Hi, I'm Melanie

I live in New Zealand, play netball and have five children. I'm a mormon.

About Me

This year I will be 36 years old. I am married with five children, we live in Christchuch New Zealand. I trained as a secondary school teacher and am still working in education. I am the youngest of four children all girls - my dad was from a large Māori family in Blenheim and my mother from Roxburgh, New Zealand.

Why I am a Mormon

My parents joined the church after being taught by the missionaries. My mother joined first along with my eldest sister. Later my sisters were baptised. I was not baptised until I was ten years old. There are many similarities between Maori values and the Mormon Church. These include the importance of family and genealogy, caring for others, and a sense of community. For me personally, I am a member of the Church because through it I have gained a testimony of Jesus Christ, I feel of his love and direction in my life on a daily basis. I know that through his Atonement I am able to seek forgiveness for all of the mistakes I make and that I can follow his plan and have eternal life. As a member of the Church I have also had the opportunity to attend the Temple and be sealed to my husband - this means that our children are also sealed to us and we can be a family together forever.

Personal Stories

What have you done successfully to shield your family from unwanted influences?

Our family is like any other - we are part of a neighbourhood and community where there are great people and we have many friends. There are also influences in our community that we try and help our children to avoid. Our children have free agency so our role is to teach them the difference between right and wrong, and use examples from the scriptures to help them leto know what a good decision might look like. We then support our children as they make their own choices - and that includes loving them when they make decisions that we might not support. Our religion is 7 days a week - and our children watch the decisions we make every day - in this way our example is a powerful tool to help our children to make good decisions.

How can we develop greater harmony in our homes?

Like every relationship there are daily challenges that we face. The great thing is having the example of the Savior as a guide to how we should treat and respect each other. This allows us to focus not on who is right or wrong, but rather to ask ourselves questions like - what would the Lord want us to do? How can we work together? What do we need to change personally in order to be a better companion?

How I live my faith

As a family we read the scriptures with our children each morning for about 5 minutes before breakfast they are very young. Each Monday evening we have a family meeting that lasts for about an hour - in that time the children, myself and my husband play games, discuss things that are happening in our family and sign songs. This meeting begins and ends with a prayer. Outside of the home I help in my local congregation by sometimes teaching classes about Gospel Topics. I also help to coordinate local community service activities where members of the Church help with things like gardening, cleaning, painting and donating food.

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?

Melanie answered...

Men and women have different responsibilities in the Church but are able to share equally in the blessings available to children of Heavenly Father. As a woman in the Church I have held many positions of responsibility including training youth leaders, teaching classes and being on National committees. The most important calling I have is as a mother to my children - my husband and I work in partnership to provide our children with a loving and supportive home and a knowledge of the Gospel of Jesus Christ.
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.

Why do you have 12 Apostles? They were just meant to be around for the time of Jesus Christ, not to be replaced with new apostles.

Scott Jackson answered...

When Jesus Christ was on the Earth, He established an organization of prophets, apostles, teachers, and other leaders to lead and guide the members of His church (the body of Christ, as it is referred to in the New Testament). When Judas died, and Jesus had left the Earth, the first order of business for the other 11 apostles was to fill the vacancy. They did so by praying and seeking out revelation. They eventually decided on Matthias. This example shows us that apostles were not only to be used for when Christ was on the Earth, but that God wanted Apostles to lead His children at all times. Unfortunately, apostasy stirred within the early church, and the apostles were killed one by one. The world was left without Priesthood leadership, until the time of the Restoration, when this same authority was given to Joseph Smith and Oliver Cowdery from the very same Peter, James and John (as resurrected beings). The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter day Saints has 12 apostles, just like in New Testament times. These special witnesses of Christ bear solemn witness that Jesus is the Christ. They help the Prophet and President of the Church to share the Gospel message to the four corners of the Earth.