Hi, I'm Marinda

I'm a Wife, I'm a Harpist, I'm a Physicist, I'm a Mormon.

About Me

I am a recent college graduate with a degree in Physics. I am also newly married to a wonderful man I met while in school! I grew up in California, went to school in Ohio, and am now living in Washington. I love to read, write and computer program, but also enjoy playing my harp and swing dancing with my husband. I was raised in the church, but all my life have lived in areas where members were few and far between, leading to a very rich mixture of friends and associates of different faiths and backgrounds. I have also been diagnosed with small fiber peripheral neuropathy, which may have slowed down my dancing but has overall taught me many life lessons. I am a music teacher and find teaching very fulfilling. Someday I hope to become a high school physics teacher.

Why I am a Mormon

Though I was raised in the church, I am NOT a member just because it was more convenient to stay. On the contrary, it would have been more convenient to leave the church due to pressures in high school. My parents both came to the church on their own initiative, and instilled in me that it was my responsibility to figure out what was true and to honestly follow it.

I always knew there was a God and could feel Him in my life. However, due to friends and other sources, I spent most of my adolescent years struggling between knowing in my heart that there was a God and this was His church, or if it was all just self-induced warm fuzzy feelings. It was a struggle of my heart and head, and several times I felt as if the Holy Ghost was smacking me over the head with a 2x4 while different associates were trying to convince me I was only experiencing the symptoms of religious brainwashing.

In the end, I listened to everyone's opinions and views but did not internalize them. I took to studying the scriptures and other religious and philosophical works, combining these pursuits with prayer and meditation. I moved through the motions and lived what I did know to the best of my abilities - seeing for myself the inner workings of the church and experiencing the results of living and not living what the gospel teaches.

After years of searching and bouncing back and forth as to what I believed, I came to the conclusion in my head what my heart knew all along and was just too insecure to embrace. Not only does the gospel and the interpretation of the scriptures make the most sense in this religion than any other, there is something in my heart and soul that knows and recognizes the truth in this church. I have had a confirmation for myself as an adult that this is Christ's church, and though I knew it as a child like I knew that the sun would rise and set, I now have proven it for myself and I cannot deny it without compromising my integrity.

Personal Stories

In what ways have your prayers been answered?

When I was a little girl, I took an alphabet book with me to preschool for show and tell. At some point during the day, it got lost and I was really upset. But I went behind the bookcases and knelt down and prayed and within 10 minutes it was found. When I was in high school I had some negative people in my life that would spend a lot of time breaking me down emotionally. I would pray beside my bed every night, and every night I would get a feeling of peace as if someone who really did love me was putting their arms around me and hurting just as much as I was that I was going through a hard time. When I was trying to figure out what school to go to for college I did a lot of praying, but wasn't getting any clear answers. Then I went to visit a school I applied to in Ohio and went to an institute class there. While sitting there I got a feeling and asked in my heart "I'm going here aren't I?" and received a clear voice in my head "Yes, you are." When I was in college I was put into a situation that was not a positive one. I prayed about it and was told to stay. By the end, I was heartbroken and felt as if my entire soul was drained. After some soul searching for several months, I realized that I was made stronger by being there and that God was watching me to make sure that I was not hurt beyond my breaking point. It was not a very positive answer to live through but sometimes answers are like that. We're God's hands on Earth and sometimes that means really being put to work. When my husband and I started dating everything clicked together so perfectly. I prayed a lot about whether I should marry him. He was not LDS and I knew I should be worried about it, but it was like there was a barrier inside me keeping me from worrying. So I moved ahead with our relationship. Later on, after he came out of the water when he was baptized, I had a feeling like I was looking into a mirror when I was with him - knowing that I was suppose to marry him.

How has your knowledge of the Plan of Happiness changed/benefited your life?

As I go through my life, I see life and my relationship in terms of eternity. When I think of those who died like my older sister, I think of them more as having moved away for the next several years to somewhere I can't visit. When I deal with my illness and have to throw all my plans for the day out the window, I get peace from thinking in the back of my mind "what Christ-like characteristic is God trying to help me learn so I can develop into the person He wants me to be?" When life gets tough in general, I'm comforted by the knowledge that at least I have an understanding of who I am, where I came from, where I'm going and why I'm here. The rest is just details.

How can we develop greater harmony in our homes?

Creating harmony in our homes can be rooted in love. I find that I get along better with my family when I stop trying to create an image in my head of what I think they should be like and start focusing on loving and getting to know the person they really are. The other way creates frustration when they don't meet our expectations.

If having this love is a problem or is difficult, I would recommend prayer. If you sincerely pray every day for a change of heart - it will happen. Trust me.

Please share your feelings/testimony of Joseph Smith.

I did not have a real testimony, or a confirmation of Joseph Smith's divine calling as a prophet, until my later years in high school. I had studied his life and the works he brought forth, and found him to be a good man and for all logical pursuits he was a prophet - but I did not feel the conviction that I knew I needed to really put my trust in this important foundation stone for belief in this church.

I was at a church camp, and we were at a testimony meeting where the other high school students I were with had the opportunity to stand before the rest of us and share what they believed. One boy got up, and with tears in his eyes said he had never really thought much of Joseph Smith - but that something had touched him that day and that now he KNEW that Joseph Smith was a prophet. During his testimony, it all became clear to me and I knew as well that Joseph was a prophet. The best way I can describe what happened is it was like I had been staring at a complicated riddle for the longest time and someone came by and told me what the answer was. At that moment, all the clues made sense and it all fell together as if it was written in the simplest wording.

I know that Joseph Smith was a prophet, as logic according to his life and the spiritual works he left behind can show - but also because of what I know in my heart as if I was defending a dear friend. I also know he was a man and was capable of human frailties just like any other prophet recorded in the scriptures, but I also know that when it came to matters pertaining to salvation God led his steps so he did not stumble. I have the same faith and trust in the current living prophet.

Which of the Savior’s teachings have influenced you in your life?

I am a natural worrier. I don't know if it is genetic programming or what, but I have a really hard time not working myself up or sinking into a depression by worrying.

When Christ walked on the water, Peter went out to him. According to everything that Peter knew physically, it was suppose to be impossible. But according to everything Peter knew in his heart, he knew he could do it. I like to think of this story in terms of me - that some days according to everything I can figure out in my head I just can't seem to see any reason to even try fighting against the odds of a world that has so much wrong with it. But in my heart, I know that what is in my head may not actually be my limitations.

After a few steps, Peter took his eyes off of the Savior and saw the storm. I like to think of this part as my beginning to worry - to see all the bad things in the world and all the awful outcomes that could happen and just like Peter, I begin to sink too.

But the ending it happy! Christ comes and lifts Peter back up to walking on the water, and I know in my heart and from experience that Christ is always there to pick me back up to continue doing what should be impossible.

How has attending Church services helped you?

I like to think of going to church kind of like plugging in your laptop. Just by being in the environment, even if I don't hear anything intellectually startling, I still get recharged. That is because the Spirit is there, and being immersed in a place where He is makes my spirit stronger and more at peace.

Church services also help me learn more about the gospel. From listening to fellow members share their testimonies, views and finding from their own personal study, I grow myself. It is a place where everyone there wants to discuss and learn about the gospel, and in that kind of environment I can't help but learn something.

Can you talk about the missions of the Church and your participation in them?

Though I did not serve an official full time mission for the church the type where you get a name tag, I did help run a missionary information table during college. Once a week, myself and other LDS college students would set up a table in one of our school's student unions with the full-time missionaries and would just try and get students to ask a question or learn something about our church. It was mostly educational, but we would always hope that someone would be more than just intellectually interested. Working with the full time missionaries was great! It really was amazing to see was how much like 20 year-old boys they really were until they started talking about the gospel. Then there was a spirit you could feel and their knowledge of the scriptures and testimony was most than just impressive, it was inspiring.

How I live my faith

Though the scheduled things are nice, I like to think of them as building a foundation for living my life after the patten Christ showed. I try to be a good person and help others when I see them. I want to live a life of service, and though I may not be out in the homeless shelters everyday, I try to reach out to those I know need to feel love. This may be a phone call to my family, talking to someone at the bus stop - and trying in general to just take the time out of my day to focus on someone else.

But if you are looking for a run down of how I live my religion specifically every day, I do a list of the basic things you can read about on the website. Three hours of church on Sunday, personal prayer morning and night, pray over my food, scripture study every day by myself and with my husband, praying with my family every day, having a family night on Mondays, attend a weekly religion class for young adults, and visiting the local Temple when I can.

For more specific things I do regularly, you might have heard that the members of our church have different jobs. Currently I'm serving with my husband and another couple in putting on activities for married students in our area. Another job I have is that I am assigned along with another woman in the congregation to visit and in general look after three other women in the congregation. Though we may not become closest friends, this program of the church does work to unite and strengthen us through each other. I also try to share my faith with others. I mostly just talk to friends about my beliefs when religion or lifestyles come up. I don't try and push what I believe, but I don't shy away from what I think either. I love to talk to others about what they believe and in return share what I believe. Ignorance and misunderstandings is usually at the heart of bitter feelings, and I try to do my best to learn and to teach others.

To what do you attribute the growth of the Church?

Marinda answered...

I believe that the growth of the church is due to two factors. The first is due to globalization that has lead to people having more open minds about what is true. They realize that the answers to life's greatest questions might be found somewhere other than what they were taught as a child, leading them to either start looking on their own or to being more receptive when the missionaries or a LDS friend shares the gospel with them.

The second reason is due to the fact that the church is true. If someone is honestly looking for truth, God will let them know when they've found it.
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What do Mormons believe about Jesus Christ? Do Mormons believe that Jesus Christ is the Son of God?

Nathan answered...

I go to college in what many people consider the "bible belt" of America. Many people assume I'm not a christian or that I don't believe in Jesus Christ as the literal Son of God. Most people don't realize just how christian our faith is and they're usually surprised at how similar many of our beliefs are. The truth is Jesus Christ is the Son of God and there is no other name by which people can be saved. Jesus Christ is my savior and the Savior of the world. His goodness is available to all and brings happiness to anyone who reaches out to Him.