Elect: 'You're not walking through this journey alone'

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GRANTSVILLE — For more than 40 years, Lisa and Ernie Nix of Grantsville have felt like the ancient Israelites, “wandering in the desert,” they said, as they’ve looked for a community, a church where they could belong. During their search they joined several churches, but ultimately none could fill the deep yearning they had until finally they turned to the Catholic Church. Now, they have found what they have been looking for, the couple says. The two will be confirmed and welcomed into the Church at St. Marguerite Catholic Church in Tooele at the Easter Vigil.

While the Nixes came from different religious backgrounds — Ernie was raised Baptist while Lisa was Episcopalian — neither was very religious growing up. However, once they married nearly 43 years ago they realized they wanted a strong foundation on which to build their family.

Over the years this led to what they freely admit was church shopping. They explored The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, the Methodist church and various evangelical churches, but “We never really found that church home,” Lisa Nix said. Part of their disillusionment with other churches was finding out things later that they weren’t told initially, Lisa Nix said.

They knew something about Catholicism because their daughter-in-law is Catholic, but it wasn’t until their daughter Melissa passed away about 18 months ago that the Nixes took a serious look at the Church. Grieving and feeling lost, one day they unexpectedly attended Mass at St. Marguerite Catholic Church in Tooele. Immediately they were impressed by the parish’s administrator, Father Rafael Murillo.

“He exudes an inner peace; that’s got to come from somewhere,” Ernie Nix said.

Within a short time, the couple knew they wanted to participate in the Rite of Christian Initiation of Adults, but they had to wait several months until a new session began in the parish. They started the classes last September and decided to commit to the faith. Both are excited for the Easter Vigil, when they will be accepted into the Church and can claim it as their permanent home.

“I can’t wait,” Lisa Nix said. “It’s been a long process. It’s a lot of work, but I understand why that is.”

Both appreciate the in-depth RCIA experience process.

“It’s not just,’Hey, welcome. You’re now a member,’” Lisa Nix said. “It’s a process, and the Church wants to make sure you know what you’re getting into, and you know the commitment you’re making, and I like that. I like that they want to educate people – they don’t just want bodies in the pews.”

Ernie Nix said he has found himself transformed through that process. For example, when their RCIA class was studying the Virgin Mary and the rosary a couple of months ago, he was struck by the first line of the Hail Mary: “The Lord is with thee.”

“Based upon that one line, it dawned on me that the good Lord is on my side,” he said. “He wants me to succeed. He wants to be a partner in this journey of life with me. He wants to build that relationship. Gradually that has crept into my psyche and there’s peace there —knowing that no matter how tough life gets you’re not walking through this journey alone. It was that deep down kind of conversion that got us out of the desert.”