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The story behind why 3 Amish families left their roots to join the Church

The Weavers, the Troyers and the Hochstetlers on their endowment day. The three couples are pictured with President and Sister Birch, right, and Elder Spangler, third from left, outside the Columbus Ohio Temple.
The Weaver family standing outside the Columbus Ohio Temple.
The Weaver family on Temple Square.
The Troyer family in Ohio.
The Troyer family today.
The Hochstetlers on the day they were sealed together as a family with Elder and Sister Spangler.

As the son of an Amish bishop, Raymond Weaver had never considered investigating other religions or churches. "I was Amish with no intentions of ever changing that," Weaver said.

Weaver knew that being baptized as a member of another church would jeopardize both his family relationships and his entire way of life, but just six weeks after his friend Harry Proudfoot handed him a copy of the Book of Mormon in September 2011, he began to consider the possibility of leaving his community.

"I knew that this was the Lord's Church," Weaver told LDS Living, recalling how he felt after reading the Book of Mormon. "I knew I had some tough choices to make."

Deciding to be baptized into The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints would mean he could no longer be a part of the community Weaver had worshipped with for 35 years. So, in November 2011, after a number of sleepless nights, he made the decision to pray to his Father in Heaven for guidance.

“I knew that the gospel of Jesus Christ had come to the Amish community, and I knew that I was the vessel that the Lord had chosen to use for that to happen,” Weaver said. “I knew if I followed the Holy Ghost day by day that Heavenly Father would help me navigate through this maze.”

That was the beginning of a life-changing journey of faith for many. Weaver's experience that fall would lead to the conversion of his family along with the conversion of two additional families from their Amish community.

The decision of the three families stunned the Knox County, Ohio, community. But despite losing family, friends and businesses, each of the three families found peace in their new faith, even as they worked to redefine their lives after being shunned by their community.

Read the full article at LDS Living.

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