Hi, I'm Jeff

Husband of a nurse and father of a toddler and infant; working on a PhD in his spare time.

About Me

I'm a PhD student studying communication, rhetoric, and digital media. I'm a progressive who's probably a little too interested in politics, and I'm just now starting research on my dissertation.

The best part of my life is hearing my sons laugh and seeing my wife smile.

Why I am a Mormon

I am a Mormon because of who I want to become.

Personal Stories

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

My religion is part of who I am. I want others to feel comfortable telling me about themselves, so I try to feel comfortable telling others about myself.

Why do Mormons go on missions?

For Mormons, religion isn't just a way to improve our lot in the next life. We honestly believe that following the Savior makes our lives better here on earth. We want to share that with everyone.

How has The Book of Mormon helped you understand the purpose of life?

The Book of Mormon teaches many important principles, perhaps none more important than the divine commandment to serve our brothers and sisters here on earth. Ours is not a religion confined to the heavens and the afterlife. The Book of Mormon teaches very clearly that if we are not helping those around us--giving freely of our time, money, talents, energy, care, friendship--then we are not following the Savior.

This requires that we neither view others as "deserving" their lot in any way, nor justify our lack of compassion because of others' imperfections. The Book of Mormon teaches that Christ gave his life for every one of us individually--we have no place withholding help from someone whom the Son of God died for.

Please explain the part prayer plays in your life?

I look at prayer as the way I can call home on a regular basis. I ask for help, thank my Heavenly Dad for things, seek advice--in short, I keep in touch.

How I live my faith

I live my faith in every part of my life. As one prominent liberal Mormon likes to say, my politics come because of my religion, not despite it. To me, being a Mormon is about much more than going to church on Sunday or reading the Book of Mormon, although both of those are very important.

My faith is a way to look at the world, and it encourages me to reverence my brothers and sisters on this earth no matter where they are from or how fortunate they have been in the past.

My faith has taught me that none of us "deserves" God's help, so we shouldn't withhold our help from anyone we decide doesn't "deserve" it.

My faith motivates me to get as much education as I can, to be involved in the community, to fight for things I passionately believe in, and always be open to alternate viewpoints and perspectives.

My faith is centered on my family. They are the most important people in my life and I would do anything for them.

Why was a Restoration of the Gospel needed? Haven’t we always had the Bible?

Jeff answered...

The Gospel is the knowledge needed to return to live with our Heavenly Father. While much of the Gospel is contained in the Bible, God has always worked through living prophets and personal revelation as well as holy scripture.

After rejecting Jesus Christ and His Apostles, the Church of Jesus Christ gradually disappeared. There were still good people trying to do the right thing, but they had lost the direct leadership of Jesus Christ through His living prophets.

This is why a restoration was needed. Christ's Church wasn't on the earth in its fullness any more, and that problem needed to be fixed. So, God the Father and Jesus Christ directed Joseph Smith do restore their church. The resulting doctrine and practices are found in the organization now known as The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints.
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Daniel answered...

When Jesus was on the earth he established his church. To guide it, 12 apostles were called by God and had priesthood authority to act in his name. When an apostle died, he was to be replaced so that there would always be 12 “special witnesses” of Christ (this is shown by the calling of Mathias as a member of the 12 in Acts:1)
The early years were troublesome times for Christians. The greatest antagonist to the church was the Roman Empire. During this era of persecution, apostles were killed and priesthood authority was lost. Centuries after Christ was crucified Rome pulled a 180 and adopted its own form of “Christianity” as the mandated state religion. To conform to previously held pagan traditions, ordinances like baptism were changed and creeds of faith, not found in the bible, were established.
Recognizing the discrepancies between this church and New Testament Christianity, righteous people protested and many of their followers formed new churches. This era of protestant reformation was critical in advancing religious liberty. But simply recognizing the errors of a church, does not give one God's priesthood authority (see Hebrews 5:4) Even those with the best intentions of following Christ’s teachings need proper priesthood authority to be baptized. The world needed a Restoration of Christ’s original church, not a reformation of an apostate version of it. And as soon as a nation was established with the religious freedom to allow it, the Lord did restore his church!

Why did your church previously practice plural marriage (polygamy)?

David C answered...

Mormons practiced polygamy because the Lord commanded some of them to do so, for purposes known to the Lord. At the time, there were no national laws prohibiting polygamy. When the Supreme Court ruled that later anti-polygamy laws were constitutional, the Lord directed Pres. Woodruff to issue the Manifesto, and the practice ended in the Church.