Michael Anthoney

Salt Lake City South Mission

June 1982 - June 1984

I was the 5th child in my family and grew up in the Lowry memorial school campus while my father was working as a cook for Pastor Jenson. After the British left India, my father lost his job and because most of his employment had come from the British, he had a difficult time trying to find new employment. Because of this, we moved from Lowry campus to a nearby community called Castle Green compound. The compound housed about 50 families from every walk of life. We rubbed shoulders with tailors, painters, laundry and hotel workers, engineers, bakers, shoe makers, masons, builders, watch repair people, and so forth. My father remained unemployed and so our living situation was very poor; we lived in a 2-room home and were unable to pay rent most months.

As time passed, I was able to join the Lowry Memorial High School because of the generous support of the Christian Children’s Fund. This organization, CCF, asked families in the United States to support an Indian child in their studies. Later in life I learned that my sponsor was Mr. Delvin T. Pond, a member of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints.

My days in school were filled with prayer and Bible study. I came from a strong Roman Catholic background and my family was devoted to our faith, but when I learned about the Seventh Day Adventist church (SDA), doubts began to fill my mind. I, like Joseph Smith, wondered which of all these churches was true. I tried through my doubts to defend the catholic faith, but I always returned to the feeling that something was missing. I felt most inclined toward the SDA church because of the way they honored the Sabbath Day and followed a health code of abstaining from drinking and smoking. When I shared these thoughts with my father, he told me to “follow the one that [I] feel good about.” I kept my father’s instructions in mind and determined that I would join the SDA church when I was older.

During high school I began receiving the Ensign and New Era Magazines of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints. I did not understand what they were, but the covers looked beautiful. As I went through the pages, I did not understand much of what I read, but when I shared them with my father, he read them and told me to “keep [these because] later it will help you.”

I was later sent both the Bible and the Book of Mormon. I was very happy to have the Bible, because it was very expensive to buy a Bible at that time, but it was strange to know about the Book of Mormon. As I read that special book, I discovered that it was the word of God, and came to believe that it was true. On May 1st, 1981, I was baptized by Brother Alma Heaton in Goa, as he and wife lived there. There was no church in Bangalore at that time, and so I lived the gospel to the best of my ability, though I did so all on my own.

In 1982, the first official church missionary was assigned to India. An Australian couple, Elder and Sister Metcalf, were called to serve a couple’s mission in Bangalore. The three of us began holding sacrament meeting at the Bangalore club or Cubbon Park, but with the help of a real estate agent, we were able to find a place for the Elder and Sister Metcalf to live. This place served as both their home and as a meeting place for church. The address 777 G, 100 Feet Road, Indiranagar, became a holy place. With this new meeting place established, I began to invite my friends to come to church with me. I took Samson, Samuel, Roberts, and Krishna to meet the Metcalfs, and Samson, Samuel, and Krishna later joined the church.

As I continued to meet with the Metcalfs and attend church, President Talmage Jones, who was serving as the Singapore Mission President, met with me and encouraged me to serve a mission. I thought that I might serve later in life, as I did not know at that time that the Church called young elders to serve missions. When I discovered that young people could serve missions, the Metcalfs asked me if I would be willing to serve. I was very nervous, and I did not know if I had to say yes or no, but with a lot of insecurity, I said yes. I had no idea, not even a little bit, of what a mission would be like. I was in college and I had to quit my studies to go on a mission. Worries flooded my mind as I prepared to serve, but I had strong faith that the Lord would make a way for me, though I didn’t know how. I filled out my mission papers and the Metcalfs sent them to Salt Lake City for me.

In June 1982, I was called to serve in the Salt Lake City South Mission. When I arrived in Utah, I felt nervous and insecure. I had no missionary experience and didn’t understand how I would be able to teach anybody in this land where most people were already members of the church. I thought in my mind that I would be lucky if I could teach just one person. I felt even more nervous knowing that I'm a very shy person and did not have much experience in interacting with people. When I finished my three weeks at Missionary Training Center in Provo, I found myself in a different land of color and culture.

I was assigned to the Provo area and was scared and homesick. During my first transfer, I learned the discussions and constantly read the scriptures and prayed for help. The first lesson that I taught was to an individual that my companion and I met in a local pawn shop. After the end of the lesson, this man felt the spirit and agreed to be baptized into the church. I was overwhelmed with joy and day by day my fear and shyness faded as I focused on serving the Lord. I did not mind if it was snowing or raining, I loved the Lord and was excited to do His work.

Six months later, I was transferred to Southern Utah, to a small town called Richfield. The people there were incredibly friendly and I had the opportunity to begin teaching a woman who was married to an active member of the church but was very much against the church. She became very interested, but because her husband was sick, it was hard for her to take the lessons. One day we got a call from her husband, asking for a blessing as he had been diagnosed with cancer and was going in for a treatment. With our ward mission leader, we were able to give him a wonderful blessing, and he subsequently found out that his cancer had been healed. As this man returned to church, it was a great blessing to watch him baptize his wife. It was amazing to feel and see the power of God in this miracle. Through this experience, I witnessed the power of the priesthood and learned of the great power that we have when we hold the Priesthood righteously.

Three months before leaving for my mission, I got the shocking news that my mother was very sick. I realized that if I left to serve, I might not be able to see my mother again in this life. I felt very sick and I don’t know how to describe what that feeling was like. I nonetheless took courage and said if I was called to serve a mission, I would fulfill that call and not return to India until I finished my mission. Little did I know that I would be asked to finish my mission in India.

When I was sent back to India, still serving as a full-time missionary, I tried to teach my friends and family, but no one showed interest, and many ignored me thinking that I was too young to teach the Gospel to them. I felt like a failure. I wondered if I would ever be able to teach my brothers and sisters in India. Then, one day, as I saw my neighbor's kids playing, I went and started to play with them and a thought came to me: Why not teach these kids? I asked these 20 kids if they wanted to learn about the gospel, and they all said yes. Every evening we would meet there and I taught them about Jesus Christ, the Prophet Joseph Smith's first vision story, and even how to sing “I am a child of God.” The kids loved our meetings and they waited for me to come every night. Because I grew up in this community, the children’s parents all knew me very well and were always willing to send their children to learn from me. One day I took all of the children to the church with me and we had to take 2 buses to reach the home of the couple missionaries (as this was still our meetinghouse). This was the first time we had more than just three people in the church. I began to bring the children to church every week and they kids loved it! The sprint was very strong in the church and as my mission ended, I was able to see many of my friends and family enter the waters of baptism and join the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints.