Stand Fast in the Lord

My name is Bas Noij. I’ve been married to Ellie Noij for more than 27 years and we are the parents of Mayra and Yali Noij.

Ellie has been a member of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints for 30 years along with our children. I’ve been together with Ellie almost 29 years, and all those years she has shown me what exemplary discipleship looks like. To me, Ellie is the ultimate example of trying to live like Christ, she stands fast in the Lord (See Philippians 4:1), with complete conviction of her faith but also with complete respect for the opinions of others.

I’ve visited the Church in different places around the world, and while on those visits have always felt welcome. For a long time, I thought it was good enough for me and my family that I was an enthusiastic supporter of this Church, but in June 2022, something changed.

I was raised Catholic and said prayers during my younger years, but in June of 2022, I really prayed to God for the very first time. I prayed for guidance, to know if this was the right time for me to study the gospel. That night in my sleep, a scripture from the Book of Mormon entered in my mind: 2 Nephi 17.

It was like a movie. I saw golden glowing letters on the inside of my head. I had no idea if the scripture, 2 Nephi 17 existed, but I clearly felt that this was an answer to my prayers and came up with a plan to go to Church with Ellie and the children for at least a year, to read the scriptures and to pray together as a family. Later that day at work, I looked up the text of 2 Nephi 17, and my eyes landed on verse 11, that reads: “Ask thee a sign of the Lord thy God; ask it either in the depths, or in the heights above.”

I did not see this experience as a faint sign. This felt like God literally telling me that indeed it was time. I went home to tell Ellie and told her that I was ready to start a sincere study of the gospel. While telling her my story, I was struck by lightning—not by actual lightning, but by the Holy Ghost. I immediately knew what it was. Physically I felt something happening in my heart and realized that I was freed from a restlessness that I’ve carried all my life. Immediately I felt a love come over me that I have never felt before. I knew that this was the love of Christ. I literally had a change of heart. For my oldest daughter, Mayra, it was a very emotional moment, because two days earlier she had prayed that I would experience a conversion. Later, I learned two other friends had prayed for the same thing a few days earlier. A great testimony of the power of prayer!

In the following months, I prepared myself for baptism on Oct. 8, 2022. From that day on I took the name of Christ upon me. The next day, I received the gift of the Holy Ghost, and I became a full member of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints. One week later, I received the Aaronic Priesthood, another important moment in my life. In December, I went to the temple for the first time with Ellie in Miami and performed baptisms for the dead. That same weekend I received my patriarchal blessing. In January, I received the Melchizedek Priesthood. And in February, I went to the temple in Orlando with my oldest daughter, Mayra, and it felt like I was in heaven. The experiences during this period of my life were like being on a rollercoaster as I went from conversion to baptism, to priesthood, then the patriarchal blessing and finally entering the temple, all in a year’s time. I received all these ordinances in a relatively short period of time making it a very powerful, emotional, and spiritual experience.

I hope our story may inspire others with a family member or friend who is not a member of the Church to realize, we “can do all things through Christ which strengtheneth” us (Philippians 4:13). Keep living the gospel, keep hoping and keep praying. I am living proof that even the most stubborn nonbeliever can one day see the light.