Hi, I'm Barett Todd

I'm a cyclist, a philanthropic adviser, a father of two smart girls, the husband of a Swiss beauty and an LDS Bishop.

About Me

I am married, I have two daughters. We live in the USA. I love to ride road and mountain bikes. Our family originally comes from California and we love to visit there at least once a year. I graduated college with both a BS and a Masters degree.

I currently work for LDS Philanthropies, a department within the Office of the Presiding Bishopric, charged with facilitating gifts to the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints and it's affiliated institutions including, Humanitarian Services, Perpetual Education Fund, Brigham Young University Provo, Idaho, Hawaii and LDS Business College. My primary assignment is the coordination of all workplace giving campaigns for both corporations and the federal/state governments.

In addition, I represent LDS Philanthropies on a multi-departmental committee working on the Church's social media strategy.For LDS Philanthropies I have also been involved with deploying social media to mobilize resources for Church causes, including building a widget to help during the Church response to Haiti, the development of a Humanitarian Services blog and the implementation of social media for LDS Business College and BYU's student giving campaigns.

Why I am a Mormon

When I was 18 I wanted to know for myself if the LDS Church was what it claimed to be. If you think about it, they make some pretty bold claims that are either absolutely true and wonderful are terribly deceitful. The method by which one can know for himself the truthfulness in any matter is a petition to ones creator through the wonderful tool of prayer. At the the age of 18 I set myself to study of the Book of Mormon, the faiths additional scripture. I read it from cover to cover and then knelt and asked my Father in Heaven if the things I had read were true. I felt at that time and many times sense that indeed what I had read was true and that the things I had been taught through my youth were also correct.

When I turned 19 I left my home for Brazil where I was a missionary speaking the Portuguese language. It was a wonderful experience that has forever shaped the course of my life. I spent everyday of the week in search of and caring out service to those around me. It was a lesson not taught very often to young men.

After returning from my experience in Brazil I went back to college, got married, am raising a family and doing my best to maintain that same personal relationship with my Father in Heaven.

Personal Stories

What are you doing to help strengthen your family and make it successful?

I am married and my wife and I have two little girls. We try very hard to do little things that we believe are having an impact. We set aside time Sunday evenings and Monday evenings for family time. My wife and I also have a scheduled babysitter for Friday nights so we can go on a date. I take each of my daughters out on a monthly "date" as well. Though i am busy with full time work, school, community work and church volunteering we really try very hard to spend time together as a family.

What has helped develop greater harmony in your home?

My wife and I spend a lot of time talking with each other. We both believe in the importance of strong marriage and we really work hard to make ours a good one. We have weekly families meetings on Monday nights, we have monthly family councils where we talk about each member of the family and how they are doing. We have had great examples in our own parents. We also look for ways that we as a family can help others. We have participated multiple times in our city's flower planting day, paint your heart out day, and other request for help. We have found that a family that both play and serves together stays together. Believe me, its not always easy not everyone in the family has equal levels of enthusiasm for a given project, but on the whole i think our family enjoy the time and it helps build harmony in our home.

How I live my faith

I try and live my faith by helping where I can. I currently volunteer in my local congregation as a councilor (assistant) to a Bishop. My role is to coordinate the activities of those members of our congregation under the age of 18. I am actively involved in the Boy Scouts of America as an adult leader.

Are all Mormons required to serve a mission?

Barett Todd answered...

No they are not but it is a wonderful opportunity. I served for two years in Brazil. I learned Portuguese after a 2month training course in Provo UT. When I arrived in Brazil I was sent to serve in the atlantic jungle region. It was a great opportunity for a 19 year kid to get out and doing something good in the word. It gave me a real perspective on life. I also spent a great deal of time in Sao Paulo in some of the worst slums in the world. If you are fortunate enough to live in a developing world country count your self blessed.
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Taylor answered...

Quite simply, no. The young men of the church have been strongly encouraged to serve a mission at age 19, and the sisters are able to serve at age 21, but no one is required to serve. We do it because we want to! Who in their right mind would give up two years and pay that's right, missionaries pay their own way to go somewhere they had never been and do all that they do? We serve missions becuase we know that Jesus is the Christ, and we want the happiness that knowledge bring to be available to everyone! So no, Mormons are not required to serve a mission. It's a personal choice to share the happiness and joy they've received from the Gospel.

How can we stop the spread and influence of pornography?

Richard. answered...

I frequently hear people say that we need to protect children from pornography. That statement is true, but it forgets that adults are also damaged by the self-gratifying attitudes that pornography depicts. Pornography changes how we view each other. We should be politely vocal about our desire to avoid pornography. Pornography should not be forced upon us by our friends, government, employment, or entertainers. But it will be if we don't speak up about our values.