Serving mission set proper priorities for life -- Elder Martino

Of all the things that relatively recent convert James B. Martino had to set aside to serve a full-time mission in 1970, most troubling was leaving behind his longtime girlfriend, Jennie Marie Baron.

But choosing the right has led to great blessings in his life, said Elder Martino, who was sustained as a member of the Second Quorum of the Seventy in April general conference.

Though they were members of different Protestant religions when they met in ninth grade in their hometown of Denton, Texas, religion was never a rift in their lives. It wasn't, that is, until Elder Martino followed in the footsteps of his parents and brothers by being baptized into The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints on Oct. 24, 1968, at age 17.

During a Church News interview, Elder Martino said of the high school girl he would later marry: "She went through my conversion period. She was convinced that I was not making the right decision, to put it mildly."

"That's mild," she concurred.

Friction increased 22 months later when Elder Martino decided to go on a Mormon mission.