Hi, I'm Josh L.

I'm a husband, dad, computer geek, Ph.D. student, and a member of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints.

About Me

I'm an information technology professional with a master's degree in IT concentrating in Internet security, and I'm earning a Ph.D. in business administration. I work full-time as a computer network specialist for a large educational organization in Southern California, and I also produce and host a podcast—sort of like an online radio or television program—for a major computer technology magazine. But more importantly, I'm a husband, a father, and a follower of Jesus Christ.

Why I am a Mormon

Around 1998, I began dating a girl who was a Latter-day Saint—LDS, or "Mormon." One day we were going for a drive and she said to me that it was very important to her to marry in the temple. I didn't know much about LDS temples at the time, but one thing I knew was that only faithful members of the Church could enter into a temple. I pondered her statement. I wondered why anyone would feel so strongly about where they wanted to get married, or why it was so important to her to marry someone who shared the same beliefs. I had attended church with her a few times before then, but it was this particular remark that sparked my interest in learning more about her faith.

Shortly after that, I began meeting with the full-time missionaries. We had numerous discussions, in part because I had many questions including some that were very challenging. The missionaries made many bold statements, and I wanted to know if their claims were true. They said that The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints was the true church of Christ that had been restored to the earth. They also believed that a boy who lived in the 1800s named Joseph Smith became a prophet of God, and that there was a living prophet on the earth today as well. They believed in the existence of scripture that complemented the Bible, and that the Savior's prophecy in John 10:16 was literally fulfilled in the Book of Mormon—compare 3 Nephi 15:21-24.

The only things against which I could examine these claims were the Bible and what I had been taught in church and by my Christian family in my youth. However, the missionaries invited me to turn to the ultimate source of all wisdom—that is, to ask God in the name of Christ if the Book of Mormon was true, and whether The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints was truly the church established by the Savior which had been restored through a living prophet. I accepted this challenge because if these claims were true, God would want me to know, and if they weren't true, God clearly wouldn't lead me astray.

The answers to my prayers didn't come all at once, but I continued to attend church, study, ponder, and pray about the things I was taught. I researched historical, archaeological, and other scientific evidence of the authenticity of the Book of Mormon. Ultimately I received a confirmation by the power of the Holy Ghost that these things I had been studying were true. It was a simple and peaceful feeling, but a sure and abiding feeling that I could not deny. I was baptized and confirmed a member of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints in the year 2000. A year later I volunteered to serve as a full-time missionary for two years so that I could share with others what I had come to know was true.

Personal Stories

Please share your feelings/testimony of Joseph Smith.

One of my initial challenges as I began studying the Church was believing that Joseph Smith, Jr. was a modern-day prophet. Could he really have seen God and Jesus as he claimed he had? Could a teenage boy really be called by God to become a modern prophet? I prayed sincerely to God asking to know the truth about Joseph Smith.

A missionary suggested that I consider three particular things that must all be true together, or that must all be false: first that the Book of Mormon was true, second that Joseph Smith was a prophet, and third that The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints was the true Church of Christ. If any one of these things was true, then the others must be true, and vice versa. The missionary suggested that I start with the Book of Mormon, which contains a promise in its final chapter that "if ye shall ask with a sincere heart, with real intent, having faith in Christ, he will manifest the truth of it unto you, by the power of the Holy Ghost." I could find no major conflict between the Bible and the Book of Mormon, and in fact the two volumes of scripture perfectly complemented one another. The Book of Mormon was strong evidence that the Bible was true, and I found evidence in the Bible that the Book of Mormon was true as well. I found that there was historical and archaeological evidence to support the the Book of Mormon, just as such evidence exists to support the Bible. I continued to read the Book of Mormon and pray to know if it was true, and eventually I received the answer that it was.

Bringing this back to Joseph Smith: if the Book of Mormon was true, then Joseph Smith must have been a true prophet. After all, Joseph Smith translated the book from an ancient, unique, and dead language—a reformed Egyptian hieroglyphic text that was influenced by Hebrew—in less than three months, which would be no small task for even the greatest professors and language scholars of today, let alone a relatively uneducated farm boy in the 1800s. Joseph Smith had help, of course—he translated the Book of Mormon by the gift and power of God. The resulting translated work has survived nearly 200 years of scrutiny, and the Book of Mormon continues to serve as strong evidence that Joseph Smith was a true prophet of God.

Since then I have come to learn more about Joseph Smith and his character. He was not a perfect man—although this should be expected even of a prophet, as Romans 3:23 states that all have sinned and come short of the glory of God. Joseph Smith suffered from many of the same trials, temptations, and imperfections to which any mortal may be susceptible. He liked to roughhouse and crack jokes. On the other hand, Joseph had many endearing qualities, not the least of which was that he was madly in love with his wife, Emma. He was also deeply compassionate toward other human beings, even enemies of the Church and slaves. In that sense, I believe he may have been one of the most Christlike people who lived during the 19th century. I do not believe that a man possessed of so much Christlike love could be evil, and I certainly do not believe that God would entrust an evil man with the task of translating a sacred volume of scripture.

Joseph Smith was a true prophet of God. He was called to be a prophet at a young age—much like Samuel in the Old Testament, in 1 Samuel chapter 3. Joseph Smith truly saw Jesus Christ at the right hand of God the Father—as did Stephen in the New Testament, in Acts chapter 7. He truly translated the Book of Mormon by the gift and power of God, and the book stands as a witness today of Joseph's prophetic calling.

How I live my faith

I try to treat everyone as I would treat the Savior—see Matthew 25:34-40. One way I do this is to keep food handy in my car to share with people who beg for food on the side of the road. I also make charitable donations through the Church to help those who are less fortunate than I am.

I attend church services every Sunday with my wife and children. Every Monday we have a special family night during which we sing, pray, learn about a gospel topic, and have a family activity and treats.

Another way I live my faith is by supporting the full-time missionaries, who sacrifice two years of their lives—frequently at their own expense—to teach people about the Savior and His Church. I often go with the missionaries to help teach people the gospel, and I also invite the missionaries to my house for dinner.

Who wrote the Book of Mormon?

Josh L. answered...

The Book of Mormon: Another Testament of Jesus Christ was written by ancient prophets of God, much like the Bible was. Around 600 B.C., during the time of the Biblical prophet Jeremiah, another prophet named Lehi was commanded by God to leave Jerusalem, taking only his family and a small group of people with him. They sailed to what is now known as the Americas, where they established a civilization. For several hundred years following their arrival, God continued to call prophets among this people, including Nephi, Mormon, Moroni, and others. The Book of Mormon is a compilation of the writings of these and other ancient American prophets.

One of the most special parts of the Book of Mormon takes place shortly after Christ's resurrection. Many people in the ancient Americas had seen the signs of Christ's birth and death that had been foretold by prophets. These ancient Americans were privileged to see the resurrected Savior descend from the sky and teach them what he had taught in Jerusalem and perform many of the same miracles for them. This account in the Book of Mormon is a powerful witness that the Savior loves all the people of the earth, and it reinforces His teachings from the Bible.
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Casey Dickson answered...

The Book of Mormon is a record of the ancient inhabitants of America, and their dealings with God; namely, the native Americans. God is no respector of persons; He loves all His children. He wants us all to make it back to live with Him; the Book of Mormon is proof to me that God loves all people of all nations; why would he only give His Word to just the Children of Israel?
The Book of Mormon was written by the prophets that were called of God on the American Continent; they too testifed that Jesus is the Christ, and he would surely come to redeem us from our sins. The book gets it's name from the prophet Mormon, who collected the individual records kept by prophets throughout the centuries, and complied them into one volume, written on gold plates. He gave them to his son, Moroni, who buried them in a hill by what is now known as Upstate New York. Centuries later, a young man named Joseph Smith, who wanted to know which church was true, had a vision of God the Father and His Son, who told him the truth was lost over the years, and he would be a tool in the Lord's hands to restore what was lost. A few years later, that same Moroni who buried the plates, visited Joseph as an angel of the Lord, and directed him to the ancient record. Through the gift on power of God, he was able to translate the book into English. The Book of Mormon helps us understand the fullness of the Gospel; with the Bible, we can discover God's will for us.

How can I find someone to talk with, in person, about the Mormon religion?

Taylor answered...

A. You could go to a mormon.org profile from someone in your area that has a facebook link, and locate them that way!
B. You could go to the link on mormon.org that says "request the missionaries"
C. You could go to the link that says " Find a Church" and come visit us. We all would be more than happy to meet you to and explain why this message is so important for all of us.