Hi, I'm Natalie

I'm a mom of 2, a Law School Grad, an artist, and a Mormon!

About Me

My typical day involves a lot of driving my 8 year old son & 5 year old daughter to all their activities. Things are even busier in the fall with the addition of cub scouts for my boy and and 2 dance classes for my girl. I keep a lot of plates in the air, trying to keep my family healthy and happy and make sure I'm taking care of myself, too. I enjoy exercising at the gym as often as I can, reading lots of books, and watercolor painting. I've also faced challenges. My son has Sensory Processing Disorder, and I have fought depression and anxiety with nutrition and counseling for almost 6 years.

Why I am a Mormon

I was born in a family that was active in the Mormon church. Being a Mormon was a "given." But I still had the chance to "take it" or "leave it" as temptations confronted me as a teenager.

I soul-searched and decided that the church and its teachings were what made me really truly happy.

As I go through life, I've been able to deepen my relationship with God and my Savior and really depend on my faith to get me through the hard moments. And the other side of that is that my deepest joys come from the peace of the Gospel and the circumstances that have come from my good decisions, guided by church principles.

Personal Stories

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

We work hard on our marriage. We continually try to treat each other in a Christ-like way. We read self-help books on relationships and marriage by Mormon and non-Mormon authors. We've even visited counseling for a time. But it has paid off in dividends. I'm so blessed that I have security in my marriage and that I can feel appreciative of him and still in love after 10 years of marriage.

Our relationships with our children are also important to us. We try to have one-on-one parent-child outings once a month. We try to eat dinner together at the dinner table daily. We try to have daily family prayer and family scripture reading together. We have regular fun outings as a family.

We keep in touch with our extended family, all of whom live far away from us. We write letters, emails, try to have regular phone calls, and our kids' favorite are the family reunions. Once at least every other year, we get the whole extended family together to vacation, play games, get reacquainted, and to show our children that our families and the Gospel are the most important things in the world to us.

How I live my faith

I am in charge of activities for the 8 to 11 year old girls in our congregation. There are 8 of them right now. We do crafts and have treats, and spiritual lessons, and the girls get to pass off goals that relate to something called the "Faith In God Award." I enjoy sharing my faith with these girls, trying to give them lots of hugs and love, like they were my own.

Our family tries to have "Family Home Evening" every Monday. We have a chart, and the kids enjoy taking turns to pick who says the prayer, who picks the song, who helps with the lesson and who picks the treat for the evening. We use this time to teach our kids scripture stories, and values.

I try to be compassionate to my friends and community, serving and giving when I can.

What will the Mormon missionaries talk about when they visit my home?

Natalie answered...

I have experience with this because I was a missionary back in 1993-1994 in Finland, and I visited people in their home and taught them about our church.

The missionaries will talk about our belief in God, and the nature of God. They will talk with you about what we believe about Jesus Christ, and why we need Him as our Redeemer. They will talk about the way God has given us to recognize truth versus error in the world. You'll be able to discuss the role of scriptures and prophets.

Something new you might learn is what The Book of Mormon is, and how it came into being. You'll learn who Joseph Smith is, and how he translated the Book of Mormon from an ancient language and restored the organization of Christ's church to the earth.

The missionaries will ask you to act on the things you learn. For example, once you learn why it's important to take care of your body by abstaining from alcohol, tobacco and coffee, they might ask you to commit to living that way.

Finally, they will discuss baptism, what it means, why it's important and necessary.

Having the missionaries in your home will definitely be very rewarding for you. They are earnest, loving people, and would do anything to help you.
Jordan Christiansen answered...

I served a mission in South Korea for two years, so I can tell you. :) The missionaries will probably be as nervous as you are as they arrive at your home. The nervousness does not come from timidity or a lack of belief in the message they bring, but because they want so much to express their testimonies and the Spirit they feel to you.

The missionaries will likely introduce themselves and get to know you and your family. Though missionaries are called by God to preach His word, they come from largely every-day backgrounds and have lives likely much like yours.

After getting to know your family, they will likely ask what questions you may have about life or the Mormon church. Using the scriptures and their own personal experiences, they will seek to help you find answers. Don't be afraid of asking any question or thinking you may offend or sound silly to the missionaries. They are called to help and serve and are very understanding.

After answering your questions and sharing a spiritual message, the missionaries will ask you to act on the message. A soccer player does not listen to his coach during practice only to go home without kicking a ball, right? In the same way, the missionaries will invite you to read a chapter of scripture or seek for yourself that what they are saying is true. You don't have to just take the missionaries' word in what they say--a loving God is happy to answer thoughtful, earnest prayers seeking for the truth.

Why do Mormon missionaries proselyte?

Nick answered...

Our decision to serve missions is motivated by our belief in the Gospel and our desire to fulfill the Savior's command to "preach the gospel to every creature" Mark 16:15. The Gospel teaches us that we are all sons and daughters of God, and so we feel a kinship with all of God's children and a desire to help them enjoy the peace in this life that the Gospel provides.Our missionaries are not salesman and won't take much of your time, but I know that your decision to invite them into your home will change your life for good!