Young adults share SEEK’s influence in their search for Christ in Salt Lake City

Salt Lake City, Utah, Jan 6, 2025 / 16:20 pm

For many SEEK attendees, the multiday conference geared toward young adults is a “family reunion” of sorts, but for others it’s an introduction to the Catholic faith community and an experience that changes their lives.

At this year’s SEEK conference in Salt Lake City, held Jan. 1–5, a Pentecostal Christian and a member of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints (LDS) both found themselves seeking Christ and finding encouragement and support in the community of believers they found there.

Drawn to Christ through the Mass

Growing up a member of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints (LDS), Isaac Smith, 19, became an atheist in his late teens and became involved in the LGBTQ community because he identified as bisexual.

“I grew up Mormon. I’ve never really had an experience outside of being Mormon,” Smith told CNA. “My family has always been very orthodox Mormon — very ‘letter of the law.’”

Smith eventually found himself drawn to the Catholic faith, and when he went to Mass for the first time, he experienced a connection to God. 

“I have Asperger’s syndrome so I’m not generally a very emotional person. I’m a very even-tempered guy all around,” he said. “But when I went to Mass for the first time, even though it was ... held in a tiny classroom with just a couple people from the university, it was one of those profound senses of peace and of coming home I’ve ever felt.” 

When Smith came to SEEK, he said he felt torn between his connections to Mormonism and the call toward Catholicism. 

Currently a student at Brigham Young University (BYU)’s Idaho campus, Smith is considering joining OCIA — but it’s a big decision that will affect many areas of his life. For instance, his BYU tuition scholarship will increase if he converts to Catholicism, meaning he may have to leave the university. Because of this, Smith — who obtained a bachelor’s culinary degree at 18 — is looking for a job with a Catholic organization as a chef. Without the safety net of staying in his parent’s home now, decisions are all the more complex.

In terms of his same-sex attractions, Smith said he has “no qualms” with following the Catholic Church’s teaching and wants to be open about his experience.

“It’s just a part of me, and I have to deal, I have to live with it,” he said. “And to me, it doesn’t affect me anymore. It’s not a huge core part of my personality and identity because, ultimately, it doesn’t really matter in the grand scheme of things because labels are useful, but labels are labels. That’s really all they are at the end of the day. And to me, I’d rather live a life that brings me joy.”

Smith said he’s received a lot of support from SEEK attendees — from book recommendations to other resources and helpful advice.

“I’m so grateful for the community that is here that has been able to help me look into future summer jobs, what my life going forward can really look like, and helping me find study materials that will ultimately help me on my journey towards Christ,” he said. 

Smith said he had been “going pretty much door to door asking for resources” at SEEK’s Mission Way — a large array of booths with resources and information about various Catholic apostolates and businesses.

“A lot of people have been very kind,” Smith continued. “I’ve told them my story, and they said, ‘You know what, just take a couple books for free.’”

Smith had an LDS Bible only, so someone at one booth gave him a copy of the Ignatius Study Bible, while others gave him their own personal copies of books.   

“I’ve got a book list, probably about 100 books long. I’ve got dozens of podcasts and everything,” Smith told CNA.

With no family home to fall back on and a looming tuition increase, Smith finds himself in a predicament, but he recalled advice that a seminarian friend gave him before attending SEEK. 

“He ultimately said not to live a lie,” Smith shared.

“But coming here, speaking to a lot of the wonderful people at the booths, listening to the keynote speeches and talks, coming to Mass every day — it has changed my perspective and it has solidified: I can’t live a lie,” Smith said.  

Adoration ‘seals the deal’  

When Alex Tarrios began college, he found himself drifting from the Pentecostal faith he was raised in and after exploring different faith options, he was drawn to Catholicism. 

A sophomore at the University of Minnesota studying computer science, Tarrios, 24, attended his first SEEK this year in Salt Lake City.

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“I grew up in a very Pentecostal background. My parents are very devout,” Tarrios told CNA. “As a young teenager, I was pretty invested in the Christian faith from a very young age; but as I was growing up, I felt that there was something lacking there.”

Tarrios felt spiritually connected with his faith but less connected to Scripture and the origins of the early Church. He decided to explore various denominations of Christianity as a freshman in college but ultimately was drawn to the Catholic Church. 

“I think I felt drawn to the Catholic Church because I felt like I needed order in my life, especially as I was growing up, leaving high school,” Tarrios reflected. “I felt there was a lot of disorder in my life; I didn’t feel like I had much of a direction.”

“I was letting myself get drawn through my own passions, through my own desires, and nothing structural, nothing concrete, that I could base my life on,” he added.

Tarrios got involved in the local parish at the university during his freshman year — but he still wasn’t sure about Catholicism.  

“But something about the experience of being in the Mass really drew me in,” he recalled. 

A retreat focused on the real presence of Jesus in the Eucharist — put on by the Catholic group on campus, St. Paul’s Outreach — helped “seal the deal” for Tarrios. 

Here, he attended his first-ever adoration of Jesus in the Eucharist, where Tarrios felt “captivated in his presence.” 

“I took that leap of faith at that moment that the Eucharist is actually Jesus,” Tarrios said. 

After this experience, Tarrios spoke with a priest and has been attending OCIA. He will be received into the Catholic Church this Easter. 

Drawn to “the rich history and tradition that Catholicism offers,” Tarrios said, “it’s a strong foundation that I felt like I could apply to my own life and have that order that I was seeking within my heart.”

Tarrios said attending SEEK has helped strengthen his decision to be Catholic as he is “still learning a lot about the Catholic faith.”

“Just being here, I feel like I’ve learned so much,” Tarrios said.

Attending various seminars and keynotes, he said, “has helped me be more informed, but also be more at peace with my decision.”

He said the community at SEEK and “the vast amount of people here” encouraged him.

“I see that there are so many people here who you can see within their eyes that they have that passion for their faith,” Tarrios said. “And being able to see that, I think, just reconfirms that on the other side, once I get there, once I can truly be Catholic, that is waiting for me.”