Hi, I'm Joshua

I'm a Mormon and I love it.

About Me

My greatest treasure is my wife. We got married in the temple recently and are loving it. I love languages and I love programming. I work for a machine translation company, where I get to combine my passions. I love running on the beach and playing ultimate Frisbee. I love life and I love being a Mormon!

Why I am a Mormon

I know that God lives and that he is perfect. My greatest desire is to return and live with him again with my family. However, I am not perfect as he is and cannot live in His presence unless I am cleaned of my sins. Being mortal, I cannot do this for myself, but need the help of another. Knowing this, God sent His son, Jesus Christ, to earth to die as a sacrifice for our sins. All he requires is that I have faith in Him and repent of my sins so that I may be cleaned through his sacrifice.

Because of this, I am eternally indebted to him. I love Him and will do my all to serve Him and follow him. I started this path when I was baptized and thus reborn, committing myself to follow His paths and receiving the Holy Ghost. Because of this knowledge I am willing to do anything the Lord asks. I am so grateful to have this knowledge and I want to share this knowledge with all that I know so that they too may rejoice and prepare to live with God.

I know these things are true because I asked God and He responded. God revealed these truths through His prophet Joseph Smith, whom he called in 1820 in response to a prayer. Through him, God revealed these truths and other truths that have been lost to the world since Biblical times.

The Book of Mormon is one of these truths that has been restored by God through Joseph Smith. I have read this book and know that it is God's word. I know because I asked Him. He didn't respond right away, but the response did come, strong and undeniable. He spoke directly to my heart and I felt a peace and joy that confirmed that what I was reading was true. This confirmation eliminated all doubt, and I knew that indeed the Book of Mormon is the word of God, that Joseph Smith is His prophet, and that The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints is God's church here upon the Earth. When you know that, nothing else matters. I would die for my beliefs and wish that everyone would have the same opportunity to find out these things for themselves.

Personal Stories

Why do Mormons go on missions?

If something has blessed our lives, we want to share it. I have been richly blessed by living the gospel, and I know others have as well. I served two years in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil. I was able to help many people come unto Christ. Seeing the joy in their eyes made the sacrifice worth it.

How I live my faith

There comes a point when living your faith blends into who you are. As I have studied the gospel, I have tried to incorporate the teachings into my life. I have tried to be more patient with others, more willing to sacrifice my own needs for the benefit of others, and more charitable when others make mistakes. I am not perfect, but every day is a new day to improve.

One of the best things about being a Mormon is that I don't have to do this alone. I know God is there to bless me when I need him. This gives me the faith to make it through the challenges of life.

How can we stop the spread and influence of pornography?

Joshua answered...

I know for a fact there are a lot of people who are viewing pornography who do not want to. It is an addiction, just like any other, and for a long time I was addicted. It messes with your mind, and distorts your view of reality. A lot of people are searching for help, and don't know where to find it.

That is one thing I really like about our church. We really are a family and we are there to help each other. I had frequent meetings with my Bishop, where he helped me get through my addiction. The Church also provides support groups for people to overcome. There are few places where I have felt as much love in my life as through those meetings and the meetings with the Bishop. He helped me to learn how to rely on Jesus Christ .

The battle against pornography is won one person at a time. Many people are afraid to admit they have a problem, and don't know where to turn. As we reach out with love and care, we can let the porn addicts know that we are there to help them, and not judge them. Many will feel of the love, and will find the way out of their addictions. Many already have, just as I have.
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Matthew answered...

Be honost and realize how damaging pornography is to yourself. Because of its damaging influence on self-esteem pornography also damges your relationship with others. So I would say, just get away from it and get an army of people to help you do so if necessary! When you get away then you'll see the joy and happiness the influence of pornography takes you away from. With this awakening, youll want to warn others to get away from the deception of pornography.

Why do Mormons perform proxy baptisms in their temples?

Patty answered...

Proxy baptisms are Heavenly Father's solution to the conflict between the need to be baptized in order to obtain eternal life, and the fact that not everyone gets the opportunity to be baptized in this life. We preform baptisms on the behalf of our ancestors, and then our deceased ancestors, in the spirit world, are given the opportunity to choose whether or not they want this baptism to be valid for them.