Chapter 1 - My life story (and why I believe in Christ)

 I have a habit, and I believe that it is a good habit, of trying to memorize scriptures. As I try to memorize them, they have more of an impact on me and I think more about how I can apply the teaching of a particular verse in my life. It's the first part of this verse that really caught my attention.

"For we labor diligently to write, to persuade our children, and also our brethren, to believe in Christ..." 2 Nephi 25:23

I feel, after studying this verse, that what I have in my head, I should put "on paper", or more accurately, as text on a screen, in part to persuade my children, and others, to believe in Jesus Christ. So I have started writing my life story, at least the part of my life that is most important, and that is about my spiritual life, the side of my life that has eternal significance. Whether we like it or not, I believe we all have this side to our lives. Perhaps we ignore it, and pretend it does not exist. But I choose to believe it and so I try to live my life in way that hopefully reflects that belief.

Here we go...

Chapter 1 (these chapters will be short)

Early spiritual life

When I was growing up in the 60’s in Geelong, it seemed that a lot of families attended one or another Church. I went to Tate St Primary school and the next closest school to us was Catholic, St Margaret’s Primary School (both schools are still operating). I always knew the Catholics were a bit different to us, but I really had no idea how they were different.

I remember while I was at primary school, thinking about the other kids at school and their families. I had this way of thinking about the other families as being either normal (like us) or not normal. I realised later in life that the families that I thought were normal were also Church attending families. We had a big Catholic family, the Hardiman’s, living across the road from us. Lots of kids in the family, some my age, and I’ve never really thought about it, but I guess they attended St Margaret’s. We had a great time playing Cowboys and Indians and other childhood games together.

Our family attended St Andrews Presbyterian Church. I really don’t know why we attended that Church particularly, except that my mother’s father (Andrew Brown Riach or Pa as I called him) was from Scotland, and Pa’s father was a Presbyterian and an ordained Elder of the United Free Church of Scotland. He also served as a missionary for that Church. I am guessing that Pa was raised attending the United Free Church.

Pa was not a talkative man. I think I knew more about his activity as a Freemason than I did about his activity in his Church, and if you know any Freemasons, you will know that they don’t talk about it a lot! He was Master of his Lodge at one time and many of the social events he and my grandmother were involved in were Lodge events. In my growing up years they lived at 17 Hiddleston Ave Box Hill South, literally a 5 minute walk from St James Presbyterian Church (on the corner of Lyndoch St and Riversdale Road) but I never was aware of them actually attending Church.

I knew that my grandparents firmly believed in God but the only conversation I can ever recall with was with my grandmother, who told me that reading The Revelation of St John the Divine had a profound impact on her. It seemed that it may have either scared her or scarred her, I’m not sure which! In any case, it did not help to get her motivated to attend Church on Sunday mornings. I seem to remember her saying that she never had the right hat to wear. For some reason, the wearing of a hat to Church was rather important for women back in those days. In her later years, after Pa died, I know that people from the Church used to bring her a recording of the Sunday morning service to listen to. They were good people.

I think my grandfather had quite a big influence on my father. My father (Alexander Nicholas Ceff) became a Freemason, but never rose above the lowly rank of a steward. Too much work, he used to say. But Dad did become quite involved at St Andrews, being both an Elder and the Scoutmaster for many years. I can also remember him teaching my Sunday School class at one stage. Scouting was really Dad’s thing. Being outdoors, doing physically challenging stuff, and encouraging the boys to do the same. Being a tradesman, he could do just about anything it seemed to me.

My mother, (Jean Shirley Riach) was also quite involved at St Andrews. She assisted Dad behind the scenes with Scouting, and I think she had various positions in the ladies auxiliary (can’t remember the official name) for many years. I also remember her using her secretarial skills to produce the Church newsletter. Of course, there were also the cake stalls for fundraising and plates of sandwiches for various social events. Mum was quite involved and many of the friends our family made were a result of our involvement and attendance at St Andrews.

We attended church every Sunday as far back as I can remember, although the practicing of religion in the home, in the way that my family does now, was not something that featured in our daily life, apart from “saying grace” before we ate. This was a very simple prayer, which I remember to this day. “For what we are about to receive, may the Lord make us most truly thankful. Amen” I was Christened in the Church as a baby. I attended Cub Scouts there and enjoyed that.

So, thinking back now, and I write this as a 62 year old senior citizen, who has been a very active Church member for close to 40 years, religion in our family growing up was a part of life, but not pervasive. It was important to a degree, but not all important. It was influential without ever being over-bearing, far from it in fact. But it did give me a belief in God and a belief that Jesus Christ is the Son of God, from a very early age, that apart from a brief period of agnosticism and perhaps even atheism, has stood me in good stead for all of my life. It was foundational.