Hi, I'm Kristina P.

I'm a married social worker, Reality TV lover, humor writer, and I'm a Mormon.

About Me

My husband and I have been married for six years, and currently live in Utah, where I work with at-risk teens.

Generally, when I hear people describe a "typical" Mormon, many people think of a family with 17 children, very old-fashioned, have no sense of humor, are conservative/Republican, and they often confuse us with the Amish.

Not only do we not have any children, we don't even have a pet. And most of the plants in our home manage to die within about 27 days. I don't scrapbook or grind my own wheat. And I'm a registered Independent. I have only seen an Osmond as I creepily drove by one's house. And yet, I have somehow managed to be an active member of the LDS
church.

I love going to the movies with my husband, getting pedicures, watching
ridiculous amounts of TV, teaching small children the art of the "fist bump", and wearing a Snuggie. I am also an avid blogger and have made lifelong friendships through online relationships.

Why I am a Mormon

I was born and raised a Mormon. But even after growing up in the LDS faith, I think we all have a conversion story and have to find out for ourselves if we believe it to be true. I have had many, many faith building experiences, including something as simple as saying a prayer to have a finger stop throbbing after hours and hours, and having that small prayer answered.

I continue to have experiences like that on a daily basis, where I see small but impactful blessings and
experiences in my life, and I know the power my faith holds.

Personal Stories

How can your talents and gifts bless others?

I have been greatly blessed with the ability to understand and empathize with people. I received a special blessing from an elder in our church, when I was 18, and was told that I had a unique understanding of people's backgrounds and struggles, and would be able to assist people in their trials.

I didn't know what the meant for me, at the time, but now that I have been a social worker for over 10 years, I can see how exactly how that gift has impacted my life.

I have also been told that I have an ability to make people smile and laugh. Any day where someone emails me that they had to wear two diapers that day, after reading my blog, is a Christmas miracle in my book.

How I live my faith

I currently volunteer in my local church by assisting in our women's organization. The leaders knew I was the last person to put in charge of anything to do with crafting or sewing, unless you want your child's pants to be short enough to have been worn on Noah's ark, and they were able to utilize my personal strengths to try and make sure that every woman is made to feel important and wanted.

The best way I live my faith is just trying to be a good, kind, friendly person, even though some days, it takes me about five Diet Cokes to not pull my hair out or go postal on the person who cut me off on the freeway.

What is the Mormon lifestyle like? How do Mormons live?

Kristina P. answered...

There are many myths about how Mormons live and what we are like. I only take out my horse and buggy for special occasions, but usually, I just drive around in my regular old gas guzzling SUV. My husband only has one wife, and believe me when I say that he is grateful every single day that he only has to put up with me.

We both have normal, regular jobs, we love to spend time going to movies, hanging out with friends, watching TV, and doing things regular, normal people like to do. And I may sometimes do these things while wearing a Blanket with Sleeves. Perfectly normal, right?

We don't drink alcohol, smoke, hang out in bars, and we attend church for three hours on Sundays. Because there are no paid clergy in the Mormon church, we also help out during the week, where needed.

We live our religion everyday, mostly in the sense that we are just mindful of what we believe and what we stand for. We know we are a weird group of people in a lot of ways, but in most ways, we are just normal, average Joe Schmos.
Serge answered...

Family is everything to us. Our family spends lots of our free time together because we like each other. Life gets crazy with teenagers, dance practice, after school academic decathlon, usually with a toddler in tow, but no matter what, every Monday night is Family Night.

The kids know that every Monday we spend time together and nothing gets in the way of it. It's our commitment to each other. We bake cookies, have lessons about the Savior, work on personal goals, go to the park, go geocaching, play board games or just go out for ice cream.

We do lots of things together. The point is that at least once a week we spend an hour or two together, just for the sake of being together, just because we love being together as a family. It's not as perfect as it may sound, with all the poking and "she's in my spot," and all the other crazy things family members do to each other when scrambling for a spot in the living room, but we try real hard. It takes effort to make sure we don't miss, but it's worth it.

I'm not sure the kids will remember all the games we played, the places we went or what we did, but I hope they always remember that we loved each other enough to dedicate one night a week to be with each other. And that we spent every Monday night together for as many Mondays as they can remember because family is everything to us, and every member of our family is important.

What is The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints' attitude regarding homosexuality and same sex marriage?

Mandy answered...

We believe that God loves all of His children and that none of us are mistakes. Earth life is a time for us to meet challenges and overcome our weaknesses as we rely on the Lord. We are all unique, and so it makes sense that different people have different challenges. Just because one challenge seems harder than another, that doesn't limit God's ability to help us understand and overcome it.

As disciples of Christ, we are to love everyone and look for the goodness in everything. The family is central to God's plan. Marriage between a man and a woman is ordained of God and this relationship allows us to grow closer to God. Marriage is more about what you can offer and sacrifice for your spouse than for what you can receive out of it.