My name is Vanessa Jessop. I was born and raised in Hildale, Utah, within the FLDS community until I was nine years old. After leaving the FLDS, I attended LDS youth groups and seminary, but as I grew older, I struggled to truly understand God in a personal way.
By 2019, I felt lost in my faith and no longer had the desire to know God the way I once did. In 2021, Rick Robinson began hosting mission groups in Hildale and Colorado City. During mission debriefings that I was invited to, I heard testimonies of how people came to know Jesus, and those stories reignited questions I had carried for years and stirred a desire to learn who Jesus truly is.
In March 2025, I was invited to the Community of Grace Church. Though hesitant at first, I was welcomed with genuine love and a clear message of salvation through God’s grace alone. In July 2025, Rick and his son Rhett walked me through Scripture and helped me understand that I am a sinner and I cannot save myself, and that Jesus Christ died, was buried, and rose again so that I could be saved through Him alone.
When I confessed my sin and asked Jesus to be my Savior, I realized I was no longer alone. Because of Jesus, I am loved. A month later, I was baptized at Community of Grace. Since then, my life has been changed as I continue to grow in faith along with my fellow Brothers and Sisters in Christ through Scripture, prayer, and the guidance of the Holy Spirit. I am excited to continue following Jesus and growing in Him.
“Ask and it will be given to you; seek and you will find; knock and the door will be opened to you. For everyone who asks receives; the one who seeks finds; and to the one who knocks, the door will be opened.” Matthew 7:7-8