Hi, I'm Esther

I'm a student, I'm an intern, I teach Institute, I love Russian history, and I'm a Mormon.

About Me

I'm a young adult going to school for a Masters in Clinical Psychology. I currently intern as a therapist where I help children and families improve their relationships with each other. Some days it's rewarding and other days it's difficult. Either way, I love it.

I volunteer in The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints as an Institute teacher. I really enjoy leading class discussions that help people share perspectives and experiences. Sometimes I think that I learn more from teaching than my students ever do.

I love to ski in the winter and work on my garden in the summer. I love Russian history and recently traveled to Moscow where I spent one of the most amazing weeks of my life discovering places and things that I had only read about in books.

Why I am a Mormon

My amazing parents raised me within the Mormon faith. They used every gospel teaching moment to encourage me to stand on my own spiritual legs rather than expecting me to believe only for belief's sake. They pushed me to ask questions and seek knowledge, even if it seemed scary or uncertain at times.

Over the years, I have developed a deep testimony in the gospel of Jesus Christ because I have experienced, for myself, the palpable presence of the Lord in my daily life by living His commandments and repenting of my mistakes.

As I work on becoming more purified every day, I bring myself a little bit closer to perfection and step a little farther down the path that leads to our Heavenly Father and His son Jesus Christ. I strive to always be where they are so that their Spirit can constantly be with me.

Learning to trust God's path has given me knowledge, understanding and treasured experiences I would have never aspired to attain on my own. It has given me the strength to do things I once perceived to be impossible. Although I seek eternal happiness after death, the gospel of Jesus Christ has brought me overwhelming joy and blessings here in this life. And they are sweet.

Personal Stories

Why/How do you share the gospel with your friends?

I love all my friends, both within and without of the Mormon church. They are all inspirational to me and have qualities that I enjoy and hope to gain for myself.

I find that I often talk to people about my faith as an easy extension of my everyday life. Because I'm active in my faith, my daily conversations usually contain things about my church experiences, activities, testimony or beliefs. I let others know that I am more than willing to talk about my faith or answer questions they may have and rarely push them to hear things in which they may not be interested.

More often than not, my friends ask many questions and enjoy knowing about these personal parts of my life, even if they choose to maintain their own beliefs. I find that I also enjoy knowing about their beliefs and convictions. I've found that the bonds of my friendship grow with anyone to whom I share my testimony, whether they be Mormon, Atheist, Agnostic, Protestant, etc. When I'm able to listen and discuss heartfelt beliefs and feelings with love and respect, my care for that person deepens as we find sincere commonalities, express true ideas and trust each other to respect the things we share.

Seeing that the gospel has brought me so many blessings and so much happiness, I will always want to share my testimony with those I love and want them to find that same measure of joy I know comes by drawing closer to Christ. My love for the gospel makes me hope that others may embrace it as I have, but discussing my testimony has always been a positive experience whether or not others have decided to convert or even agree with my beliefs.

How I live my faith

Above all things, I love that I am free to choose righteousness for myself so that I can become perfect like God. By choosing to be obedient to the Lord's commandments and seeking Him on a daily basis, I feel strength throughout my best and worst days and can forget the weight of the worldly mundane by knowing that I am part of something much, much grander than myself.

I try to dedicate each day of my life to the Lord by seeking Him in prayer and studying about His gospel in the scriptures. Often when I'm feeling upset or frustrated I try to think about all of the things for which I'm grateful. This usually reminds me how indebted I am to my Father in Heaven for all the blessings, talents and gifts that he has provided to me.

I'm not perfect and I have my moments just like everyone else, but my life is so much sweeter when I strive to follow the Savior and take daily steps to be closer to Him.

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

Esther answered...

The role of Jesus Christ is paramount to the Plan of Happiness. This plan was organized by God. The main objective was to give all God's children the opportunity to discover their divine inheritance and become like Him. This plan entrusts us with sacred roles on this earth where we can choose to cultivate eternal identities.

We could not access true personal accountability in the shelter of God's kingdom so He organized a place outside of His presence where we could learn. Adam and Eve aided this process when they partook of the fruit of the tree of knowledge of good and evil. Their eyes were opened, they were able to discern opposition and were thereby given accountability. This removal of innocence allowed them to become tainted by sin and created a natural separation between Heaven and earth.

The Savior's role was paramount to saving mankind from the separation that had to exist for our progression. Left on earth, mankind would never be pure enough to return to God's presence. Christ, who had an Eternal Father and a mortal mother, was able to reunite men with God. He lived a perfect, mortal life and willingly chose to take upon Himself the sins of the world. He then died and returned to God in purity. Because Christ took our sins from us, we too can return to God's Kingdom if we choose to know Christ and seek His mercy. Ultimately, Christ's atonement has given us the opportunity to use our imperfect, earthly existence to cultivate sacred and eternal divinity.
Nate answered...

The fundamental principle of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints is the faith in, reliance upon, and relationship with Jesus Christ. We regard Jesus Christ as the Savior of the world. Everyone on the earth today has made mistakes. All of us have come short of the perfect example that Christ set for us. The problem is the laws of God state that “no unclean person…hath any inheritance in the kingdom of Christ and of God.” (Ephesians 5:5) Because of these laws, we needed a way to be cleansed from these sins and mistakes. God knew that we would fall short of perfection and by His grace he provided us a Savior, Jesus Christ. Being a perfect soul without blemish, Jesus was capable and willing to take upon Himself our sins. Because He paid the penalty for our sins, the atonement, we must take upon ourselves His name to reap the blessings of forgiveness. We do this by having faith in Christ, admitting and repenting of our sins, and being baptized in the true and restored church of Jesus Christ.

What do Mormons believe about Jesus Christ? Do Mormons believe that Jesus Christ is the Son of God?

Adeline answered...

Jesus Christ is the Savior of all humankind, the Son of the Living God, the Messiah, the holy and anointed one of Israel, and He lives today to guide and lead us back to our Heavenly Father.