Hi, I'm Brandon

I grew up in Virginia. I love to drive, to bicycle, play the piano and organ and sing. I'm a Mormon.

About Me

I'm Brandon. I was born in Utah, but I've lived in California and Virginia for most of my life. I graduated from high school in 2009, and attended Brigham Young University for a year before becoming a full-time missionary for the church. Music is my life. I have played the piano since I was seven, and I began playing the organ in high school. I have enjoyed singing with school, community, and church choirs since high school. I enjoy bicycling and I'm an Eagle Scout.

Why I am a Mormon

I was born to parents who are members of the church, but I would not be a member of the church today if I didn't know it was the right church for me. I dealt with a lot of rebellious feelings as a teenager, but the church always kept me grounded. My testimony grew out of a desire to know the truth straight from God, and having enough faith to act on that desire. Heavenly Father answered my prayer, and since then, my testimony of this church has only become stronger. I was blessed as a teenager to have many opportunities to grow spiritually, including Church youth conferences and other youth programs, but these events did not give me my testimony. I know that this is God's church because I have asked God, and he told me the truth. Through this pattern of desiring to know and asking God, I also know that the Book of Mormon is true, that Joseph Smith was a prophet, that the Book of Mormon is the word of God, and that the church has the authority to act in God's name.

Personal Stories

Why do Mormons go on missions?

Mormons go on missions for many different, personal reasons however, one common thread that I have found is that Mormons go on missions because they know that this church blesses their lives and can bless the lives of others, and they want to share that knowledge with others.

How can your talents and gifts bless others?

I love to play the piano, and in high school, I learned how to play the organ. I also sing. Music is a very important part of my life. In the church, I have often been asked to accompany choirs or other musical groups, or to sing in sacrament meetings and other similar functions. I find that music is one of the ways that people can feel the Holy Spirit very strongly. Music has a power that can move people, which is why I love it so much. Through music, I can share my testimony with people, build them up, and help them strengthen their own faith in the Savior.

I also have learned to speak Chinese on my mission. Many Chinese people have never even heard of who Jesus Christ is or why he is important. This talent that the Lord has given me has allowed me to reach out to countless people from China. Those who have chosen to accept the message (even if my Chinese was broken at times) have experienced a change in their lives.

Could you talk about your baptism?

I was baptized at age eight, as most young Latter Day Saints are. I remember feeling very clean as I came up out of the water. Another young girl getting baptized had to be baptized four times, because the first three times, her long hair did not go all the way under the water. Later that day, I was sad to realize that I was "no longer perfect," or that I had sinned since getting my previous sins washed away through baptism. Since then, I have come to appreciate more and more the necessity, but really, the great blessing of repentance and the healing power of the Atonement. Every day, I make so many mistakes, but through the covenant I made with God at baptism, I can repent, become clean again, and try to do better.

How I live my faith

As a teenager, I had many opportunities to be a youth leader in the church's youth programs. These opportunities gave me the leadership necessary to accomplish my Eagle project--painting and refurbishing a large pavilion in my town's public park. When I went to Brigham Young University, I was asked to be a financial clerk for the student congregation I was a part of. I also had the opportunity to home teach a total of twelve people in my student congregation over two semesters (six people each semester). Home teaching meant visiting them at least once a month (more often when people got sick or needed other help) with a short, Gospel-centered message about how to become more like Christ. Through building these relationships, I was able to see the people I home taught more as Christ sees them--as children of our Heavenly Father.

Where did Mormonism and The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints begin?

Brandon answered...

Fourteen year old Joseph Smith had a question. He was surrounded by different churches. His family members belonged to different churches, and he was concerned about his salvation. He wanted very badly to know which church he should join. Joseph studied the Bible, and came across the scripture in the book of James, chapter one, verse five: "If any of you lack wisdom, let him ask of God, that giveth to all men liberally, and upbraideth not, and it shall be given him." What Joseph took from this is that he, lacking wisdom, should take his question to God in prayer. He found a spot in a grove of trees near his home, knelt, and prayed. In response to his prayer, Heavenly Father and Jesus Christ appeared to him, telling him that none of the churches were correct, and that he, Joseph, would restore Christ's true church to the earth. Joseph organized the church on April 6, 1830, and since then, the church has continued to grow and spread.
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Bari answered...

In the early 1800´s a wave of religious interest known as "The Great Awakening" swept the United States, and with it several new Christian churches. With so many different opinions on The Bible, many people were confused about which church was true. A young man named Joseph Smith lived in upstate New York with his family. They visted several churches and listened to several different preachers, but still came to no conclusion. A Bible passage in the first chapter of James reads "If any of ye lack wisdom, let him ask of God," and upon reading this and feeling very impressed by it, Joseph Smith decided that he could only get an answer through God. One day in the spring of 1820, he went into a grove near his house and began to pray. Unexpectedly, he was visted by God the Father and His Son, Jesus Christ, who told him that the Church organization Christ established on the Earth, the Priesthood authority to do sacred things, and many simple doctrines had been lost after His death and that of His Apostles. Christ also told Joseph Smith that with time, He would restore His church with the proper authority again on the Earth. After this visit, Christ sent other heavenly messengers inclding Peter, James, and John to lay their hands on Joseph Smith´s head and give Priesthood authority just like it was given in times of old. Over the course of 10 years, the same church that Christ established in His Earthly ministry with all its offices and the fullnes of the Gospel was restored.

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?

Kara answered...

Women don't hold the priesthood in the church, as this is a teaching that has come from Jesus Christ. However, women have such a significant role to play in the church that personally I have never felt that this is an issue I am concerned with or even think about. My husband and I are equal partners in our family, and the church has such respect and reverence for women and their role in the world. Women in the church also belong to what is called the 'Relief Society' it is one of the largest women's organisation in the world, and fills me with such a desire to serve and do good that when we meet together wherever I am in the world I feel so proud to be apart of it.