Mafia to Mormon

I recently read Mario Facione's book, Mafia to Mormon: My Conversion Story, and I was blown away. Written by a man who was functionally illiterate into his middle-age, this story proves the loving care and watchful eye of our Father in Heaven over each of His children. He knows and loves each of us, even when we stray. The eye of the Shepherd is upon us, yearning for the day that we return to him.

In Mr. Facione's case, he didn't stray off the path, he was never on it--until a miraculous set of circumstances forced him to evaluate his life and what he really wanted.

Maybe others have wondered as I did in my youth why some men and women seem to have been granted a special opportunity to repent and return to the loving arms of the Savior. I think of Saul who persecuted the Apostles before seeing an angel and I think of Alma the Younger who experienced a similar miracle while actively seeking to destroy the church. Is it that these individuals were foreordained to do a special work? Or maybe, like in Alma's case, he had the powerful prayers of his prophet father pleading for him? The truth is, we have all been granted the miraculous opportunity to repent and come unto the Savior. That is what the atonement is all about.

Mario is the son of Italian Immigrants and the only thing he knew about religion growing up is that when someone dies, you put on a suit. When someone gets married, you put on a suit. He didn't grow up with a religious background. His father wasn't a prophet, in fact his family had ties to organized crime in Detroit, but like Alma, and Saul, and each and every one of us, our Father had a plan for Mario.

Even though he was associated with the Italian Mafia and was not seeking religion, our Father reached out to Mario and provided him with a portion of his spirit so that Mario could feel what he was missing, and see the path to eternal life.

I'm not going to tell you Mario's story here, because that would deprive you of reading it for yourself. But I will say that it is inspiring to know that each and every one of us can change, if we have the vision to know what we truly want and need, and if we know to what source we should look for a remission of our sins. This vision and understanding comes to each of us through the Holy Spirit.

My publisher, Cedar Fort, also published Mafia to Mormon. They were kind enough to seek out Mario and request authorization to give me his contact information. I am grateful to them for the effort and thankful for Mario taking so much of his time to talk to me as I asked him a number of questions. The man is leading an interesting life and is kind and generous. I could tell by speaking with him that he is truly converted to the Gospel of Jesus Christ and will do anything required to be a true follower of Christ.

From a life of organized crime to a life serving in the temple, teaching his family the gospel, watching his sons serve missions and experiencing his children being sealed in the Holy Temple, Mario's life today is worlds apart from the life of his youth. We are all capable of this kind of change, and even if our change of lifestyle is not as drastic as Mario Facione's, we all must be willing to give up whatever prevents us from being a true disciple of Christ. We all have just as much need for the atonement of Christ in our lives.

I hope you take an opportunity to find this book and read it. It is short and intriguing and well worth your time.

You can buy Mafia to Mormon here.

The Guilty Take the Truth to Be Hard

When Samuel the Lamanite was commanded to preach to the Nephites he was not particularly thrilled but he obeyed even though he knew it was a challenging assignment. He preached for a while; prophesied and called the people to repent of their wicked ways but the Nephites became angry and cast Samuel out of their city. As Samuel left the city he was prompted to return and continue to prophesy and preach repentance. Again, he was obedient. He returned. He prophesied of signs and wonders that would be seen in the heavens prior to the birth of Jesus. He taught the people that they needed to repent and exercise faith in Jesus, but the people were angry and sought to destroy him.

Samuel climbed upon a high wall and prophesied. The wicked people, offended by his calls to repentance, attempted to take hold of him. They shot arrows and flung rocks but they were unable to harm the servant of the Lord. After he completed his teaching, he climbed down from the wall and fled. He was never heard from among the Nephites again.

I have always been drawn to this story and I love the picture. As a kid the picture of Samuel on the wall captured my imagination and brought to life the heroism of Samuel. But what’s the point? There has to be more than just a good story and a cool picture. Is the message, “don’t stone the prophets?” Maybe, but aren’t most people who read the Book of Mormon already disinclined to stone a prophet? I always assumed so. This is probably obvious to everyone, but it occurs to me that while we wouldn’t physically shoot arrows or sling stones at the prophet attempting to cause him physical harm, we do sometimes shoot verbal arrows and try to damage the reputation or stature of the prophets, or other called priesthood leaders who may call us to repentance?

I think of the arrows of criticism that Pres. Packer faced after his October 2010 General Conference address. Much of this criticism came from members within the church. Pres. Packer simply called for moral cleanliness and repentance, yet many took great offence to his talk. They attempted to damage his reputation and discredit his truthful words. The guilty took the truth to be hard. They cast arrows and stones at Pres. Packer. To this example, we may say, “I would never do that,” and I hope we wouldn’t, but do we sometimes participate in similar behavior?

Often times we will listen to the prophets, a Stake President or a Bishop give counsel and we think to ourselves, “What a great idea. Gee, I really hope (insert name here) is listening.” We deflect the call to repentance as merely a good idea, or as being for someone else. But when the call comes directly to us through a bold talk or a personal interview, we are offended. We become defensive and cold. We seek to justify ourselves and discredit the priesthood leader. We may say to ourselves “He has no right to ask that question,” or “he is handling this all wrong.” “He doesn’t understand,” or “he is only a Bishop or Stake President,” just as the Nephites probably referred to Samuel as “only a Lamanite.” We may justify ourselves because of the weaknesses of our leaders, but do we realize that when we do this, we are the same as the Nephites casting stones and arrows at Samuel?

No matter how many arrows we shoot or stones we sling, we will not damage the truth that is spoken by those called of God. If we take the truth to be hard, the real question we should be asking ourselves is “Why?” The only one we hurt, by failing to heed the truth spoken by prophets and priesthood leaders, is ourselves.