Jasmine Torres, a third-year Brigham Young University student, took a life-changing step at just 11 years old when she chose to join The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints.
Because she was so young, Torres cannot remember much about her conversion, but she does remember meeting with the missionaries.
“My mom says that I was always answering the questions, memorizing all the stuff that the missionaries would teach us and doing everything that they would tell us,” Torres said. “I would be super excited about them coming over.”
Torres’ parents were surprised at how interested she was in the gospel at such a young age. They let her get baptized first, followed quickly by her younger siblings and eventually their parents.
Torres grew up in Central California in an area with very few members of the church. There were fewer than 10 members attending her high school. She didn’t even know BYU existed until her seminary teacher suggested she apply.
Torres and two of her hometown friends applied together and all got in. She was also accepted into four colleges in California but ultimately decided BYU would be the cheaper option that also allowed her to live in a different state.
“I wanted to go out and just explore and learn about a new place,” Torres said.
Torres had a bit of a culture shock during her first year at BYU being surrounded by so many members of the church and experiencing the “Utah bubble” for the first time.
“It was a little hard to make friends,” Torres said. “I was just nervous about not being able to connect with other people.”
Torres stuck with the few friends she had going into BYU and still had a good time living at Helaman Halls. During freshman year, one of her friends was preparing to leave on a mission, leaving Torres wondering if she should go on one too.
“I knew there were sister missionaries, but I just never really had that example of somebody I knew going on a mission. And so it was never really something that I was like, ‘Oh, I would want to do that,’” Torres said.
The next semester she took the mission prep class that helped her realize that missions are an option for everybody.
“You don't have to be this perfect person who knows everything about the gospel,” Torres said.
She eventually received her call to the Mexico City Visitors Center — a meaningful assignment for her family, as they are of Mexican heritage. Her father immigrated to the U.S. in his twenties.
Torres’ mission helped her confidence grow and discover herself. She was surrounded by extroverted sister missionaries who helped her break out of her shell.
“We worked super well together and they helped me realize things in myself that I didn't know,” Torres said.
As she strived to be a good missionary and spread the Gospel, Torres was able to draw back on her experience with the missionaries when her family was being taught. She thought about the tactics those missionaries used that were successful and applied them to her own work.
Serving in Mexico also helped Torres understand and embrace both her Mexican and American heritages, she said.
“Coming back from my mission, I was able to just accept myself and understand that I am different from other people and that's okay,” Torres said. “I wasn't gonna care if other people didn't like me … I was just gonna be myself and if people didn't like me, then they don't like me.”
It is now easier for Torres to connect with people. Finding confidence in who she is has helped her be more accepting of others, she said.
She is now a Public Relations major and appreciates the prospect of being able to build more personal relationships in her future career.
“It's cool how you can still have those personal connections, even though it's a more … professional environment,” Torres said. “You can still be more personal and connect … like how you would in personal relationships with your friends.”
She is grateful for the community she’s been able to experience at BYU. The biggest piece of advice she could give to incoming BYU students is to figure out where they belong at BYU and how they can contribute to and participate in the university.