Hi, I'm Derek

I grew up in California, love reading and enjoy music. I am a Mormon.

About Me

I grew up in Southern California, and served a mission in Tulsa, Oklahoma. I have traveled to various parts of Europe and all over the United States, and love to meet good people everywhere. I love hiking, biking and spending time with my family. Though I grew up in the LDS Church, I attended various Churches through high school. During that time I researched many religions, but ultimately found Heavenly Father bringing me back to the LDS church. My parents and brother uplift and encourage me in all that I do they are a constant reminder of our Heavenly Father's never-ending Love and Support.

Why I am a Mormon

Simply put: it makes me happiest to live the Gospel of Jesus Christ as restored to the Prophet Joseph Smith.

Personal Stories

What has helped develop greater harmony in your home?

In our home, we have always had a good time laughing, playing and joking with each other. A few years ago, we realized that our relationships with one another were becoming strained as we would say hurtful things in our joking. We quickly began to pray together that we would be mindful of others' feelings, and say helpful and uplifting things to one another. Since then, we have had the blessing of the spirit of God filling our home, minds and spirits.

How has attending Church services helped you?

I heard a simple analogy many years ago:
A man took his automobile into a mechanic every six months for a tune up for over twenty years. Sometimes more work was needed than just the tune up, and sometimes it was a routine job. One day the mechanic asked the man why he was so dedicated to taking care of his car. The man replied, "I take care of my car so that I am not surprised when something goes wrong. When I observe what has been done and what needs to be done with my car, I am able to deal with the issues as they come."

I feel the same way about going to Church each week. I may not always need an overhaul of my spiritual transmission, just as the car may not have needed serious work at each inspection. But over time I have seen the great blessings of Church: a greater ability to deal with issues as they come.

When life throws a curveball, I am able to rely on Jesus Christ more fully because I have made a constant habit of serving and relying on Him. That way in times of trial, emotional insecurity, un-employment, cancer in the family and a broken-down car I am more focused on letting God show me the way through it than the seemingly insurmountable tasks ahead.

How I live my faith

I look for ways to be Christlike every day-- not just at church. I participate in community and church service groups which seek to better the lives of those around me through service given of a loving heart. I enjoy learning from others how they view God, and in so doing I find myself closer to Him each day.

Why do Mormons believe in the Bible?

Derek answered...

The Bible is a beautiful book! It is filled with histories and stories of love, inspiration, evil (and how to overcome it), prophets, apostles and, most importantly, our Savior Jesus Christ. Though much has been changed over the years by counsels and endless translations, it still remains part of the bedrock of our faith.

Just as the words of The Bible were the words of prophets given to the people thousands of years ago, we look to the counsel of living prophet for guidance in our day.
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What do Mormons believe concerning the doctrine of grace?

Bryant answered...

Grace is the enable power of Christ to be cleansed of our sins. When I think of grace I like to think of a dam. Now the purpose of a dam is to create energy for a city, but how does it do that? The dam holds back the water and creates a huge amount of pressure. A portion of that pressure is released into a very large duct that flows down and spins large turbines. The spinning of these turbines is what creates the energy that we all use every day. Now without that water, could we spin these turbines by ourselves? No, manpower alone is not nearly enough to create the energy needed. There is just no possible way that a human being by themselves could turn those massive turbines. In this analogy Christ is the strong current created by the water from the dam. Without him we would be unable to turn the turbine to cleanse our lives, only he can do it! None the less we do have control of one part of this process, we can interfere. Sometimes in our lives we sin to a point that we have created so much filth to clog up the duct and not allow Christ's flow into our lives. We must be continually watching to make sure that we do not inhibit this process. Thus, "faith, if it hath not works, is dead, being alone." see James 15 Turbines without the pressure from the water is completely useless. Our lives without Christ? "For the wages of sin is death but the gift of God is eternal life through Jesus Christ our Lord." see Romans 623