004 - From Street Life to Church Life

In this episode, host Donald Kelly talks to Reggie Taylor about going from street life to church life. 

-Reggie Taylor’s parents had brought him up knowing Jesus Christ, visiting different denominations, and singing along in church. 

-Reggie grew up in the Bahamas and came to America when he was younger where he was exposed to a variety of churches.  

-When Reggie was just 4 or 5 his older brother, Romeo was baptized in the Church of Latter-Day Saints as a teenager and the rest of the family followed suit. 

 -Romeo would go on to serve a mission in Chicago, a program whereby someone at the age of 18 can serve two years in the mission field as a disciple of Jesus Christ. 

-Romeo and his mother were integral in getting Reggie to church but being so young, Reggie didn’t understand the foundation of the gospel of Jesus Christ.  As a result, the family visited many different churches and the visits were sporadic. 

-At 13 or 14, Reggie’s mom saw an ad on TV for a Bible so she ordered one. One day, missionaries knocked on their door and they were delivering her the Bible she ordered from the TV!  The family learned they were doing their mission work in South Florida and offered to teach them more while they were there. Reggie wanted to learn more and from there, he got baptized on July 4, 1999.

-During this time, Donald and Reggie met and would form a brotherhood that continues to this day. Unfortunately, after Reggie’s baptism, he still didn’t understand Jesus Christ and was only going to church to hang out with his friends. Reggie had no testimony and his faith wasn’t strong so he eventually started going to church intermittently until he fell away completely.  

-As his friends got older and some of their group went off to missions or school, Reggie became a product of his environment around the age of 16. It was from this neighborhood that Reggie found new friends and in these worldly influences, he was led away from the church. 

-Reggie’s neighborhood was rough and he thanks the Lord he didn’t end up dead or in jail like so many of his friends. It was normal for Reggie to see people dealing drugs, murders, and people being shot at. After having seen all that, and surviving, Reggie truly believes the Lord has a plan for his life. 

-Even after all that Reggie had seen, however, it wasn’t his circumstances that woke him up to the possibilities of Jesus Christ, it was an ex-girlfriend who cheated on him. It would be the worst pain he’d felt in his young life, even after everything he’d witnessed. He felt hopeless that he would ever feel better. It was in that despair that he finally got on his knees to pray for the Lord to take the pain away. 

-In the next month, the Lord started leading Reggie back to church and by this time, Donald was coming off the mission field and they were able to reconnect. Little did Donald know, he was re-entering Reggie’s life at a very critical time. 

-As these two men were reconnecting, Reggie’s ex-girlfriend came to him to ask him to help her with an abortion.  Reggie didn’t believe in abortion but still thought about helping her, even though her motivation was so that the man she cheated with wouldn’t leave. Knowing that his heart and mind were being compromised, Reggie called Donald for counsel.  After they talked, Reggie knew what he needed to do and denied her any part in facilitating the abortion.  Unfortunately, Reggie’s ex would go through with it anyway and guilt consumed him.  

-As Reggie mourned his ex’s actions, his childhood friends from church surrounded him and he was able to lean on them during such a difficult time.  He felt Lucifer trying to distract him from staying at church but Reggie was determined to change his life and give it to God.  He would experience the atonement of Jesus Christ, even when he didn’t feel like he deserved it. 

-Since coming back to church, Heavenly Father has blessed Reggie tremendously. He has not only changed spiritually but temporally as well.  Through the light the Lord has put inside of him he can now see that young black kid coming from nothing can see the world and not be scared of the world. Reggie now feels he can accomplish things in the world as he surrounds himself with positive people. 

-Reggie reminds us that you tend to become the people you hang around so be sure they are people that reflect what you want to become. Reggie chooses to be with people who are in the Gospel, love Jesus, and want to bring good into the world. It has saved his life. 

MUSIC CREDIT: Audio Jungle

(Note: This podcast is not an official podcast of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints)