Could you talk about your baptism?

It's been forty years since I joined the Church but that was not the first I had heard about the Church. Each time I had an encounter with the Church it prepared me a little more to gain a testimony. When I was just six years old my grandmother died and as we came back for the funeral a lady on the plane bore her testimony and shared a Book of Mormon with us. Even at that tender age I felt a sense of peace as she spoke. Little did I know at the time but my father had had two Mormons as part of his crew as he flew missions in WWII. They also shared their testimony and a Book of Mormon. I read those inside covers later and their testimonies were powerful. When I was about twelve we went to the NY City World’s Fair and entered the Mormon Pavilion, a small replica of the Salt Lake Temple. Inside we saw a diorama of Joseph Smith’s First Vision and Man’s Search for Happiness. This was the single most indelible impression I carried away from the Fair. Then I saw a movie about the Mormons coming West and the miracle of the seagulls and the crickets and was imprerssed. I admired the Mormons inmy school. When I studied with the missionaries I got very sick and that humbled me enough for the Spirit to touch me. When I was reading Alma 32 I finally gave place to the word and it began to grow in me. When I was baptized literally all of these connections with the Gospel came to me clearly and each time the Lord had preserved me from physical harm or temptation. I knew then that the Lord is mindful of us individually and I have been grateful for that throughout my life especially when we have faced trials. He does not always protect us from adversity but he never abandons us in the face of adversity. He is there to share our burdens and bring us peace. I testify that the Church is true, that Joseph Smith was an instrument in the hands of the Lord to restore the Gospel. I testify of the truthfulness of that Gospel and the strength and peace it can give you.