Hi, I'm Derek

I'm a husband, father, and Physical Therapist for the elderly. I'm a Mormon.

About Me

Nothing brings me greater happiness than being a father to 6 children and being married to my sweet wife. Not to say that having 6 kids is easy!

Professionally I'm a Physical Therapist and business owner of a rehab company and a home health and hospice company. My businesses focus on the care of the elderly.

I love photography and blogging, camping with my family, grilling, and inviting friends over for dinner.

Why I am a Mormon

My parents are Mormons and my ancestry includes Mormons who joined the Church at the time it was established in 1830.

However, there comes a time in the life of each Mormon when they have to decide for themselves if they want to follow the Church's teachings.

When I was 16 years old I decided to read the Book of Mormon every day. Through that reading I had a powerful spiritual experience that confirmed to me that the book is true.

Since that time I have wholeheartedly attended Church, lived its teachings, and tried my best to be an example of one who follows Jesus Christ.

It's hard to adequately describe, but I know deep within me that the Church is true and that living the teachings of Jesus Christ is the reason I have the blessings of peace and joy in my life.

Personal Stories

What have you done successfully to shield your family from unwanted influences?

As a father I believe it's my duty to protect my children from all sorts of things.

We used to live in a house with a busy street right out front. When my kids were little we had a rule that they couldn't ever play in the front yard--because the the cars were going by so fast and I didn't want them to get hit. Luckily, our back yard was fenced, so they could play there in safety.

This is symbolic of how I protect my family.

When kids are young they really need to be protected from some things. Eventually, when they're adults they'll have to make their own decisions about what influences they'll let into their lives--but when they're young they need some "fences" to protect them.

For instance, we have the internet in our home--but knowing how easy it would be for a child to accidentally access something inappropriate, like pornography, we have special filtering software on each computer in our home.

Also, I've learned how to turn off internet access to certain computers in the home--making it so my children have to ask me if they want to use the internet--then I simply turn it on for them.

Video games are another concern. I believe that video games can be a fun diversion if used sparingly--but if played too often they can cause a sort of addiction and the time involved can prevent my kids from doing other good, uplifting things. Because of that, my wife and I have limited our children's playing of video games to one single day per week. We also make sure that the games are not "M" rated and that we are comfortable with their content.

Some people may accuse us of sheltering our children--and, I guess we are. While they're young we're putting up some "fences" so they are protected in our home.

After all, I believe that's what dads and moms should do.

Can you talk about the missions of the Church and your participation in them?

It's an incredible thing when a young man or young lady decides to take two years of their life and share the gospel with strangers. It's a huge commitment that stems from their love of the Church and of Jesus Christ.

I served as a missionary in Finland during the years of 1985-1987. Although my mother is from Finland I didn't speak the language before I began my mission. So it was an amazing challenge to learn that difficult language and share the gospel of Jesus Christ in Finnish.

I loved that two years of my life. Most days were spent knocking on doors, looking for people who might want to know more about the Church. I loved the country and the people and their culture. It felt so good to share the happiness that I felt by having the Church in my life.

If you see missionaries on the street or if they knock on your door, don't be afraid to talk to them. There's no high pressure or salesmanship--it's just two young men or young women that will be excited to tell you about how they feel about Jesus Christ and our Church. They'll be polite and they'll respect your beliefs--and if you look closely you'll see how important Jesus is to them--and how hard they're trying to follow him.

How I live my faith

My greatest role in life is being a husband and father. Because of that I strongly believe that it's my duty to be the best husband and father that I can be.

And that's why it's so important to me to actively participate in the Church in so many levels.

First, I attend Church meetings every Sunday. Those meetings include talks, lessons, and discussions about how to be a better husband and father. There is something powerful and significant that occurs when husbands and fathers get together during these meetings and talk openly about how to improve themselves in those roles.

I also take part in serving in different capacities to assist my local congregation (or "ward"). Currently I assist, advise, and lead a group of boys who are between 12 and 14 years old. On Sundays I teach them gospel lessons and on Tuesday nights I help them plan and execute fun activities or service projects.

The teachings of Jesus Christ and the teachings of the Church infuse every decision I make in my personal and professional life.

Because of that, my life is focused on service. I serve my family, neighbors, community, local congregation, and actively serve and support charities that relieve human suffering throughout the world.

My belief in Jesus Christ and this Church is also one of the factors that led me to serve the elderly in a professional capacity.

How can we increase our faith in Jesus Christ?

Derek answered...

The best way to increase your faith in Jesus Christ is to begin to live his teachings--then simply notice how you feel.

He taught us to love everyone, to serve others, and to keep ourselves clean from sin.

Start simply and begin to make some positive changes in your life and you'll soon begin to feel more peace and happiness in your life. That's when you'll realize that your faith in Jesus Christ is growing.
Brian answered...

Faith in Jesus Christ doesn't just happen. You have to work for it. I discovered my faith increasing when I decided to study the scriptures for a minimum of 30 minutes a day. Doing so has allowed me to understand the doctrines of the gospel on a deeper level. Scripture study coupled with daily personal prayer where I really try to converse with my Father in heaven, and seek to know His will concerning me, rather than give him a list of my wants and needs and ask him to grant them as if he was my personal butler. The best way I have found is to seek to do as Jesus did. Be friendly with everyone I meet. Go the extra mile and help people beyond what is expected. Avoid judging people and try to find the good in people, rather than dwell on their weaknesses. I've found that seeking to do God's will and striving to live like Jesus Christ taught us to live, has not deprived me of anything, rather by doing things Heavenly Father's way has freed me and brought me more happiness than trying to do it my own way.

Do you really believe there is a prophet like Moses alive today?

Michael answered...

Sure I do. People have been deceived into believing that there are no prophets throughout biblical history. The first thing the adversary does when there is a prophet on the earth is to try to convince you that there are no such things or that the time has passed.

Think about it...when Noah preached to the people and prophesied that the flood was coming, they laughed at him. Even amongst the Jews, they disregarded and/or imprisoned Isaiah and Jeremiah because they prophesied that Israel would be carried away captive into Babylon.

I believe that the thing that one must overcome in order to believe that there are prophets alive today is get over the mindset that tells you that prophets have to be splitting the Red Sea or calling down fire from heaven in order to be considered as such. For every great miracle wrought by a biblical prophet there are many more who simply preached about the coming Messiah. Think of the prophets like Joel, Amos, Hosea and Habbakuk. These were prophets sent by God, but they were "boring" because they weren't performing miracles or commanding armies. The people disregarded their counsels at their spiritual peril.

Let us not repeat their error by not believing that prophets can't exist today. Let's instead get on our knees and receive our own personal revelation about the ones here amongst us.