In their search for religion, the Catholic Church 'was the only thing that made sense' for converts

Intermountain Catholic

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Adam and Brianna Ebersole their daughter Zoey are members of Saint Rose of Lima Parish; Brianna celebrated the Rite of Election at the Cathedral of the Madeleine on Feb. 16. IC photo/Marie Mischel

LAYTON — The conversion to Catholicism took many turns for Adam and Brianna Ebersole.

Raised in the Church of the Nazarene, "I remember all through my life I had a strong attachment to the stories of the Bible," Adam said, but "then came the falling away. And then came this search which involved almost every currently practiced religion. I studied them all."

Brianna was raised in the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, and her parents’ happy marriage attracted Adam.

"I interrogated her parents endlessly because I wanted that, too," he said.

However, Brianna "got put off as a teenager" by being forced to practice a faith "that didn’t feel right," she said. During the four years that her husband explored various religions, he would share with her what he learned but didn’t try to force her to join his search, she said.

"The one thing that I was really looking for was the root: Where did this all come from, where is the core of it, where’s the truth, where’s the authority? That’s really what I was looking for," Adam said, adding that his exploration led him not only through the Christian faiths but also to Islam and Zoroastrianism. However, only the Catholic Church’s tradition of apostolic succession satisfied his quest for the root of the authority given to priests.

"It was a sudden fulfillment ... and it dominoed from there," he said.

The couple began to pray the rosary and the Liturgy of the Hours, and attend Mass.

"It seemed as though, once we started really looking into it, this was the only thing that was comfortable and made sense," said Brianna, who decided to join her husband in the Rite of Christian Initiation of Adults classes at Saint Rose of Lima Parish after they moved to Layton from Arizona last year.

RCIA "has pulled us way closer together," Adam said. "Those little arguments that couples get into? Those are gone."

Nevertheless, the classes didn’t erase the "feeling of anarchy" that sometimes came over Adam. He questioned, among other things, why he and the other catechumens and candidates were dismissed from the congregation after the Gospel reading.

After their dismissal from the Mass, the catechumens and candidates gather to learn more about the Gospel reading.

Finally, Adam got down on his knees and prayed that this feeling leave him, he said. His prayer was, "I submit myself to the authority of the Church. I’m not going to question anymore because that’s what you asked me to do. And if that’s really what you meant when you asked that, take this feeling from me. I don’t want it anymore."

At that moment "it was just like a weight came off me," he said.

For her part, Brianna struggled with praying the rosary because devotion to Mary is contrary to the faith in which she was raised. "It took a lot of people explaining it, and listening, and praying," she said.

Also, it wasn’t until after the holiday break that she felt the hunger for the Eucharist that their pastor, Father Clarence Sandoval, described. "Now I want to be there" even after dismissal, she said.

When the Ebersoles joined the RCIA class, Mike and Sue Bedard were assigned as their sponsors. Over the years the Bedards have been involved in various parish ministries, but this was their first year as RCIA sponsors.

"For me it was an affirmation of where we came from," said Sue Bedard, who is herself a convert. "It’s affirming that this is just the beginning, that it’s a faith journey and we’re all on the journey together."

Mike, who was raised Catholic, said he now recognizes the gift his parents gave him. "When I do see people on a journey that are having a struggle with it, it gives me a greater appreciation and actually strengthens my faith and my resolve to be involved with the faith in some way with other people as long as I’m here," he said.

Adam was received into the Church early this month. After Brianna receives the sacraments at this year’s Easter Vigil, the Ebersoles plan to have their marriage convalidated and then baptize their daughter, Zoey, into the Church.