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Hi, I'm Michael
I'm a member of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints.
About Me
My wife and I are the parents of four grown children and enjoy our empty nest quite a bit. We've also just begun to discover the joys of grandparenthood. We are native Californians and think Utah is a great place to visit...for a few days. :-D
I'm a high-tech entrepreneur with an engineering degree and 20 years of global business experience in the computer software industry.
I am a political moderate and have been a registered independent for over a decade.
My loves include music, literature, teaching, and the dispassionate, respectful, and intelligent argumentation of important issues.
Why I am a Mormon
Several factors comprise my choice to be "Mormon", including heritage, intellectual study and analysis, and spiritual understanding and fulfillment.
My mother's family first joined the Church in mid-19th century England, and followed their faith across the Atlantic Ocean (and most of the American continent) to what would later become the state of Utah. Even though my mother married outside of her faith, she made sure that I was raised in it and participated in church activities regularly. I will be forever grateful to her for that. The shared faith, vision, and sacrifices Mormons have make me feel that we are more than a church-- we are a people. I like that.
Even with that upbringing, my faith became subject to my own intellectual testing as I matured. That testing has focused relentlessly on the doctrines of the Church, and not its people (who are sublime, flawed, and occasionally silly), nor its traditions (which are both noble and occasionally misguided), nor even its prominent leaders (who are the first to tell you they are fallible, but whom I sustain as prophets, seers, and revelators whenever they act in their official capacities). To my scrutiny, the doctrines of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints make profound sense while answering all of life's most significant questions. The pieces of life's biggest picture all fit together for me as "a Mormon".
I am "a Mormon" because God has taught and confirmed to my mind and spirit that His hand is in it, and that this is what He wants me to do to fulfill my potential and experience the joy that is the object of my existence. He has done so not in a single, blinding moment of heavenly vision, but over many years filled with uncounted, quiet, but unmistakable messages from His still, small voice that reach deep into my soul.
Finally, and most importantly, I am "Mormon" because I choose to be. As Ezra Taft Benson said, "Every man eventually is backed up to the wall of faith, and there he must make his stand." After all the evidence given to or acquired by me, the choice is still mine to make--for God will force no man to heaven.
I choose to be "Mormon" to the bone, and I could not be happier.
Personal Stories
How can we develop greater harmony in our homes?
I believe that simple things can have a profound effect on the harmony in our homes. Allow me to share a personal experience to illustrate my point.
When my oldest daughter was in high school, she was a cheerleader and quite busy with all the obligations related to that activity. One particular day was very tightly scheduled, with a performance in the afternoon and a game that night and only a brief period of free time in between. We lived quite close to the school, and my daughter asked if another cheerleader who lived far away could join us for dinner and save the travel time. Of course, we agreed.
For our family, it was just another dinner. As we went about the routine of preparing food, setting the table, etc., I failed to take much notice of our guest. As we took our seats at the dinner table and prepared to say grace, the room suddenly fell quiet. I looked up at our guest and saw that she was in tears. It was a mildly awkward moment, but I gently asked her what was wrong as my daughter handed her a napkin with which to dry her eyes. After collecting herself, she said, "Do you guys...do this...a lot?"
"Do what?" I replied.
"You know...sit down together...to eat...to talk with each other...like this?"
As an understanding washed over me, I felt a poignant sadness for our guest. I just smiled at her and nodded. My daughter then spoke, saying, "Yeah, we do this pretty much every night. Don't you do this at your house?"
Our guest slowly shook her head, and there were more tears. But the tears were quickly dried, and the smiles returned all around. "I wish we did this at our house," our guest said aloud. "You guys are so lucky."
We quickly reassured her that, for tonight, she was a welcome part of our family. The mood lightened and we enjoyed a wonderful dinner with a pleasant conversation.
I think our guest learned something important that night, and saw how a simple thing like a shared meal with actual conversation could bring a busy family together and increase the harmony therein.
I also learned a renewed gratitude for the simple things that can make a family stronger.
What have you done successfully to shield your family from unwanted influences?
There are some parents who, seeing the fearsome growth of unwanted influences in the world, attempt to "wall off" their family from the world entirely. It is a natural reaction; the dangers from negative influences such as alcohol, drugs, pornography, promiscuous sexual behavior, materialism, etc., are very real. It is easy to view these things as diseases, and to adopt the corresponding protective attitude of quarantine. I think it is wisdom to do this with prudence, but folly to take it too far. If parents never speak of these things, and create a world wherein their children are utterly ignorant of these dangers, the resulting safety lasts only as long as the children live within their parents' domain. I have witnessed such children experience horrible problems when the time came to "leave the nest" and they were utterly unprepared to protect themselves on their own.
I believe it is possible to educate and train our children to recognize and deal effectively with these dangers without succumbing to them. To continue the "disease" metaphor, we can "vaccinate" our children by teaching them, at the appropriate age, about the truth of these dangers and how to successfully avoid them. Doing so requires a trusting parent/child relationship and the will to treat our children as the adults we hope they will become. Let the first discussion of these important subjects take place in the home rather than in the street; let it happen between a loving parent and a trusting child instead of between two children during a moment of temptation or weakness. Let there be frank teaching, with answers to any question a child asks. Most of all, let it be clear that the teaching is motivated by love and not by a compulsion to control.
How has attending Church services helped you?
Attending church services helps me in several important ways, all of which strengthen my personal connection with God and/or with other people who share my faith. The most important part of my church attendance is participation in the sacrament ordinance, which is an opportunity to worship God in a way that is both formal and very private. Attending church also refreshes my friendships with other church members and provides opportunities for Christian service, such as delivering sermons, teaching classes, providing childcare, or singing in the choir. After attending church on Sunday, I feel closer to God, closer to those who share my faith, and happier within myself.
Please explain the part prayer plays in your life?
Prayer is an everyday miracle for me. Like people of many faiths, I find peace, comfort, and strength in prayer. For Mormons, personal prayer is not a recitation of a fixed format, but a unique expression each time. Mormons emphasize and seek prayer as a two-way communication with Heavenly Father, performed in the name of Jesus Christ, and full of expressions of gratitude and requests for blessings as necessary, mingled with spiritual sensitivity to any answers God may choose to provide. Mormons refer to the spiritual promptings thus received as "personal revelation".
Daily personal prayer strengthens my faith in God, enables me to formally humble myself before Him, and brings peace and strength to face each day.
How I live my faith
After many years of serving in prominent leadership and teaching positions in my ward and stake, including service as Bishop, I now enjoy directing our ward's choir. I could not agree more completely with President Gordon B. Hinckley, who once said, "No man in his right mind aspires to ecclesiastical office in this Church."
Living my faith is a very personal matter, and its most important external evidences are simple things--consideration, tolerance, kindness, and small acts of service for others. The best measure of how well I live my faith is, simply put, the quality of my character.
I love, respect, care for, and serve my family. I am there for my friends when they need me. I give back to the community in which we live. I serve in my church in any capacity to which I am called. I fully and frankly answer sincere questions about my faith from anyone of goodwill.
I exert myself in the deliberate study of my faith, seeking a fundamental understanding of its doctrines that can come no other way.
Borrowing from Hugh Nibley and David O. McKay, I would summarize as follows: "I am here on earth to believe, to act according to my belief, to repent, and to forgive. The greatest aspiration I can pursue is to develop my character to resemble that of Jesus Christ, who is my Lord and my Savior."
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Does The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints endorse political parties?
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What is the attitude of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints regarding homosexuality and same sex marriage?
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