Hi, I'm Jeremy

I'm Caucasian, but I grew up on the Navajo Nation in northern Arizona. I'm a biomedical engineering Masters student. I'm a Mormon.

About Me

I'm happily married with two young daughters.

I'm a Biomedical Engineering student. I hope to one day be able to design medical devices that will improve the health of people around the world and lower the cost of health care.

I love gardening. Whenever possible, I plant a small patch of vegetables every summer. This winter, I'm going to try to build an indoor herb garden.

Why I am a Mormon

My mom and dad have always been Mormons, so it was easy for me to go to church with them when I was little. When I was about fourteen years old I started to wonder about my life as a Mormon. How did I know that what they were teaching me in church about Jesus Christ was really true? There are so many religions in the world. Is there one Christian church that God wants us all to join, or does it not matter which? What about Buddha and Mohammad? Does God really even exist?

The Church had always taught me that God loves us so much that if we reach out to him then He will let us respond to us and teach us. I figured that if the things that my Church leaders were teaching were true then God himself would let me know. I started reading the Book of Mormon for the first time by myself. My family didn't know what I was doing. Late one night after I had read most of the book, I prayed and asked God if the Book of Mormon is true. A powerful, warm, relaxing feeling swept over me. It was so intense. It almost felt like a light was shining on me, but not so much on my skin as on the inside. Some people may think that I was only imagining the feeling or that perhaps it was simply a strong emotional excitement, but I've felt excitement before and I know that I can tell the difference. I think that if I were to close my eyes and if God were to give me a hug, it would feel a lot like what I felt that night.

At that moment, I knew that the Book of Mormon is divinely inspired scripture. I knew that God wanted me to be a Mormon. I knew that Jesus is our Savior. It was at that moment that I first considered myself to be a Christian and a Mormon. Since that time I have had several other spiritually experiences that have confirmed my faith in Jesus Christ and His Church.

Personal Stories

How has the Book of Mormon brought you closer to God?

I would have to say that I wouldn't be a Christian if it weren't for the Book of Mormon. After reading parts of the Bible, I still wasn't quite sure if Jesus really is our Savior. After that, I read the Book of Mormon and followed its instruction to ask God if the book is true. God answered my prayer by sending a warm feeling to my heart by the power of the Holy Spirit. After that, I knew that the Book of Mormon is true and that, therefore, Jesus must be our Savior because of how strongly the Book of Mormon teaches about Him. I also realized that the Bible must be the word of God. Once I realized the truth about Jesus, the Bible, and the Book of Mormon, I realized that there were many things in my life that I had to change. I was overcome by a desire to repent of my sins and to keep God's commandments. Now, I feel like I have a personal relationship with God. I feel clean and happy.

Can you talk about the missions of the Church and your participation in them?

I was called to be a missionary in El Salvador. When I sent in my application to be a missionary, I had no idea that the Church was going to ask me to learn Spanish! But still, I was excited and happy to help other people come unto Jesus Christ. I studied Spanish at the Missionary Training Center in Provo Utah for about nine weeks before traveling to El Salvador. I personally paid for a large portion of the cost of my mission, but my parents were generous to pay for the majority of the cost.

My experience in El Salvador changed my outlook on life. I quickly developed a brotherly friendship with the Salvadoran people. I was shocked at the conditions of extreme poverty that I witnessed, but even more surprized at how intelegent and resourceful many of the Salvadoran people were.

As a missionary, we would try to meet people and teach them about our beliefs. Sometimes we would just try to strick up a conversation with people as we walked down the street or rode on the bus. Sometimes the members of the Church would introduce us to some of their friends and family members who were interested in the Church. As we would teach them about the Gospel, we would encourage them to ask questions and share their opinions about what we taught. We would always urge the people that we taught to read the Book of Mormon and pray to Heavenly Father. We would also invite them to be baptised as part of a life long commitment to live Jesus's Gospel.

I am grateful to Heavenly Father for how many people I was able to reach in El Salvador. Almost all of the families that were baptised had never been members of any Church before. Many of the people that I taught are now actively serving in leadership positions in the Church.

How I live my faith

Both my wife and I can speak Spanish, so we decided that we would attend the Spanish speaking branch of the Church in our area. We love it! It's so great to make friends with the Hispanic people here in Texas and in the Church. We only have about 60-80 members of our local congregation. In some ways that's nice because it means that we have become a tight-knit group, but we would love to have more of our friends from work and school come to our church services with us.

My wife and I both received assignments from our branch president to work with the children in the Primary (children ages 3-11). I'm a Sunday School teacher for the older children, which means that I get to teach them about the Bible and the Book of Mormon. This year has been great--we spent the whole year learning about the New Testament. It's been so powerful for these children to learn about our Savior Jesus Christ and the Atonement that he performed for us by studying the New Testament.

Mormons believe Jesus Christ is their Savior. Why do we need a Savior?

Jeremy answered...

We need a savior because each one of us has broken God's laws and commandments. When we do this then we have commited as sin and are unclean. Because no unclean thing can live with God, then our sins prevent us from living with God in heaven.

In order for the principle of justice to be intact, there must be a punishment for every sin and crime. Because God is perfect, then He must satisfy justice. If God were to let one of us into heaven with a sin, then that would mean that God is a dishonest, which would mean that he is not perfect, which would mean that he could not be God. Even though God is merciful, he still needs to deal justice.

That's why we need a Savior. During the last night and day of Jesus Christ's life he suffered the punishment of every sin for every person who ever lived or who would ever live. He received our punishment so that we wouldn't have to do it. That way, God is just and fair because punishment was received for each sin. However, God is also merciful because we don't have to suffer our own punishment. Jesus Christ already paid the price for each one of us, but we need to become his disciples in order to receive the benefit of His suffering.
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Meaghan answered...

Have you ever met a perfect person? I doubt it. Why? Because everyone makes mistakes. When you make a mistake or are confused on what you should do, you want someone to help you, right? We all need someone to help us. We all need a Savior. We always hear that Jesus Christ saved us, but what does that truly mean? It not only means that he suffered and died for you personally, it means that he lived and lives for us too. He wants to help us. Jesus Christ is the only one who underestands everything that we go through. He not only wants to make up for the mistakes we make, but he wants to carry our burdens too. All we need to do is let him carry our burdens. Everyone faces personal challenges and Jesus is there to help. Everyone makes a mistake qa some point in life too. The beauty of having a Savior, is the fact that we can be forgiven. Sometimes our hands get dirty, but they can always be washed clean.

What is the Book of Mormon?

Ben answered...

We believe in a loving Father in Heaven who desires all of his children to have His precious word. "Know ye not that there are more nations than one? Know ye not that I, the Lord your God, have created all men, and that I remember those who are upon the isles of the sea; and that I rule in the heavens above and in the earth beneath; and I bring forth my word unto the children of men, yea, even upon all the nations of the earth?" (2 Nephi 29:7).

Of course, with any thing concerning God, it is important to find out, personally, if the work is true. What better source can we trust than God Himself? Through prayer we can know, independently of anyone else, where the truth lies concerning any matter.

In the introduction to the Book of Mormon we read: "We invite all men everywhere to read the Book of Mormon, to ponder in their hearts the message it contains, and then to ask God, the Eternal Father, in the name of Christ if the book is true. Those who pursue this course and ask in faith will gain a testimony of its truth and divinity by the power of the Holy Ghost." I testify that this pattern of revelation is true. If we take the time to study it out in our minds, ponder upon the truth and ask God, in faith with desire to act upon our answer, that we will receive. He has answered me, and He will answer you when you ask in faith.