Hi, I'm Charles

I love to play the piano and go mountain biking. I aspire to be a Teacher. And I'm a Mormon

About Me

I want to be a Teacher someday, whether it's teaching school or teaching my family, I love sharing the knowledge that God has given me. I love to go cycling, especially mountain biking. I play the piano and love music. I try to take every opportunity I have to serve so that I can learn and grow.
My parents are both converts to this church, and I am of the first generation of members and the first to go on a mission in both family lines. I know that God is always with me, and that he listens when I pray.

Why I am a Mormon

Why am I Mormon? To that question I ask "Why not?"
Because I am Mormon, I know that my family can be together forever, that I can return home to my Father in Heaven someday, that I can be who I want to be, and not who the world thinks I should be. I know I can be forgiven of my sins, and that through the Atonement of the Savior Jesus Christ, I can obtain mercy for past transgressions. I also know that no matter what, I am loved. And I know who I am, and that is a son of God.
These things mean a lot to me, and they mean a lot to millions of people, and they can mean a lot to everyone who allows themselves to learn of Jesus Christ and his restored gospel.
I know these things to be true, and so I ask "Why not?"
This is why I am a Mormon.

Personal Stories

How can your talents and gifts bless others?

When I was younger, I really wanted to learn how to play the piano. I realize now that God gave me that talent so that I could help others.
Whenever my Mom came back from a stressful day, she would ask my sister and I to play a duet we had learned on the piano, and the feeling that came from that made us all happy and peaceful.
I also use the piano to help in Sunday meetings. I play the wonderful hymns that we sing. It's nice to feel useful, especially when I am doing something I love to do.

How I live my faith

I work my hardest to be the best person I can possibly be, and I try to make everyone feel loved, because that is what I would want for myself.
Living your faith is a great blessing. I don't drink coffee or tea, I don't smoke or do illegal drugs, and why? It's not because I hate myself, oh no definitely not, but it's because I know that I am a child of God and that he wants me to take care of myself like he would take care of me. Putting those kind of things out of my life has made me a healthier and stronger person, free of addiction and free to follow Christ. I volunteer in my church and community, why? because that is what Christ would do. He gave himself fully over to serving others, and I can at least partially emulate that.
I try to love everyone I will ever meet, no matter who they are or how they may behave, because that is what Christ does, and I have a very bright outlook on people because of that.

What is the priesthood?

Charles answered...

The Priesthood is the power of God. Because God loves us, if we are faithful to him and obey his commandments, every worthy man can obtain the Priesthood and share in that power.
In the Scriptures, the priesthood is that same power that Jesus Christ and the Prophets used to heal the sick, and to perform sacred ordinances and covenants (or promises) with God like Baptism.
This power has always been on the Earth when there has been a Prophet to pass it down. It is here today because God restored the power of the Priesthood through the Prophet Joseph Smith in the 1830's.
Show more of my answers Show less of my answers One Moment Please
Ethan answered...

I like to approach questions by looking at the words of things

"priest" has reference to either the concept of one who leads, one who is elder, or one who is holy I like to remember that the words 'holy' and 'whole' are linked by a common ancestry. When something is 'holy' it's essentially saying that it's complete, that it's healthy..

And "-hood" makes reference to the state of being, and not just any state of being but a state of being that's worthy or correct for it's placement. That is, that it's done properly.

So one could say the priesthood is leadership or a point of reference that's completely suited to the position in which it's been placed.

Another way to look at it is to say it's God's perfect order. That is, it's God's perfect arrangement.

In our Church we often give a definition of priesthood as being "the authority to act in God's name" and that's exactly what it means to be a part of God's perfect order. If God commands something to be done by you, and you do it, then you are acting under, and with that portion of God's authority that he's permitted you to exercise within his perfect order.

Just as with any instance where someone tries to act in the name of someone else there are bound to be those who try and do so falsely. That's why God has things ordered in such a way that one can know for certain if someone has His God's authority, or not.

Why do some call Mormonism a cult?

Tember Skye Harward answered...

Mormon's are viewed as a cult by some because we do not adhere to the fundamental creeds established by the other Christian churches, such as the Nicene or Athanasian Creeds, and their view of the Godhead. Latter-day Saints are viewed by other Christians just like the early Christians were viewed by the Jews and Romans of the time, which was as a cult, because they strayed from what seemed to them orthodox Judaism. Much like the Pharisees and Sadducees, who viewed orthodoxy through the lens of the rules laid out in the rabbinical law and their interpretation of the Law of Moses, the Christians of today view orthodoxy through the lens of the creeds that were established hundreds of years after the death of Christ under the opinion and counsels of men.