Hi, I'm Newel

I'm a husband, a father, an optical engineer, a martial artist, and I'm a Mormon.

About Me

I am a family man with three children. I live in a small town in Indiana, and I work as an engineer for a medium-sized company. I grew up in Ohio and I have been a mormon all of my life. I went on a mission for the church when I was 19, and spent a few months in Southern California before going to Buenos Aires, Argentina for the majority of my mission. Then I went to college, where I met my wife and got married. I graduated with a Master's degree in Physics. My wife has a degree in library science. Our family loves to read. Although I trained as a physicist, my first job was optical design for a small company. I found it to be a good field, and so the rest of my career has involved optical design. For most of my career I designed lights for cars and trucks. I really enjoy seeing a vehicle on the road and knowing that I helped to design the lights on it. Now I have moved to a new company where we design lights for airplanes.
We have three children who are now mostly grown. My oldest son went on a mission to Los Angeles and is now in college. My second son is preparing himself to be a missionary next year. Both sons were active in their high school academic teams. Our daughter is still in school and loves to sing in the choir.
A few years ago I decided that I needed to get more exercise, so I signed up for Taekwondo classes with my two youngest children. We have enjoyed exercising with other families, and a few months ago we earned our black belts.

Why I am a Mormon

My family has belonged to the mormon church for many generations, and I have wonderful parents who taught me about Jesus at an early age. Like all mormons, I was encouraged to find out for myself if what I was being taught came from God. So I did what every Mormon must do at some time. When I was about 14 years old, I read the Book of Mormon and then knelt down and asked God if it was true. I felt a warm feeling in my heart confirming that it was.
Before and after that time, I have had many other events that have confirmed to me the truth of Jesus Christ's church. One of the most special to me was when I was in college and had an opportunity to hear the prophet speak. I went early to the meeting to make sure I got a good seat, and when President Spencer W. Kimball (who was the prophet at that time) came into the room, we all sang a hymn. As I joined in, I felt a very powerful feeling in my heart that I knew came from God. It is wonderful to know that we have prophets of God on the earth to guide us!

Personal Stories

In what ways have your prayers been answered?

I love it that God answers my prayers even for minor things. One example was a home repair that I did just a few weeks ago. I was trying to repair a faucett, but I couldn't get one part out. I paused to say a silent prayer, and soon after found a pin holding the part in place. When I removed it, the repair proceeded without a hitch. If God cares about me enough to help with such a small thing, imagine how much He cares about the important things in my life!

How I live my faith

As a member of the mormon church, I don't just sit in a pew and listen on Sundays. I am also given many opportunities to serve others. For many years, I helped with the youth in our local congregation. I served as scoutmaster in the Boy Scout troop sponsored by our congregation, and I loved camping out and doing outdoor activities with the scouts.
Now I help out in a larger area. I visit several different congregations in the area where I live, helping to train the local leaders in each congregation. I also help to organize some of the social services available through our church, like classes to strengthen marriages or addiction recovery groups.

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

Newel answered...

One of the greatest events in my life was my marriage in the Temple. We believe that marriages performed in temples by one with the proper authority can last beyond the grave. Knowing that I will be with my wife and children forever has helped me to remain committed to my marriage and to work hard to develop good relationships with all my family members.
Amanda answered...

YES!!! This is one of my favorite parts of the gospel. I believe that my family will live together in heaven. I will know my family as my family members. My husband is my husband for now and for all eternity. My children are my children here on earth and for all eternity. I know that if something happened to one of us that I will see them again. I love this about the church. Before joining, I always had a question about this concept and when taking the discussions from the missionaries this came up. Makes me love the church more and more.

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

Megan Cosgriff answered...

Latter Day Saints(Mormons) donate 10% of their income to the church because the Lord has commanded us too! In Proverbs 3:9 it says, "Honour the Lord with substance, and with the firstfruits of all thine increase." This is talking about tithing, tithing literally means one-tenth, which is 10%. So when the Lord commands us to donate one-tenth of our increase(income) that is what we do. If you look at Malachi 3:8-10 you will see that the Lord is asking for us to give him our tithes (10%) and in return he will open the windows of Heaven and pour out blessings, so many that we won't be able to contain them. Wouldn't you want to receive innumerable blessings for just giving Him 10% of your pay check? It seems like a pretty fair trade to me.