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Hello and welcome to another edition of Mormon Stories Podcast. I'm your host John Dillin. And man, I have a very interesting story today. I have with us Tom Phillips.

Tom Phillips is from the United Kingdom. Is that right Tom? That's correct John. Yes. You are a retired management consultant. I used to work at Bain. So I used to be a management consultant too actually.

Tom was a convert to the church in 1969, which is the year I was born. And he's coming on Mormon Stories for a few reasons. He is a former bishop twice.

He served in two wards for six and a half years as a bishop in England. He has been a stake president for five years. Over the Birmingham England stake and the Coventry England stake.

His son is currently. Is that right currently stake president? That's correct. Yes he is in which in which stake? London Hyde Park stake. London Hyde Park.

He also served as area executive secretary over the Europe West area under two general authorities, Ralph Kerr and Harold Hillam.

But the most intriguing thing and the main reason why we brought Tom Phillips on is because he has actually personally taken part in an ordinance that may not be known to all Mormons called the second anointing.

But also Tom has had some very direct exchanges with an apostle elder Holland where he's written questions elder Holland and elder Holland has responded.

And these are all very interesting things because there's a lot of people struggling with their faith right now. A lot of people with questions and challenges.

And Tom has both served at really high levels of the church and he's had direct conversations with an apostle about his issues and all that's really interesting. So just tell us a bit about your LDS background.

OK, I mentioned 1969 I was converted to the church through missionaries to missionaries from Utah. Initially the point was set by my wife who was more interested than I.

I agreed just to see the missionaries one time and then just to tell them that we wouldn't be interested in taking any further. I knew very little about the church, about Mormonism.

So my intention was to be polite to them to see them and then say we weren't interested. I was actually I felt quite touched that evening when they came for two particular things I recall one.

We had a one year old daughter and I had resisted pressure from both of our extended families to have her christened because I had observed a christening service where a minister cast the devil out of the child.

And I had observed the child from sin and I felt that my daughter had no sin whatsoever. So that was never done. So of course right at the first discussion when I mentioned this to the missionaries they may be open the book of Mormon and talked about infant baptism.

So already there were some things here that I already if you like believed or had as my values that suddenly this was opening up something then the other thing I remember about that was just these two young men with with tears in their eyes bearing testimony and I just figured at that time well hang on I'm going to see them again because I don't know why but for some reason these two young men from America have given up time at university or whatever to come over here for two years to teach something that obviously they believe is true.

So it's worth me finding out one way or the other so I was willing to experiment upon the word that's basically what happened.

And again you were married with one child is that right?

That's right one child a one year old daughter yes.

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