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True Police Stories

"Courage is the ability to move; when all around you are frozen in fear
and no one would blame you if you did nothing at all." Capt. Click. Phx. PD

My Name is Pam Kazmaier

Taken from the book Think About it...  for your reading convenience

I’m lucky to be married to my best friend, who happens to be a police officer. We’ve known each other for twenty-five years. I sat behind Kevin Kazmaier in Spanish class, senior year of high school. I was  fascinated with his huge neck and shoulders. He was the captain of the football team and very popular. He had a handsome square jaw and blue eyes that melted my heart. He was gorgeous. But I didn’t go to football games or dances or parties. I read books and graded the teachers’ papers. After high school, Kevin partied his way through college and I had entered a convent.

                I had always wondered what the purpose of life was.
                                         I was raised Catholic and wanted to dedicate my life
                                                                    to knowing this God, if there was one.


I was a nun for about seven years. I had come home from my order to enter another convent closer to home. While my paperwork was being processed, I worked in the nearby hospital as a nurse. I had become an RN. Kevin’s mother was a patient on another floor and someone had told him I was back in town. Here came this big handsome man walking down the hall toward me and I was shocked at my reaction! I had been a good nun, faithful to my vows, very serious. Suddenly a dam within broke loose! Kevin told me he had waited for me, that he knew I’d come back one day. I felt torn. I had grown to know God and love Him and wanted to serve Him with my life forever. I didn’t know you could do that and love another. And yet, I had new strong yearnings toward this man!

Kevin and I dated for two years and married when we were twenty-eight. We are such opposites! He loves TV and I love to read. He’s very outgoing, has lots of friends, loves to party. I’m happiest alone at home. I love lots of plants and flowers. He thinks they’re silly. Our biggest difference though was religious. I was always studying religions once I had left the convent for marriage. I missed the closeness with God I had felt as a nun. Sometimes I wondered if I had made a mistake. Kevin is a lot of fun. Everyone loves him. He’s big and strong and has such a sense of humor. He’s very honorable and trustworthy and a hard worker. I just missed God.

Kevin has been a police officer now for fifteen years. I’ve shared all of it’s ups and downs with him, two academies; patrol, being sued for violating a criminal’s rights (and losing!), detectives, two undercover squads, promotion to Sergeant, field training, instructor assignments in firearms,
defensive tactics, officer survival, critical incident stress debriefing, internal affairs (both sides of the desk!) and the greatest love of his life, the Bomb Squad! Recently he was made it’s commander after serving on it for eleven years. When he worked undercover and the bomb squad, I rarely saw him. Sometimes I feel I’m married to a doctor without the salary. Kevin loves his work. There is such a brotherhood that exists among police officers. They’ve become members of our family. There’s a picture of the bomb squad in our living room right next to our family picture!

During a recent bomb training exercise, there was an explosion. Kevin was hit. I was at the grocery store. I was buying food for Kevin to take on the Fathers and sons campout at Church. As I’d check off the needed items, I’d feel prompted, “You don’t need that, go home,” I’d say back, “Kevin asked me to get that.” I’d hear a voice say distinctly, “Kevin won’t need that, get out of here and go home.” Finally, I felt a strong urge to go home and so I did. I was unloading what I did have when the doorbell rang. It was Ed. I wondered why he wasn’t at training. He told me I needed to get to the hospital, Kevin had been injured.

                             Well, here it was. Every wife’s nightmare.
                                             The cop at the door saying,
                                                             “Your husband has been injured.”

Ed said, “He’s at the hospital. They’re going to do surgery. We’ve got to go.” I started hunting for my purse and car keys. He grabbed my arm and said, “I’m here to drive you!” Ed seemed worried and upset. I felt calm. I knew all would be well. I tried to put Ed at ease and joked with him that his police car was as untidy as Kevin’s. Ed shot back, “This is Kevin’s car!” It was when I looked in the back seat, to see if it really was, that I was scared. The back seat was bloody. Ed told me he had just taken Kevin to the hospital. Next to Kevin’s blood were things I recognized as being his. The nurse in me clicked on. I began asking questions about the accident, how much time had elapsed, I calculated the blood loss in the back seat, the type and extent of his injury, etc.

Kevin was being transported out of X-ray when I first saw him. I was glad he was conscious and that he only injured his right arm. I was amazed at how swollen it was. I felt badly that he was in so much pain. I felt truly helpless that I was not on duty, there to medicate him. The last bomb injury cost him his hearing in one ear and nerve damage. So I was grateful this was not as serious. I am  also grateful for all the guys who hung around, waiting to help. And they did help. What great love cops have for each other. It’s tangible. Throughout the weeks of doctors and surgery, they cared about Kevin and us, his family. I’m grateful Kevin works with such fine people. Mostly, I am grateful for the comfort and promptings of the Holy Ghost that day.

The gift of the Holy Ghost was given to me on August 10th, 1985. That was the day I was baptized by real priesthood authority. I have been baptized and given the gift of the Holy Ghost in other religions, by good people who were doing the best they knew. Neither they or I knew something wonderful had happened in 1820. The heavens opened! Heavenly Father and His Son Jesus Christ answered a boy’s private prayer in person! The boy’s name was Joseph Smith. He had been reading the Bible and watched his family members each join different churches in the area. He wanted to know which of all churches was the right one.

          He went into the woods to ask God.
                   Joseph got a very big answer that changed the entire course of his life
                                         and the world would never be the same!


A prophet of God was again on the earth! Direction from heaven was being poured forth as in the days of the Old and New Testaments. Authority to perform miracles in the name of Jesus Christ was restored. Ordinances of His Gospel to enlighten our muddy mortal minds were back. Our Father in Heaven hadn’t forgotten us!

          The same power that parted seas and raised the dead,
                             the original priesthood of God, had been placed back on the earth,
                                                                              never to be taken again.


One of the first steps in all of this was uncovering some ancient writings. They had been written by prophets of God. The most unusual thing about these writings is that they were written by prophets for our day. The Old Testament prophets wrote to and for the Jews of their day. These prophets were contemporaries of the Old Testament prophets (Hebrews that had escaped to this continent). These Jewish prophets wrote about our 20th century! They were commanded to hide the writings for us, to be found by us! And Joseph did. He was shown in a vision where they were hidden in the earth and he was helped by God to translate them into our language. They are called the Book of Mormon. Mormon was one of these ancient prophets who took all of the writings of his day and condensed them, saving for us, the best parts. He preserved in the book some of the history and wars of his day, but mostly counsel from God for our day. It is chilling to read facts of our day written by prophets who lived thousands of years ago! I love this Book of Mormon and have learned more from it than any other book I have ever read!

    Here, I’ve read the Bible seven times and taken scripture courses and yet,
                  one reading of the Book of Mormon has answered my questions about life
                                                 and death and brought me closer to God
                                                             than all the years in the convent!


After that one reading of the Book of Mormon, I knew it was scripture. I had hoped it wouldn’t be. I didn’t want to be a Mormon. I felt sorry for them. People in Mesa made fun of them. They couldn’t drink alcohol or tea, two of my favorites. They went to church every Sunday and for three whole hours! They had lots of children and were always carrying boxes and bags and babies in and out of their Church buildings. It didn’t look like fun to me. I had gotten used to Kevin’s easy and relaxed manner about religion. I liked driving our nice corvette with leather interior, going to the bars and on nice vacations. It was a great life!

          Now here was this burning in my heart, like fire!
                          Every time I read the Book of Mormon or talked to the missionaries.
                                                           I recognized it. It was God, all right.


I didn’t want to let go of the carnal man within. I didn’t want to get my hopes up about another
religion, just to be let down again. I kept hoping their modern church leaders had all gone astray, as in the other religions. Sure, it’s easy to start off all right, then before you know it, a few hundred years later, the power and greed of men get churches all messed up. I was hoping that had happened in the Mormon Church. I looked for it in all my reading and studying of their Church.

                    Darn! I fell in love with the honesty of Joseph Smith.
                                           I fell in love with the Moses that was Brigham Young.

I found myself wanting to meet them. I fell in love with the Church members’ kindness and love to each other. This was the first church I had ever attended where people knew each other’s names, spouses and family’s names! They all worked alongside each other. In other churches, people just politely nodded heads toward other members or shook hands. No one actually knew each other!

This reminded me of what I read about the saints in Christ’s primitive church.
It was a community. These people had the fruits of the Spirit
                     that I recall from Galatians 5:22.

And then there were the precious LDS patients that I had spied on for three years at the hospital. They were in their worst moments and yet exemplified to me the meekness and humility and love of the Savior. Many of them were concerned about me! Then I read material written by their current prophet and it sounded like what a prophet would say. My heart softened, my soul expanded. I had spiritual experiences that taught me that this was real. I consented to being baptized. I wanted a clean slate. I would give God another chance! Now I realized He was giving me another chance! Being baptized was a most unusual experience. Immediately, I felt impressed to just be quiet. ...I talk too much. When I got home, Kevin asked how the baptism had gone, figuring it was just another church. I just couldn’t talk about it. For the first time ever, I didn’t talk much! All that next year I enjoyed my church meetings and scripture study and prayer immensely. I did a lot of reading about The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. I felt I was home. I also fasted for Kevin.

I felt I was at a marvelous banquet everyday,                                 
while my best friend was standing out on the curb,
not knowing what was available.

So many people don’t know that more is available, so they settle for less.

I’m so glad Kevin found his way into the gospel just one year after I did. I could fill volumes on my testimony on this restored gospel. For the purpose of this book, suffice it to say, it’s been the gospel that has held this police family together. Shift work, long hours, weeks spent in training away from home, and that tough demeanor needed on the job, but not left there, all take a toll on tender family relations.

     Our kneeling in family prayer, our gospel study and scripture reading and going to
                church every Sunday have washed away the heated arguments.                  
                               The Spirit that accompanies this Church
                                              has been miraculous for us                                                       
                                                        and I pray it will continue to strive with us.

                                        Pam Kazmaier, wife of Badge #6450


 

If you are or were a police officer, soldier, fireman
or wife, mother, father of such or some other branch of emergency personnel
and would like to share an unusual testimony building experience with others,
please contact us for details at

Samuel@ldscops.com

or use the link on the front page of this site at

www.LDSCOPS.com

Thank you and God bless,

Samuel-LDS

"Think About it..." mailed to your home for only $14.95   S&H included

Read "Think About it..." Online Warrior Stories  | Excerpts | News Articles | Poems
Rear Cover | Reviews | About the Book | About the Author | Order | E-Mail  |  Home

S&J Liberty Publishing
P.O. Box 7899   Mesa, AZ 85216-7899
A 317 page full size book, mailed to your home for only $14.95   S&H included