Palestinian BYU-I professor to share journey to LDS Church at Women’s Conference
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BLACKFOOT – A professor originally from Palestine who now teaches in eastern Idaho will speak at a women’s conference this weekend about how people can center their lives around Jesus Christ.
Sahar Qumsiyeh, who holds a PhD in statistics and teaches in the Mathematics Department at Brigham Young University – Idaho, will share her journey to joining the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints on Saturday. Her speech will be the keynote address of the Blackfoot South Stake Relief Society Women’s Conference, which will start at 10 a.m. and end at 1 p.m.
“I just learned to rely on Heavenly Father and Jesus Christ and just develop my faith,” Qumsiyeh said. “The sisters have different trials here in the US, but I’m hoping still my perspective can show them that we can find joy even in the hardest times.”
Katie Harris, the communication director for the Idaho Blackfoot area Latter-day Saints, said that the stake normally holds a women’s conference once a year. This year, people in attendance are also asked to bring a non-perishable food item for a service activity.
Harris said the stake contacted Qumsiyeh to speak thanks to a positive recommendation by the family members of one of the women in Relief Society.
“They thought that message would be something that would be really appropriate for this women’s conference. That hearing another woman’s story of trial and challenge, and then faith and how she found Jesus Christ through that would be a story that could strengthen the other ladies,” Harris said.
Qumsiyeh was born in Jerusalem and grew up in Beit Sahour, which is only a five-minute walk from Bethlehem, she explained.
“It’s where people believe the shepherds were when the angel appeared to them,” Qumsiyeh said.
Qumsiyeh was raised as a Greek Orthodox Christian, like the majority of people in Beit Sahour.
In her address, Qumsiyeh plans to go into detail about how she first became aware of the Church of Jesus Christ, and how she eventually became a Latter-day Saint herself. She shared with EastIdahoNews.com that it started when she got an international scholarship to attend Brigham Young University.
“I wasn’t a member then, and I didn’t really know anything about the church,” Qumsiyeh said.
When she got to Provo, she was “touched” by the kindness of the people she met.
“A friend of mine gave me a Book of Mormon, and I read it,” Qumsiyeh said. “Once I heard Heavenly Father’s plan, it just clicked in my mind. It kind of made things clearer to me, and I knew that this is what I wanted.”
Qumsiyeh plans to go into much greater detail about her background, and how people can find peace through their faith in Jesus Christ at Saturday’s conference.
For those wishing to learn more, Qumsiyeh wrote a book on her life called “Peace for a Palestinian,” which is for sale on DeseretBook.com.