Hi, I'm Dave

I'm an optometry student and vision scientist. I'm a father and a husband. And I'm a Mormon.

About Me

I'm a full-time student studying to be an optometric physician, and earning a concurrent graduate degree in vision science. I'm a young father to two beautiful children, and a husband to my best friend and the girl of my dreams. I enjoy hiking, camping, and fishing in the mountains along the western coast of the United States.

Why I am a Mormon

I am a Mormon because I read the Book of Mormon as a teenager, and discovered its truth for myself through prayer. During a difficult time in my life, when I didn't know where to turn, I turned to prayer to give me the guidance I needed. I learned to trust God through praying to Him, and He answered my prayer regarding the truth of the Book of Mormon and the church that proclaims its message.

Knowing how much my life had been blessed by the restored gospel, I took a break from college to serve as a missionary in Las Vegas, NV. For two years I taught others the great message that God has a church on earth today with a prophet to guide it, and had many experiences that assured me even further that God is at the head of this great work. I've tried to live by the teachings of Christ, and they have transformed my life into something better than it would otherwise be. The gospel has made of me a better husband, father, and friend, and helps me to become who I want to be - someone who loves and serves others as Christ did.

I encourage anyone with a desire to know God to pray to Him. He lets us know His love for us and will answer the sincere petitions of our hearts. The answers are there for all honest seekers, and they come in a very personal way. As the Lord promised, "seek, and ye shall find...knock, and it shall be opened unto you."

Personal Stories

What has helped develop greater harmony in your home?

Praying together with my wife and family has been one of the strongest influences for peace in our home. As a teenager, I remember coming home late at night and often seeing my mother kneeling in our living room. I knew she was praying for me, as she did for each of her children during our family prayers each night. Her petitions to God on my behalf changed my life, and made me realize how much she loved and cared for me. I wanted to do what was right and honor her. I knew that her prayers were being answered in my life. Now, as a father in my own home, I pray each day with my wife and our children. We pray for help in things we need, and give thanks to God for all we have. If someone is ill, we pray for their health. If someone has a big event in life, we pray for their success. We pray for safety as we travel, and for the Holy Spirit to guide our actions toward each other and all whom we meet. As we pray, we are reminded of just how blessed we are to have each other and our faith. Praying together helps us put aside small differences in order to love each other more fully, as Christ would have us do. I am given strength when I hear my wife pray for me, and my love for her grows. I'm certain she feels the same when I sincerely thank God for her wise and loving influence upon me. Prayer helps us to know God, and He blesses our home with greater love as we acknowledge His presence in our lives.

How I live my faith

I live my faith each day of my life. I pray with my family in the morning, again at meals, and at night before we retire to bed. I pray on my own each day. I read from the scriptures daily; I have been focusing on the New Testament this year. We attend church each Sunday, and attend church activities throughout the week. More than anything, I try to be kind to others and honest in all my dealings. I try to think of what Christ would want me to do, and use that to guide how I react to situations.

Can husband and wife be together forever? Do you believe that families will live together in heaven?

Dave answered...

Yes, and yes. Husbands and wives can be together always - even after death - if they are married the way God intended, by someone with His authority to bind on earth and in heaven, as the apostle Peter and others did (see Matthew 16:19; 19:4-8). Part of God's plan for His children - and part of the reason that Jesus Christ atoned for our sins and was resurrected - is so families can be connected to one another forever after we die. I know this is a true principle of the gospel of Jesus Christ - I can be together with my wife and children always, and not even death can separate us from one another. I cannot imagine being married only until death parts a couple. In the Lord's holy temple, and by His proper authority that governs His church just as Peter governed it in New Testament times, families can be together forever.
Mark answered...

This is more than just instinct. We are indeed eternal beings whose origin is before the creation of the earth. And one of the things we come to earth to do is to find a companion, not only for this mortal existence, but for eternity as well. God has provided the place, the Temple of the Lord, and the authority, the power to seal things on earth and in heaven. So that eternal relationships can be established here and enjoyed after this life is done. Do I believe it? I feel certain that these principles are true. The Holy Ghost confirms that to my spirit.

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

Joshua answered...

The Restoration is needed because of the Apostasy. The apostasy is a time foretold of by the prophet in the Bible Amos. In Amos 8:11-12

" Behold, the days come, saith the Lord God, that I will send a famine in the land, not a famine of bread, nor a thirst for water, but of hearing the words of the Lord:
And they shall wander from sea to sea, and from the north even to the east, they shall run to and fro to seek the word of the Lord, and shall not find it."

Amos tells us that there will be a time when the gospel, or "the word of the Lord" will be lost. That time came when Jesus Christ and the Apostles were killed. Even though we still had the bible, there were no prophets or apostles to keep the gospel pure and true. Man was left with their own interpretation of the Bible. As we all know, there are thousands of christian churches all based on the bible, BUT all teach different doctrines. When Christ was on the earth He did not set up thousands of different churches so that there was something different for everyone. He had one church. His church. The prophet Peter tells us that there will be a restitution or a restoration of the gospel, in Acts 3:21

" Whom the heaven must receive until the times of restitution of all things, which God hath spoken by the mouth of all his holy prophets since the world began."

In short, the gospel was lost during the Apostasy and the Restoration brought it back. So, now we have the same gospel that Christ set up when he was on the earth. :)