Some Latter-day Saints have pioneer ancestors going back almost 200 years. Other Church members are themselves the pioneers in their families. In the weeks surrounding Pioneer Day July 24 — the annual celebration of the first wagon company entering the Salt Lake Valley — Church News staff members share stories of pioneers in their families, some from the 1800s and some from the 1900s. This is the 17th in the series.
My mother, Norma Gorgoroso Gavarret, was born and raised in Minas, a small city located in the southeast of the Oriental Republic of Uruguay. Even at a young age she was a devout Catholic, and she regularly attended the parish near her home in order to participate in mass.
The sounds of the church bells were for her a call to go to worship. She also attended catechism and fulfilled all the requirements for her first communion.
In 1970, a neighbor, who was meeting with the missionaries, invited Norma to accompany him and his family so that she could answer the many questions that the missionaries asked.
This is how my mother came to know Elder Brown and Elder Craven. She remembers that the lesson the elders taught that day was about the Word of Wisdom and the importance of this law of health revealed through a prophet she had never heard of.
She was struck by the teachings shared by the missionaries, but what impressed her the most was the light that the missionaries emanated.
Although the invitation to keep this law of health had not been specifically addressed to her, upon returning to her house, she expressed to her mother her wishes to keep it.
A little later that day, the missionaries went to her home and asked her parents for permission to begin teaching her.
In January 1971 my mother was baptized, and a few weeks later at the age of 14 she was called to serve as the Primary secretary. My grandmother followed my mother’s example, being baptized a month later, and a few years later my grandfather was baptized.
My mother’s baptism was the beginning of a legacy of faith for her parents and for our family. Her decision to listen to the missionaries and accept their invitation changed not only the course of her life, but the course of past, present and future generations. Her unwavering faith and her love and desire to serve the Lord and share the gospel with others has always been and will be an example to me.
