Hi, I'm Stephen Earl

I'm a Mormon. I grew up in Las Vegas, Nevada in the midst of the casinos. That garish world pushed me the opposite way

About Me

I have practised law for 34 years and enjoy representing clients in various zoning and development projects, but my life is really based in my wife and family. We married while still in college and recently celebrated our 38th Weddiing Anniversary. My sweet wife and I have 5 children and 12 granchildren with two more on the way. Our first child arrived just over 9 months from our wedding day, so we really needed the Savior and His Restored Church to guide us. We have known tradegy and triumph, great joys and deep heartaches.

Early in our marriage, I was diagnosed with polycystic kidney disease "PKD" that caused a series of severe infections and ultimately resulted in renal failure. I received a kidney transplant in 1989, which has given me 21 additional wonderful years of life in which to witness our children grow up, serve missions, get married in the temple and begin to raise families of their own.

Through all of life's experiences, it has been our faith in the Lord that that kept us centered and balanced with a solid foundation. We are now entering those "senior years", when movies cost less, but different portions of our old bodies hurt every day and yet we look forward with excitement to the new opportunities we will have to grow, to love, to serve, to learn and to play.

Why I am a Mormon

My parents were both members, so I grew up in a Mormon home and was baptized at the normal age of 8. For most of my youth, I believed in the Gospel because I loved my parents and therefore believed as they did. But when I was 14 years old, my mother died of PKD -- a genetic disorder. I was devastated and the faith I had borrowed from my parents was shattered. I felt God could not exist, if He allowed such a loving woman to die when her family needed her so much. That night my father brought our small family together in a kneeling prayer in our family room and despite his own pain at losing his sweetheart, he expressed his love for and faith in the Savior and prayed that somehow understanding would comfort our hearts and our testimonies of the Gospel would not be diminished but strenghtened. As my father prayed, behind my closed eyes I felt light fill the room and I was sure that angels were present. That night understanding did reach and comfort my boyish heart. It was at that moment of such great personal anquish that I knew of myself that the Gospel was indeed true. Many experiences have deepened my faith over the years, but I still trace the birth of my personal witness to that night. I believe miracles -- both great and small -- follow those that believe in Jesus Christ.

Personal Stories

In what ways have your prayers been answered?

I remember so many prayers in my life that were answered. My prayers have really been answered every day. One dramatice example took place back in 1968, when I was called to serve a mission for the Church in Frankfurt Germany. I had grown up in the Church and always wanted to serve a mission, and based upon the missions of my brothers and ancestors, I was sure I would be called to England. But when the letter from the Lord's Prophet at the time, Pres. David O. McKay, arrived, it said the Lord had called me to serve in Germany. I was devastated and deeply disappointed. The only class in high school that I truly hated was German. I just couldn't learn it, no matter how hard I tried. And now, I thought God was playing a cruel trick on me. The people would never understand a word I said!

A few months later I was in the Language Training Mission and my worst fears were realized. The teacher and the other missionaries in my class were conversing back in forth in what I am sure now was just simple German phrases, but I just couldn't understand them at all. I was so discouraged and wanted to be reassigned to an English speaking mission. But then my compansion Neal Lemmon suggested we pray and fast together for an answer as to how I might learn this language. At the end of our fast, we knelt together and I don't remember ever praying with such heart-felt desire. We remained on our knees after the prayer, seeking inspiration from Heaven, when the answer came to my mind and heart with such force, I was overcome with gratitude. The Lord blessed me to know that if I would review each day's lesson material in both English and German before the classes began and at day's end, He would open the language to my mind. And He did! The very next day, I began to understand and speak this wondeful language. I followed the instructions received during that prayer throughout my mission and German became the language of my soul. It was a miracle to me that I can never forget or deny.

Please share your feelings/testimony of Joseph Smith.

The Lord has punctuated my life with powerful spiritual experiences that have given me an undeniable witness that He lives and guides His Church through His chosen prophets and apostles. I have felt the whisperings of the Spirit confirm for me in my heart that God our Father and Jesus Christ restored the fullness of the Gospel through the young boy, Joseph Smith, who had an unwavering faith that his simple, humble prayer would be answered.

Some may seek to dismiss Joseph Smith's prophetic calling by suggesting that God would not entrust such a transendently important mission to a mere boy, but it is his youth and innocent faith that underscores and enriches my testimony that the boy Joseph spoke the truth. God and his Beloved Son did in fact appear him -- just as he said -- in a grove of trees on a beautiful spring morning in 1820. Throughout God's dealings with his children, he has, as the Apostle Paul told the Corinthians, "chosen the weak things of the world to confound the wise." (1Cor.1:27) From the young Prophet Samuel to the shepard boy David and even the simple fishermen that the Jesus chose to be his apostles, the Lord has always valued faith, obedience and courage over man's wisdom and university degrees. Joseph may have been young and without any formal education, but just as with David of old, the Lord saw into Joseph's faith-filled heart and knew He would be courageous and under the tutelage of the Holy Spirit this boy could become one of God's greatest prophets to ever grace this earth. I have a testimony that he was in fact called by the Lord to restore His Gospel in our time. I am very grateful to be a member of the Savior's Church as we approach the time of His triumphant Second Coming.

I also bear my witness that we are led today by another great Prophet of God, Thomas S Monson, who communes with Jehovah as well.

How has the Holy Ghost helped you?

An experience occurred back in the 1950's when I was a young boy, perhaps 6 or 7 and our family was on vacation at the beach. The motel we were staying in was separated from the ocean by a railroad track. I never saw any trains on this track during the days we were on vacation. So, as a boy, I pretty much ignored the presence of the railroad and ran back and forth from the beach to the motel crossing over the tracks frequently. One morning near the end of the vacation, our family was all on the beach playing in the water. I needed something in our motel room and so told my mother & father that I would be right back and dashed off. The noise of the ocean waves crashing on the beach and the crowd of voices having fun on the beach was so loud that I didn't hear the train coming down the track. My older brother Bob,who himself was only 8 or 9 at the time, felt a strong prompting to turn around from the ocean and look for me. He saw the train coming and could tell I was oblivious to its presence. He called out to warn me about the approaching train, but I couldn't hear him. So, somehow knowing that seconds were critical, he acted instinctively and began to run as fast as he could after me. He finally caught and tackled me right on the slope of the track bed. He held me in his arms as the train rushed by us. I was shaking uncontrollably as I realized how close I came to be hit and killed by the speeding locomotive. I knew then that the Holy Ghost had prompted my brother to run and save me.

Please explain the part prayer plays in your life?

When I was a young father and our first child named Julie was only 4 or 5 years old, we were driving alone from Provo to Las Vegas. It was in the winter time and we got a late start leaving Provo. Back in the early 1970's, the I-15 Freeway was not constructed yet, so we had to travel much of the way on a simple two lane road. There was a long, lonely stretch outside the town of Nephi, Utah. We needed to stop the car for some reason and I pulled over on the shoulder of the road to handle whatever the emergency was. I turned off the engine. When we were ready to go again, I tried to start the car, but it just wouldn't turn over. I tried several times, but with each attempt, the engine just became weaker. Although I knew nothing about car engines, I didn't want my daughter to get scared, so I got out of the car and raised the hood on the engine. I checked the obvious engine parts, but nothing appeared to be out of place. Then I began to get very uneasy. It was late on this snowy afternoon and the skies were very dark. I had no idea what would become of us, if we couldn't get the car started again. It was so cold as I got back in the car. Then little Julie said, "Daddy, should we say a prayer and ask Heavenly Father to help us?" Oh, the simple, innocent faith of a 4 year old. I replied, "You're right, dear. Let's each say a prayer aloud and ask God for help." Julie's prayer was simple, but so full of faith. Then, I put my hand on the keys still in the ignition and said, "Julie, do you have faith that the engine will start now?" She responded, "Yes. Don't worry Dad." I turned the key and the engine roared back to life. I put the old car back in gear and we were on our way, arriving in Las Vegas later than night without any further problems. Many might say that it was merely a coincidence that the engine started that last time. But you won't be able to convince either Julie or her Dad of that. It was an answer to the prayers of a sweet, little girl and her Dad.

How I live my faith

Being a member of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints brings me daily joy and helps me to respond to the challenges that come my way. Membership in this Church involves far more than merely attending a couple of worship meetings on Sundays. Our congregations are organized by geographical boundaries, so we go to Church with other members that live right around us. We get to know each other well and become like Paul said to the congregation in Ephesus "fellow citizens" in the "household of God". (Ephesians 2:19). We know and care for each other. We mourn each other's tradegies, we celebrate each other's triumphs. In many ways, we are a large extended family, no matter our individual our circumstances. As our neighbors notice this inner joy we feel together despite the challenges we all face in life, we hope they will seek to know more about this Restored Gospel of Christ and become part of this household of God.

We have a lay ministry, so we fill all of the assignments (or callings) in our local congregations (we call them wards). There is no paid ministry. By profession I am an attorney and spend my days helping clients solve their legal problems and try in these legal endeavors to be a disciple of Christ and allow my faith to guide my actions and help fashion solutions. At the same time, I have been asked to serve in various volunteer positions in my congregation, such as being a teacher in Sunday School classes and in various leadership capacities. Serving in these "callings" brings me peace and keeps me centered.

The simplest way to say how I live my faith is that faith in Jesus Christ is at the center of how I try to live. It is the basis for the decisions I make. I try to avoid compartmentalizing my life between my profession, my family and my church service. All of these activities are simply part of each day. Christ spent his life serving those around him and encouraged all of us to do the same. He called it Charity - the highest virtue.

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

Stephen Earl answered...

In order to understand why we need a Savior, we need to understand why we are here on earth. We believe that we lived with God in a pre-mortal state as spirits before we came to earth. There was a Council in Heaven and all of us were there. We had progressed as far as we could as spirit children of a loving Heavenly Father. To become more like Him, we needed to come to earth to gain a physical body and be tested to see if we could live the commandments outside God's presence. This is called the Plan of Salvation. Lucifer stepped forward and said that he would require our obedience to the commandments and thus ensure we all returned. Lucifer wanted all the glory for saving us. Then Jesus Christ (God's Only Begotten Son) stepped forward and said that we must have our free agency to choose right or wrong on earth in order to truly progress. He offerred to come to earth and live a perfect life to allow him to accept the burden created by our sins. In this way, He would satisfy the demands of justice with his own life and thus reconcile us to God through repentance. Christ offerred all glory to God. Christ's plan was accepted and He did all He promised He would do. Without Christ as our Savior, all of us would be condemned by our sins and never allowed to return to God's presence.

I am grateful for the Savior's Atoning Sacrifice that makes it possible for me to overcome past sins, correct my behavior, and try to better each day. Knowing the Savior loves me, gives me courage.
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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 is a ward/stake/branch?

Michael answered...

For purposes of organization, a Ward or Branch is the group you meet with for church, based on where you live. They vary in size, branches are slightly smaller than wards, and wards vary in the various 100's of members. Wards and branches are then organized into stakes, containing several wards/branches.