Hi, I'm Colton

I am a father, I run restaurants & I'm a Mormon.

About Me

I am a husband & a father. These roles prove to be the most challenging & the most rewarding. Being able to spend time with my family after a long week helps me to stay sane. When I am not working or enjoying my family I am on my road bike. I prefer to go uphill.

Why I am a Mormon

I feel fortunate to have been born into my faith. That said, at some point I made a conscious choice to be Mormon. This came in my early twenties when I realized that the lifestyle I had been leading was not bringing happiness into my life. That choice got me back to church regularly, it started me on the path to where I am today.

Personal Stories

How can your talents and gifts bless others?

We are often times the answer to each others prayers. We are all blessed with talents & gifts and our willingness to share them with others strengthens both them and us.

How I live my faith

I love going to church every week. I look forward to the routine of it, Sacrament, singing, Sunday School, Priesthood. Something about knowing that it will happen every week gives me a sense of peace. I am blessed to serve in the Sunday School which challenges me to be a leader and to always be learning.

Why are Mormons asked to donate 10% of their income to their Church?

Colton answered...

On a logistical level it pays for the buildings we meet in & the Temples we worship in. On a deeper level it reminds me that all that I have is given to me as a blessing from our Heavenly Father.
Kristen answered...

This is nothing new, nor is it exclusive to the Judeo-Christian tradition. Many faiths practice alms or a tithe, including Islam and Sikhism.

A voluntary religious contribution of 10% is a tithe or tithing. This type of offering is mentioned many times in the both the Old and New Testaments of the Bible. In the book of Genesis, chapter 28 verse 22, the ancient patriarch Jacob covenanted with the Lord, "and of all that thou shalt give me I will surely give the tenth unto thee."

Everything we have, our lives, the earth and everything in it, have been given freely to us by a loving Father in Heaven. He asks only a small portion in return to help build his kingdom on the earth.

When my husband and I were first married, we decided to make paying a 10% tithe a top financial priority, and it has been a great blessing to us through the years. In Malachi, chapter 3 verse 10 it states, "Bring yea ll the tithes into the storehouse, that there may be meat in mine house, and prove me now herewith, saith the Lord of hosts, if I will not open you thei windows of heaven, and pour you out a blessing, that there shall not be room enough to receive it." This has certainly been the case with us.

I realize that 10% of one's income can seem like a large sacrifice. However, when the law of the tithe is kept, it serves as a portal through which great blessings (both tangible and intangible) can flow. The Lord always finds a way to bless those who do what He asks them to do.

Where did Mormonism and The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints begin?

Dave answered...

Are you a secular or a spiritual type of person? (1 Corinthians 3:2, Hebrews 5:12.)

Secular answer: The answer you may want to hear is that The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints began in 1830 on the Peter Whitmer farm in western New York. That’s when the founder, Joseph Smith, made the Church a legal entity in the United States. Many people are satisfied with that answer.

Spiritual answer: This is the same church that has been around since the dawn of time. This is the gospel that Jesus Christ gave to Adam, Noah, Abraham, Moses, that Christ and his apostles taught while he was here on the earth. Because we are prone to wander, God sends prophets to adjust our perspective and invite us to return, so that we may be truly happy. In order to invite the world back to his path once more, God restored this original gospel to the earth through Joseph Smith. Wherever the gospel goes, the Church is careful to live within the laws of the land. It spans all time and all lands, in any country which allows the Church to be established legally. (Twelfth Article of Faith: We believe in being subject to kings, presidents, rulers, and magistrates, in obeying, honoring, and sustaining the law.)

Everyone on earth may know these truths for themselves, directly from God. It all depends with which answer you’re ready/willing to be satisfied. I have learned for myself that the answers that come from God are desirable above all others. (Book of Mormon, 1 Nephi 8:12).