Hi, I'm Jeremy

I joined the church in 2003 at the age of 30. I'm married and a father. I'm a massage therapist. I'm a Mormon.

About Me

I grew up a member of the Lutheran church. My family has been Lutheran for many generations. My wife and I had struggled with my faith for a long time and were never able to get answers to the questions we had. Then my wife was introduced to the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints by a friend. We met with the missionaries and they had a message like we'd never heard. They had answers to our questions and pointed us to places in the scriptures where we could find out more. But the thing that really struck to us was they didn't ask us to believe them. They simply said we should believe God and that if we prayed and asked with real faith for an answer we would be able to know if what they taught us and what we read in the scriptures were true. We did pray about it, and we received a confirmation that Joseph Smith was a prophet, that the Book of Mormon was truly a book of scripture that we could look to, along with the Bible, and that we could be together forever as a family by choosing to follow the path Heavenly Father was setting in front of us. We followed that confirmation into the waters of Baptism and have not regretted it for an instant.

Why I am a Mormon

I'm a member of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints because I have received a confirmation that my Heavenly Father loves me so much He sent his Son Jesus Christ to pay the debt for my sins, a debt I could never pay on my own. That by following this church's teachings and choosing to live the way my Heavenly Father wants me to, I can live forever with my family and with Him forever. Being a member of the Church has taught me the importance of being a better husband and father, and a better man, and more importantly has taught me how.

Personal Stories

Why do Mormons do family history or genealogy work?

Discovering our ancestors is a sacred trust for members of our church. We believe everyone can choose to accept the atonement of Jesus Christ for themselves or not. For people who have lived and died and never had the opportunity to hear of Christ's atonement, because Heavenly Father is just and merciful, there is means for them to still have the opportunity to accept the ordinances that will save their soul.

We believe that by researching our family history we can do the work in life that our ancestors' souls need. The important thing here is that if we find their name, and do the work for them, they still get to choose whether or not to accept it. All our work here does is give them the ability to fully choose. No soul is forced into heaven.

It is because we love them that we search them out and do their work. To give them the chance to make a choice that has brought us so much happiness and fulfillment.

Why do Mormons go on missions?

Mormons go on missions because we carry a message of our Heavenly Father's love for every individual in the world. Our Heavenly Father wants to see us return to Him, one by one. We have a water that can quench any thirst, and we have a responsibility to offer it to all who are thirsty.

How I live my faith

One of the key beliefs of our church is we have the opportunity to choose to live forever with our family and with our Heavenly Father and Jesus Christ, and we have that opportunity only because of the sacrifice made by our Savior Jesus Christ on our behalf. We have the opportunity to choose to be saved by His atonement for us, an atonement we could have never accomplished on our own.

The key is then that we must choose that salvation for ourselves. We do that in many ways, including by being obedient to the promises we make when we join the church, including accepting church "callings" to serve in the church in the way our leaders are led by revelation by our Heavenly Father to have us lead. I personally have served as an Activities Committee Chair, Assistant Scout Leader, Ward missionary, Sunday School President and Executive Secretary to the Bishop of our Ward. None of these callings were what I would have chosen for myself, and all of them have entailed working outside of my "comfort zone" to accomplish that which I am asked to do.

But in every case, whether for the calling in general or for an assignment within a calling, I know that I am serving where the Lord wants me to serve. The reasons may not be apparent to me while I am doing it, or ever for that matter, but the Lord has His reasons and if the Lord wants me to serve in a certain position, then it seems not just silly, but downright wrong to say no. And by accepting the calling and assignments that go with it, though I know that I will be stretched by doing so, I also know and move forward with the faith and trust that Heavenly Father will bless me with the abilities and strength I need to carry out the calling.

Why is The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints called Mormons or Mormonism?

Jeremy answered...

Members of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints are often called Mormons. Mormon was in fact the name of a man who we believe was a prophet, who compiled a set of texts into one volume that we now know as the Book of Mormon. We do not worship Mormon. We revere him as a prophet of the Lord, but we don't worship him any more than we worship Abraham or Moses or Noah, all of whom we also believe were prophets.
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Why is family so important to Mormons?

Ben answered...

Because family is so important to God. Why do you think God intoduces Christ as His "only begotten SON in whom I am well pleased" and not something more formal like my servant, the Christ? Why in the scriptures is God referred to as "The Father" more than any other title? why is it that naturally we come into this life into a family, whether functional or not? Families are ordained of God. Agency and human nature is what may cause us to believe other wise.
Family ought to be our foundation of education in this life. I've moved around a lot. I've attended many different schools and one thing I've learned is that it is hard to focus on my goals if I don't have a social network providing acceptance and unity. A support group I can lean on and be there to be leaned on at school. It's a miracle that God has provided that support group for the important lessons in life.
If our families aren't what they could be, we can choose individually to be an example and a friend to them as far as possible. practice the principles of repentence and forgiveness. Understanding that our families are meant to be eternal helps us to not allow the small things to obstruct our relationships.