Hi, I'm Paul

and I'm a Mormon.

About Me

Four kids, one wife, and a truck. To make a living, I'm a prosecutor. To enjoy life, I hike, read, climb, photograph, dive, make music, run rivers, travel, ski, and most of all hang out with my family. I coach soccer for my community's recreation program, work with Cub Scouts, and write the Sunday program for church, complete with questionable J. Golden Kimball stories from one of the Church's few notoriously delightful old time leaders.

Why I am a Mormon

I was fortunate to be born to parents who were already Latter-day Saints, and having grown up with the restored gospel I never saw fit to abandon it for the cheap thrills of the world.

Personal Stories

Which of the Savior’s teachings have influenced you in your life?

In the New Testament there is a story of a man who tell Jesus, "Lord, I believe. Help thou mine unbelief." In my best moments, when I feel the spirit of the Lord and remember my roots, I know with great clarity and comfort that Jesus walked the path that I should walk, will help me over the obstacles on that path, and that by following it I will become the man I ought to be, and merit being with the woman I strive to be worthy of, for all eternity. That's what it's all about.

How I live my faith

Imperfectly.

What do Mormons believe about “eternal life?”

Paul answered...

Eternal life is the kind of life that God lives. To the extent we act in a Godlike manner, we get closer to living that kind of life. As God's children we are expected, over this life and the next, to perfect ourselves. Some Mormons think that eternal life is a reward we get handed, like handing candy to a child who kept quiet when the neighbors came over, or like giving a gold plated mansion in the clouds to someone walking through the pearly gates. But that's probably an inaccurate view. You can't give someone a character. They have to build it themselves. And if, when we kneel before our Master, He sees His reflection in our countenances, it will be because, by relying on His atonement and striving with all the faith we can muster, we have tried to live as He would have us live. In which case we will have--or perhaps more properly we will be on the way to obtaining--eternal life, by definition. Of course, no one will perfect themselves in this life. It's a long term project.
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Why do some call Mormonism a cult?

Tember Skye Harward answered...

Mormon's are viewed as a cult by some because we do not adhere to the fundamental creeds established by the other Christian churches, such as the Nicene or Athanasian Creeds, and their view of the Godhead. Latter-day Saints are viewed by other Christians just like the early Christians were viewed by the Jews and Romans of the time, which was as a cult, because they strayed from what seemed to them orthodox Judaism. Much like the Pharisees and Sadducees, who viewed orthodoxy through the lens of the rules laid out in the rabbinical law and their interpretation of the Law of Moses, the Christians of today view orthodoxy through the lens of the creeds that were established hundreds of years after the death of Christ under the opinion and counsels of men.