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Hi, I'm Joshua
I'm a Canadian. I'm a university student. I love science and music. I'm a Mormon.
About Me
I am currently in university completing my BSc with honours in Biology.
I love science. I am fascinated by the workings of the human body and enjoy subjects like genetics, cell biology, and histology.
I love music too and I play the guitar. I love being able to express my thoughts and feelings through music and I enjoy teaching myself to play new songs.
My favorite past-time is spending time in the company of my friends and family. It doesn't much matter what we're doing as long as we're having fun together.
Why I am a Mormon
I became a member of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints my freshman year of high school. The process was more than a year in the making, it began with my mother and her acceptance of the restored gospel. She grew up in a house with a mother, father, and two sisters, each of them having their own church and religion. Naturally, she was accepting of other faiths and always willing to learn more about someone's belief if they wanted to share. One day the missionaries knocked on our door and she answered. They asked if they could share a message with her about Jesus Christ and about the plan God had for the happiness of His children. She invited them in, she learned, she studied, she prayed, and she got an answer from the Holy Ghost that what the missionaries had taught her was true. She was baptized into the church and has loved every moment of it since.
I...wasn't as easy to convince. Despite the fact that I was present for several of the lessons the missionaries shared with my mother, I wasn't interested in the things they taught at first. I was a teenage boy and that had worked out ok for me so far. Though I had always believed in God, I had never really believed in "church". To me it was a building, and though I went every Sunday it held no significance to me; I never really got much out of the church I attended growing up. So when my mom got baptized and we started going to a new church all I really noticed was a different interior and different faces, not much else.
After a while though, I started to notice something. These people I had met, these "Mormons", were unlike any other people I had ever met. I felt differently when I was with them in church or at various activities. It was a good feeling. I met one family in particular who I was genuinely impressed by. I saw a father, mother, and siblings gathered together and all of them were getting along. Nobody was shouting. No one was disrespecting the other. The love and mutual respect they had for one another was obvious to me and it was something lacking in my family growing up. I wondered, how did they manage it? I learned that what they had was the gospel of Jesus Christ. It was the great unifier for their family as they knew who they were in God's plan and knew how much He loved them. Their love for one another grew along with their love for the Savior.
From there I started to ask myself more questions, the questions of my soul. Despite having had these questions my whole life I had ignored asking them much, I suppose because I had never found the answers I was looking for. I began to wonder again: where do I come from, why am I here right now, and what happens when I die? Fortunately for me, there were two wonderful missionaries who were more than willing to share the answers.
This time I paid attention to what the missionaries had to say. I knew that what they taught was true; the things they shared seemed to resonate within me. I learned I was a child of a Heavenly Father. I learned that He had a purpose for me in this life and that I could find peace and joy in a troubled world. I took great joy in learning of the state of the soul after death. Death is not the end, we will all live again, and I have a hope of returning to the presence of my God someday, along with my family, to share eternal joy with them through eternity.
So I had faith, and I chose to act on it. I was baptized. As I came up again out of the water I remember I had a feeling wash over me, a feeling I've only experienced a few times since. I felt that what I had just done was absolutely the right thing to do. Despite some fears I still had, and despite the fact I still didn't know all that much about the gospel, I held to the things I did know. The feeling I had swept away all my doubts and fears and confirmed the things I did know to be true. I felt clean, pure, and oh so very happy. My sins had been washed away and I had been born of God. I knew for myself that this church was true. I smiled for a long time.
Since then I've continued to walk this path. It's never been easy but it's been worth it. I have been supported under trials and temptations and I have been blessed by the Lord. Moreover, I have come to know my Savior, Jesus Christ. Of all the things I know, it is my testimony of Him which means the most to me. I lack the eloquence to fully describe my feelings, but I will say that I love Him, with all my heart. I love my Father in Heaven as well. I am so grateful for the plan of happiness that He has prepared for His children. It means the world to me.
Personal Stories
How has your knowledge of the Plan of Happiness changed/benefited your life?
My knowledge of the Plan of Happiness has meant everything to me. I know what it's like to not have any direction in life, to wonder: what's the point of it all?
When I learned of the Plan of Happiness I found answers to the greatest questions of life: who am I? Why am I here? What's the purpose of life? Where do I go when I die? I can't tell you how much those answers meant to me. It just means everything to know. I have a direction in life now, I have goals, and I have a hope for what comes after this life.
The Plan of Happiness gives me a peace like nothing on earth ever could. I am so grateful to my Savior, for what He did, to make all of this possible.
Please explain the part prayer plays in your life?
Prayer is vital in my life. Prayer is how I communicate with God, and one way He can communicate with me. I talk to the Lord, I counsel with Him, and I seek his blessings. I have a firm testimony that God answers prayers. He may not answer immediately, and sometimes the answer is no, but he does answer.
Prayer has helped guide many major decisions I've made in life, like whether to serve a mission or whether to be baptized. God has guided me and I know he will continue to guide me as I come to Him in sincere prayer.
I have also witnessed miracles from my prayers for others. The Lord does bless those for whom we pray in faith. Our prayers are powerful and are a tremendous force for good in this world.
How has attending Church services helped you?
The thing I love most about church is that I get to be with so many other people who share my faith in Jesus Christ. Furthermore, each of us has had unique personal experiences and possess different insights into gospel subjects. We are all united in our beliefs of course, but it is our different insights into them that make it so wonderful to go to church. There I can share all the things I have learned and I can be taught by others. And no matter how many times you may have studied a certain subject, such as faith or charity, you will always find someone who has an insight on it you hadn't thought of before (it actually happened to me today).
Why do Mormons go on missions?
Well, speaking from personal experience, I went on a mission because learning about God's plan of happiness was the greatest thing that ever happened to me. I knew there were people in the world struggling under the weight of doubt and fear, who were desperately seeking a place to belong and to have a sense of who they were. I knew because I was one of those people. When the opportunity arose for me to go into the world and to share what I knew with others, that maybe they could find the same answers and joy I had found, I went. I will be forever grateful for the time I had to serve the Lord by sharing the gospel with His children. I saw miracles and I saw many people accept the gospel and draw closer to him. It has been one of the best decisions of my life.
What have you done successfully to shield your family from unwanted influences?
Well, being single I have to answer for myself and my own life. But I would say the key to removing unwanted influences from my life has been to simply avoid their source. I don't read articles, watch television, see movies, or go to places that may have offensive, lewd, or immoral content. I am very careful as to what media I allow into my home, whether on the internet or the television.
Of course we have to leave the fortifications of our homes often to go out into the world, and that's where faith comes in. Faith is like a shield, it's portable and you can carry it with you wherever you go. I rely on my faith and the things I believe to protect me against moments of temptation and to help me choose the right. That means I do things to feed my faith. I read my scriptures, I pray often, I go to church, and I serve others. You wouldn't let your shield fall into dis-repair, so why would you do the same to your faith? As I live and exercise my faith it stays strong and serves as my defense against the unwanted influences of the world.
Please share your feelings/testimony of Joseph Smith.
I love the prophet Joseph Smith. I am so grateful for all he did to help bring about the restoration of the gospel in these days. If he hadn't done what he did I wouldn't have the fullness of the gospel available to me today. He helped to restore to earth the proper concept of God, the authority of the priesthood, and the ordinances of the holy temple. These things have been indescribable blessings in my life and I'm grateful he was able and worthy enough to be the prophet to help restore these things to the earth.
I know Joseph Smith was a prophet of God. I have prayed to know and God has answered me. I know that there is a prophet on earth today, Thomas S. Monson. I'm so grateful that God continues to call prophets in our day as well as in times of old. God is the same yesterday, today, and forever. He has always called prophets to lead and guide His children, and he will continue to do so.
How does making right choices help us make more right choices?
Like any habit, the more you do it the easier it gets. The funny thing is that it's often so easy to make the wrong choices and harder to make the right ones. Fortunately, God always blesses us for making right choices, like when we keep the commandments. That means we can receive His help when we are trying to do what is right.
I know for me in my life I have had God's help in making right choices, especially one's that were hard at first. For example, to not consume alcohol. In the church we don't believe in consuming alcohol and as a teenager this was a commandment I wanted to keep. However all my friends around me were drinking, and they would offer me a drink too. I wanted to fit in, I wanted to be liked, but I didn't want to disappoint God either. I knew what was more important. I said no to drinking, and though it was hard to say "no" the first time, as time has gone on it has become easier for me to say "no thanks" when someone offers me a drink. I simply explain that it goes against my beliefs, and I thank them for understanding. The great thing is, people will respect you for standing up for what you believe. At first my friends were surprised, but later they completely understood and they respected my choice. That has helped me to continue to choose the right.
The same principle applies to every aspect of life. If we will choose the right God will always give us strength to overcome temptation and to continue to do what is right. These righteous habits will lead us to be happier people and better disciples of Christ.
How I live my faith
In my community I volunteer where the opportunity exists. I've been involved in soup kitchens, community cleanups, and simple acts of service in many places. Right now I volunteer at the local hospital in the genetics department.
In the church, I attend a congregation, called a branch, consisting of young adults, mostly college age like myself. My church calling, or responsibility, is to be the Branch Clerk. I help handle the financial and record keeping activities within the branch. I also have a responsibility as a "home teacher". In the church, members visit each other once each month to share a spiritual message and to check on the spiritual and temporal needs of those they are responsible for visiting. I find it very rewarding and I joy in having opportunities to help whenever it is needed.
Of course, no matter where I am or what I am engaged in, I strive at all times to be a disciple of Christ. I seek to do what He would do and to be an example to others.
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What is The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints' attitude regarding homosexuality and same sex marriage?
Joshua answered...
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Joshua answered...
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Does The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints endorse political parties?
Dallin answered...
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Joseph Smith
As is the case throughout history God has communicated to His children through prophets. God used a humble man as a prophet to restore His Church on earth who ultimately died defending His faith.
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Family History
Coming to know our ancestors helps us better understand who we are, builds bridges between the generations, and binds families together.
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