Hi, I'm Kevin

I'm a husband. I'm a father and grandfather. I'm an engineer. I'm a Mormon.

About Me

I am married to a wonderful wife and we have four children who are now all grown. I am an electrical engineer by profession and it is what I really love to do. I have served in the Army and the Air Force on active duty and also as a civilian employee. I am just an ordinary nerd who enjoys good music, golf on occasion and family history. I also like to discuss machine learning and artificial neural networks.

Why I am a Mormon

I am a Mormon because I know through the gift of the Holy Ghost that the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints is God's true church on the earth. I have spent a great many years now as a member of the church and I know that true happiness comes to me when I am living the principles of the gospel and serving others. King Benjamin in the Book of Mormon taught that when we are in the service of our fellow beings we are only in the service of our God. I know this to be true because I have given service many times and felt the Savior's love for me and for those being served.

I am a Mormon because I have received a testimony of the truth by following the admonition given by James: If any of ye lack wisdom let him ask of God and it shall be given him. But let him ask in faith. I know that we walk by faith in this life and I know that the Bible, the Book of Mormon, the Doctrine and Covenants and the Pearl of Great Price are all precious gems if we will but read and follow their precepts.

I have asked God about a great many things and I have walked the principles as well learning for myself the truthfulness of the gospel. The Savior called to all of us to take His yoke upon us and that it would be light. While we all face challenges and setbacks in our life, I have found that we can endure and overcome much more easily if we have the Lord yoked with us than without.

Take time to read and ponder the holy scriptures and you will find rest to your soul and happiness in this life as well as the life to come.

How I live my faith

I live my faith quietly. I serve in the church as a priesthood leader which requires me to be up front and center, but I am just as happy to quietly serve as a home teacher. We all walk by faith in this life. As we learn new gospel truths and live them we gain more knowledge and faith. This has been a truism for me throughout my life. I am building faith every day by living the principles of the gospel that are revealed to me through scripture study, prayer and from counsel received from my priesthood leaders.

I live by faith and hope. As we live the gospel and become more diligent we learn that our hope can be strengthened. As our faith grows stronger our hope that we can live again with the Savior also increases. This hope which comes to us through the atonement of Jesus Christ gives me strength to press on until the end in faith and commitment to the Lord Jesus Christ.

James tells us that faith without works is dead. He was telling all of us that it is not enough to just believe or to just desire, we must do -- that is the works part, in order to make our faith strong. By serving others and being obedient we are showing our faith is part of us and that it moves us to action in all things. Part of the baptismal covenant we take upon us as Mormons is to stand as a witness of Jesus Christ at all times, in all things, and in all places.

I stand as a witness of the Lord Jesus Christ through my life as seen in my everyday actions. I hope that they are pleasing unto Him.

Can a husband and wife be together forever? Do Mormons believe that families will live together in heaven?

Kevin answered...

The answer to this question is an emphatic YES!! A husband and wife as well as their offspring can live together forever. We are the children of loving Heavenly parents who love us and want us to return home. Through the atonement, the Savior Jesus Christ has provided the way for us to repent and become pure and clean such that we can dwell with Him and our Heavenly Father.

The doctrine that family life is the order of heaven was overshadowed by the precepts of men over the ages. Through latter-day revelation the essential truths and ordinances have been restored which allow families to be together forever based upon their faithfulness for God will force no man to heaven. We must live the commandments and repent when we fall short. Through the atonement and following the promptings of the Holy Spirit, we can become like Christ and fulfill our eternal destiny.

In fact the temples are there specifically to bind families together and to show us the true order of heaven. Through the work done in the temple, families are given the opportunity to make and keep sacred covenants and to receive the ordinances necessary for them to live together forever.
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Amanda answered...

YES!!! This is one of my favorite parts of the gospel. I believe that my family will live together in heaven. I will know my family as my family members. My husband is my husband for now and for all eternity. My children are my children here on earth and for all eternity. I know that if something happened to one of us that I will see them again. I love this about the church. Before joining, I always had a question about this concept and when taking the discussions from the missionaries this came up. Makes me love the church more and more.

Why don’t women hold the priesthood in The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints? How do Mormon women lead in the Church?

Leeny answered...

This is a question I had to really consider before joining the Church. My mother is a non-denominational chaplain, and both my sisters are pastors. Female leadership in church settings is very important to my family.

It is to me as well. I think many people become offended when they learn that only men hold the priesthood because they misunderstand it. The priesthood is a tool given to men in order that they might serve others more. It does not in any way give them power or dominion over women. Those people who suppose the priesthood is a way to control others are deeply mistaken.

My husband is a priesthood holder, this means I am too. I have claim on my husband's priesthood power. Even more than he does. If I am sick, discouraged, or in need of help I can call upon my husband to give me a blessing through the priesthood that he holds. I then recieve many blessings because of my husband's worthiness to work in behalf of Christ. My husband is never able to give himself a blessing though. If he is sick or discouraged he must call on other priesthood holders to administer to him. My husband holds the priesthood so that he can bless me and our child - never himself.

The priesthood is the power of Christ on the earth. It allows those who hold it to serve their families in the same way Christ served the Church. Did Christ do any deed for himself during his earthly ministry? No. Christ spent all his energy serving the people. This is what the priesthood does for my husband. It infuses him with Christ's compassion and ability to love, and then my husband is able to use that celestial love in our family.

Why don't women also recieve this special gift then? The simple answer is women don't need it. As women we are innately endowed with compassion, selflessness, and love. Think about the way a mother loves her child. I believe there is nothing more pure and similar to Christ's love for us, than a mother's love for her children. Women naturally have the ability to love as Christ does.

In an ideal situation, which is what God always intended for us, there are two partners in marriage. There is the husband and father, a priesthood leader who can be called upon to administer blessings and serve in Christ's name. And there is also the wife and mother, who is blessed with the ability to love as Christ loves and sacrifice for her family. These are two seperate and divinely appointed roles. Each complementing the other. Both make a complete home.

Women do not hold the priesthood because they do not need it. Women have other God-given powers that raise them up to the task they are called to. A man is appointed to serve his wife and children - it is the power of the priesthood that enables him to do this.

I am grateful to have a husband who is worhty to use the priesthood in my behalf. It has blessed me many times and I know that it is a special gift from God - not only to my husband, but to me as well.