How I live my faith

My faith leads me to do my best in everything I do and to treat each person in this world as my brother and sister, whether a member of this church or not.

There is a quote from Joseph Smith that inspires me in this respect: "If it has been demonstrated that I have been willing to die for a ‘Mormon,’ I am bold to declare before Heaven that I am just as ready to die in defending the rights of a Presbyterian, a Baptist, or a good man of any other denomination..."

I seek to be active in the community as it pertains to the political process, I vote and let my voice be heard, I always defer to the Constitution which is the standard of our land and which guarantees all of us freedom and independence. I try to know and assist my neighbors in any way and to be honest in all my business dealings in my profession. These are the ideals that I pursue as a member of my faith and of my community.

I have have spent much of my church service with the youth of the church in Scouting programs and in teaching capacities. Teaching the gospel is one of the best ways to learn it. This is something else that I love about this church, we all teach each other - literally. The members give the Sunday sermons, teach the classes and clean the chapels. We all rotate these responsibilities over the course of months and years a man may serve as a bishop and then serve in the nursery watching over little children while their parents attend classes. A woman may be teaching a class of small children and then be the president of the congregation's woman's organization.

All of these opportunities provide me ways to serve my fellow man and to actually put the principles of the gospel into practice.