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Excerpt from Oral History Interview with Jessie Streater, November 10, 2001. Interview R-0165. Southern Oral History Program Collection (#4007) See Entire Interview >>

Friends and family do not oppose conversion to Mormonism

Streater recalls that her friends and family did not oppose her conversion to Mormonism.

Citing this Excerpt

Oral History Interview with Jessie Streater, November 10, 2001. Interview R-0165. Southern Oral History Program Collection (#4007) in the Southern Oral History Program Collection, Southern Historical Collection, Wilson Library, University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill.

Full Text of the Excerpt

Okay. Wanted to also know that when you converted to Mormonism, how did your community, how did your neighbors, what was your experience from your neighbors?
JESSIE STREATER:
Well, I'm not a socializing person. So there was only I think one maybe two neighbors knew that I was Mormon, maybe three. But it's not like we socialized. So it doesn't matter to them whether I'm Mormon or—
BARBARA COPELAND:
They probably didn't know. What about your family, your extended family members like other brothers and—
JESSIE STREATER:
My siblings.
BARBARA COPELAND:
Yeah, your brothers and sisters. Did you tell them that you converted?
JESSIE STREATER:
Yeah, I had a sister that came once or twice, and she decided that's not what she wanted. Another sister came and her husband was a preacher. So we knew she wanted be by his side no matter what she thought about the church. She wanted to support her husband. So and they don't, they don't hold it over my head or against me or anything for being Mormon.
BARBARA COPELAND:
So they don't treat you any differently.
JESSIE STREATER:
Uh uh.
BARBARA COPELAND:
Do they ever comment on differences that they may see in how you raise your children according to the Mormon tradition or anything like that? Do they make any positive or negative comments?
JESSIE STREATER:
No, well the sister that her husband is a preacher, she's really supportive of the family because I just had a granddaughter that was baptized. She just turned eight, and we usually do everything together, Christmas and New Years I mean Thanksgiving whenever we can. So she feels that we are like one. So whatever happens in my life she knows and whatever happens in her life I know, and we try to support each other.