Hi, I'm Kurt Matthia

I'm a Mormon who grew up in New York and first heard about Mormons at age 22.

About Me

I'm happily retired and have the great blessing of being a father, grandfather, and great-grandfather. My wife and I enjoy travelling to visit family and see new places.

Why I am a Mormon

Sacred experiences given to me as a youth and young adult instilled me with a testimony of Jesus Christ and taught me to recognize his voice. When at age 22 I came into my first contact with L.D.S. missionaries in New York, I immediately felt the sweet spirit I had come to recognize and knew I was hearing the voice of the Savior.

Personal Stories

Please share your feelings/testimony of the Restoration of the Gospel.

The concept of "restoration" was first taught to me by the L.D.S. missionaries when I was 22 years old. Although the ancient, Old Testament pattern of apostasy and restoration was always clear to me, but I never had expected it to apply to Christianity in its 1st and 2nd Century infancy. By 1830, the whole world had been waiting over 1600 years for the heavenly restoration of the truth and the priesthood authority that had been lost. I know that the restored church and Gospel would never have survived if it had been given at an earlier time or in a different environment than New York in 1830. Out of His love, God had to wait for the right time and place. He had to prepare the right vessel, Joseph Smith, to restore His church. With his human shortcomings and weaknesses, Joseph Smith, the farm boy, had the personal qualities to become Joseph Smith, the Prophet—an instrument in God's hands—and seal his testimony with his blood.

How I live my faith

My favorite church calling is helping at the Family History Library in Salt Lake City. There I help people from all over the world find and interpret the records of their ancestors. Most people today cannot read the old scripts and many no longer speak the languages of their ancestors. We at the library can help them. It is not uncommon to see library patrons with tears in their eyes when they have found their ancestor's record. I also help people in our own home town with their family history by serving at a local Family History Center.

What is faith?

Kurt Matthia answered...

Having faith in our Savior Jesus Christ and our Heavenly Father is a promised gift that comes to all who seek after it. The Light, Jesus Christ, is come into the world. All who will earnestly and honestly study, ponder, and pray are promised they may know that Jesus is the Christ.

Faith is more than just believing or knowing. Even the devils of the New Testament knew and believed in Jesus. Faith is a principle of action. Faith unto salvation is the gift that is given to those who enter his discipleship and endure to the end.
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Don answered...

Faith is taking action because of a hope in something. Often the Savior asks of us to do certain things or live in certain ways. When we see a stranger in distress, we stop and help them as Jesus commanded us to in the Good Samaritan Luke 10:25. The act of helping is the evidence of our Faith in Christ. We are asked to tithe. Tithing is evidence of our faith. We tithe in hopes of the promises in Malachi 3:10 that the floodgates of Heaven are open to us.
Faith is when we put our beliefs and hope into action.

Why don’t Mormons have paid clergy?

Craig answered...

Latter-day Saints are all expected to generously give of their time to serve in the church. Service opportunities vary greatly and can include being a congregation's pastor, teaching classes, helping congregants gain employment, or helping watch toddlers in the nursery. These volunteer opportunities are temporary and Mormons often gain a wide variety of experiences throughout their lifetimes. Specific assignments are not sought after, but rather delegated out to a congregation's members after those presiding over the congregation have prayed over the matter.

No one participating in this service is compensated financially, as we all are personally committed to help one another and assist in the church's growth. I believe that this way of organizing a church is ideal because it allows congregants to become closely acquainted with one another through service, frees up funds given to the church to go to more important projects such as building chapels and advancing missionary efforts, and greatly reduces any potential for corruption in the church by removing financial incentives.