in.

03:25
They did, with open arms! There was definitely a culture shock for me, but I was welcomed without hesitation. Trevor, Matt, and I became very close, and Sharon’s dad played a huge role in my learning as well.

03:38
Did they bring the missionaries in?

03:41
They were all returned missionaries, so they talked about the church intelligently. I hadn’t gone to church with Sharon yet, but as we got engaged, she insisted I come to church with her.

04:00
How was that experience?

04:02
When I walked in, I felt a familiar feeling. The last time I felt that way was when I went to a Bible camp as a child. I recognized it as the Spirit. Afterward, I decided it was time to meet the missionaries.

04:16
This is a personal question, and you don’t have to answer, but did you ever feel like saying no to the gospel meant saying no to Sharon?

04:24
A little bit, yes. I don’t think it would have been a complete deal breaker, but we had built something together, and I wanted it to grow. I started reading the scriptures and realized this was what I had been missing.

04:40
Did your kids accept it?

04:42
Caleb was the only one I brought into it with me. He was baptized, but it took some time for his mom to understand what being a member meant. Once she realized we weren’t doing anything unethical, she came around.

05:01
And what about the other kids?

05:03
Luke was born and raised in the church, and he was just baptized. Adriana, my stepdaughter, was baptized this past May.

05:10
It sounds like your kids have a supportive culture around them.

05:12
Absolutely! My stepson Parker has a girlfriend, and it turns out her family had no idea we were members until we connected the dots.

05:23
That’s great! How do you feel about being in a community like Brookville, which is very Christian?

05:28
It’s both good and bad. It’s great to be in a community where faith is strong, but it can also be challenging at times.

10:09
Atmosphere tons of kids are meeting before school and after school and doing church events and praying, and you see that in the schools now. I know it’s been a long time; it’s probably very rare—maybe in Texas it’s not for you down there—but in many other communities, you don’t see that a lot, where groups of kids actually go to church and can talk about it openly and freely. I truly like that, and it doesn’t really matter which religion they are, because at the end of the day, if they’re coming closer to Christ, that’s a win for everybody.

10:37
Absolutely! You know, it’s cliche, but that’s the generation that’s our future, so we need them to be involved in the gospel. I’m down here in the Bible Belt, so I see that all the time. Was there something monumental that changed in your life when you went from being a gentile to being a saint? How is your life different now that you found the gospel?

11:07
My life was completely upside down. I lost super close family friends that I grew up with. There were a couple of guys I grew up with; one of them I even met while I was in the Marine Corps. They were supposed to be part of my wedding party—one was supposed to be my best man—but because I chose this path, they weren’t there. I mean, me and this guy spent our entire childhood together; he went in the Army, I went in the Marine Corps, and we still stayed close. He was like my brother, and my life flipped upside down. They’re no longer around and have never even met my son, Luke. To me, that was the most monumental thing: losing the people I thought were my family but gaining a whole new family. I became close with my sister again, and I was able to baptize her and her daughter. She even moved in with us for a time.

12:07
That’s what it’s about—building eternity. I’m never looking back; I’m looking forward. How can I move my family that way too? How can I continue to inspire them to say, “Hey, this is the path we’re on; this is where we need to go”? I was really moved when your sister Jessica talked about her life and the love that you and Sharon showed her. She didn’t even realize the impact you were making by sending the missionaries to her over and over again.

12:39
At that point, I just knew: if my life can be completely flipped upside down, and I can go from being angry, an alcoholic, and depressed, what’s it going to do for you? Because she was right there drinking next to me. I turned my life around, and she saw that. We continued to talk about it. It wasn’t just us sending the missionaries; it was Jen and Trevor, my wife’s cousins, and the rest of her family that took my sister in and made her part of the family. When she comes back from Utah, she’s part of the Christmas Eve family tradition that Sharon’s family has, doing a giant party at the church with close to 60 people showing up.

13:48
That’s something we didn’t have in our lives for most of it. We had a very small family when we were young, then our family separated, and we never had that again. Now we have this family, and it’s amazing.

14:20
I want to move to Ohio and be part of your family; it sounds like a blast! Is there anything else we didn’t touch on that you feel you need to say?

14:56
I think you covered everything. I also want to mention the two Elders who were phenomenal young men that really helped with my conversion. I know most of my story is because of my wife and the family I’m joining, but these Elders were really good. One of them I still talk to today; he lives out in Utah. They were great kids, considering I was coming in with ten years in the Marine Corps, going through a nasty divorce, and being an alcoholic.

15:24
That’s a lot to deal with at such a young age. For them to handle my craziness was a big stepping stone for those young men. There are countless stories out there just like mine, probably worse, and they’re helping people through it. I can’t wait for my boys to be able to be a part of that.

15:52
It’s exciting to think about carrying on this tradition of Latter-day Saint love and Christ’s message through your boys. They’ll go out into the world and be those same wonderful young men.

16:22
Thank you for your service to our country; I appreciate that greatly. I’m really pleased to have you as a brother. Thank you for coming on.

16:51
I thank you for the opportunity! The gospel has been a blessing in my life. We’ve done so much with church historical sites. We went to Nauvoo; it wasn’t the fanciest vacation, but it’s one of the most memorable we’ve had as a family.

17:20
We got to see the pageant, which was amazing. Our next trip is planned for Missouri, and that’s what I find most unique: the history of the church and all these events that someone like me would have never known. It’s incredible how it all happened right here in Ohio.

17:49
I had a great conversation with my best friend from the Marine Corps about the history of the church. He’s a devout Catholic but is interested in learning more. It’s wild because without this, I would have never known. When I first saw the San Diego Temple, I thought it was a giant Catholic church. I can’t wait to go back to Southern California and visit that temple again.

18:23
It’s a beautiful temple! I lived in San Diego for a while and love that temple.

18:51
Well, brother, thank you so much for coming on. God bless you and your family!

19:12
I appreciate the time; thanks again!

Link to JESSICA (James’ Friend)

Link to CHRIS (Friend of James)