Hi, I'm Suzanne

I'm an aunt, a teacher, and a Mormon.

About Me

I teach high school biology and chemistry. I've lived in the western and eastern US and in Europe. I like to read, watch and play sports, and spend time with family.

Why I am a Mormon

I was born into a family that belonged to the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, and my faith has developed over the years to both draw on my heritage and stand on its own. Many of my ancestors left homes and family members to join the LDS Church - some of them traveled to the USA from Norway and the British Isles, and some traveled through Ohio, Missouri, Illinois, and then Utah with other early members of the Church. Their testimonies and the way they endured hardships for their faith is a tremendous example to me. At the same time, the Gospel of Jesus Christ has blessed me personally with peace through challenges, guidance in life decisions, and calming perspective when things don't go as planned. I know that I have a Heavenly Father who knows me and loves me, and that Jesus Christ suffered for my sins, knows my challenges, and has provided the way for me to overcome sin and death. I have experienced how the words of the Bible, Book of Mormon, and modern-day prophets have answered my prayers. I know these things through the Holy Ghost, through the peace and comfort it brings.

Personal Stories

What blessings have come through your faith in Jesus Christ?

As I have pursued advanced degrees in science and education, I have sometimes heard people setting up faith and reason as contradictory ideas, or as opposite ends of a spectrum. In my own life, however, I have found that my faith has enhanced my ability to reason and find truth. When I am living in harmony with Christian principles, I find that I am blessed to think clearly, to discern right from wrong, and to progress in my work and my studies. I like to think of faith and reason not as opposites, but as different ways of understanding the world - both of them valid in their contexts. As a scientist, for example, I work with evidence that can be seen with the eyes, measured, or otherwise clearly proven and replicated. As a person of faith, I can understand things additionally through evidence of the heart and of the spirit. And I have found that these two ways of knowing do not need to come into conflict.

How I live my faith

I currently serve as a leader in my ward's organization for women. In this capacity, I work with three other women to coordinate classes each Sunday on gospel topics, visit church members who are new to our area, organize monthly activities, and help women and others in our ward who are sick or need assistance. We also meet regularly with ward leaders to discuss ways to best serve our members and our local community.

What do Mormons believe about the nature of God?

Suzanne answered...

Mormons believe that God is a loving Heavenly Father. We believe that He has a perfect body of flesh and bone, and that we are created literally in His image. We believe that God is all-knowing and all-powerful, and is both just and merciful.
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Kathleen answered...

This question is easily answered in the words of one of the children's songs "I know my [Heavenly] Father lives, and loves me too". We believe in a loving God, who knows us each individually. Another way I know that God loves me because he has heard and answered my prayers many times. Some people think that God is angry, but I do not believe that is so. Matthew 7:11 reads, "If ye then, being evil, know how to give good gifts unto your children, how much more shall your Father which is in heaven give good things to those that ask him?" I think that just explains it all- as parents we want the best for our children. God, our Heavenly parent, wants the best for us, too. As parents, we recognize that giving our children everything they ask for isn't necessarily what's best for them. God does this for us also.

Why is family so important to Mormons?

Kevin answered...

We believe that our families are the basic unit of any society, and that failure in the home means that we've failed as a nation and a people. We've heard that it takes a village to raise a child, and that's true enough. But our leaders have told us that the most important work we can do in life, even more than any professional pursuits, is to raise our children in righteousness.

Think about it. If each father and mother were just a little more engaged in their family's lives i'm not talking about controlling their family, helping their sons and daughters with the challenges they constantly face, the crises we find ourselves in as a nation would become much less. We'd more good in the world as a result. You may think that naive or unrealistic, but I know how much good one family can cause, and how much pain another can cause. We want to change the world, and to do that we need to change ourselves and help our families become better too.