Hi, I'm Mark Alan

About Me

I come from a family of six children. I have wonderful parents who taught me well. I now have been married for 14 years, and we have 5 children. More than anything, I enjoy spending time with my wife and kids. One of my favorite things to do is to spend a day with each of my children individually. I took one son fishing, one to a football game, and one to an amusement park. Even better than spending time with my kids, I enjoy going out with my wife. Now that our oldest can babysit, we make sure and spend time together at least once a week.

Why I am a Mormon

All of my ancestors for several generations back were Mormons, so I was raised a Mormon. But there came a time in my life (as there is in all peoples lives) when they start to question the things taught be their parents. I was a teenager and I enjoyed going to church, and doing all the activities that went along with that, but I wasn't sure if everything I had been taught was true. Specifically, I wanted to know if the Book of Mormon really was from God, or if the book was made up by Joseph Smith. I knew it had to be one or the other. I decided I would read the book and pray about it. I had learned that the Book of Mormon has a promise in the last pages. In Moroni 10:3-5 I learned that if I read with real intent, and prayed about the book, I could learn the truth through the power of the Holy Ghost. I wasn't quite sure what to expect. As I read the book, I started to feel a burning sensation in my heart. I felt peaceful and happy, and suddenly it all started to make sense. Later I realized that the Holy Ghost was testifying to my that what I was reading was true.

That was a key moment in my life, but I have felt the spirit that way many times since then. Each time it is a reminder of the truth that is in the Book of Mormon and the rest of what is taught in this church.

From a more practical standpoint, I am Mormon because I have seen how living the principles taught in church lead to happiness. Ultimately I just want to be happy, and I have seen in others lives and my own life that this church brings happiness. We don't have a monopoly on happiness, but mormons sure seem to be the happiest people on the earth.

Personal Stories

How has attending Church services helped you?

I attend church services because I want to take a break from the world, and be uplifted and fill the spirit of God. Each week I attend, it puts my life into perspective. It helps me to focus on the important things in life, and it helps me to deal with the struggles.
At the core of the church experience is taking the sacrament. Each week I take the sacrament. This is receiving the bread and the water that represent the body and blood of Christ. Doing this each week, I am promising to God that I will always remember Christ, that I will obey the commandments, and that I am willing to take upon myself his.name. In return, God promises me that I can have his spirit with me. Doing this every week brings great blessings in my life.

What is hope and what do you hope for?

Hope is the active belief that Jesus is our savior. I have a sure hope that he died for me, and that if I will follow him, I will be saved, cleansed from sin, and allowed to return to live with him and my father in heaven after this life.

How I live my faith

I live my faith by always trying to be kind to those around me. This isn't always easy for me, but I think everyday I am becoming a kinder, better person as I try and follow the example of Jesus Christ.

I also live my faith by volunteering my time to help others. 2 years ago I was asked to be the bishop of our congregation. That means that I am responsible for the 400+ members of my congregation. I serve as bishop in my spare time (what spare time?). I spend about 15 hours a week helping the members of my congregation. I do this in addition to my family and work responsibilities. I am amazed at how much the Lord blesses me and my family. Even though I am very busy, I always seem to be in the right place at the right time, whether it is visiting someone in the hospital, getting some groceries for my wife, or attending a parent teacher conference. The Lord has blessed our family greatly so that I can serve others, and be with my family.

What is the Mormon lifestyle like? How do Mormons live?

Mark Alan answered...

Mormons live a very happy, very busy life. There are never a shortage of things to do. Because we spend so much time serving our families and serving others, we don't have a lot of time to worry about ourselves. Mormons don't drink and smoke, but we enjoy having fun as much as the next person. Mormons will tend to do a lot of fun activities with their families. I personally enjoy playing and attending sports events, running, boating, traveling and scuba diving. I love being on a boat with the family. We are all together having fun.
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Serge answered...

Family is everything to us. Our family spends lots of our free time together because we like each other. Life gets crazy with teenagers, dance practice, after school academic decathlon, usually with a toddler in tow, but no matter what, every Monday night is Family Night.

The kids know that every Monday we spend time together and nothing gets in the way of it. It's our commitment to each other. We bake cookies, have lessons about the Savior, work on personal goals, go to the park, go geocaching, play board games or just go out for ice cream.

We do lots of things together. The point is that at least once a week we spend an hour or two together, just for the sake of being together, just because we love being together as a family. It's not as perfect as it may sound, with all the poking and "she's in my spot," and all the other crazy things family members do to each other when scrambling for a spot in the living room, but we try real hard. It takes effort to make sure we don't miss, but it's worth it.

I'm not sure the kids will remember all the games we played, the places we went or what we did, but I hope they always remember that we loved each other enough to dedicate one night a week to be with each other. And that we spent every Monday night together for as many Mondays as they can remember because family is everything to us, and every member of our family is important.