Hi, I'm Brett

I'm a college student. I listen to music, watch TV, and play sports. I'm a Mormon.

About Me

I'm a 23 year old university student studying psychology. I speak Ukrainian and Russian, and I love to learn new languages. I think a clever pun is the funniest thing in the world, and I try to make them as often as I can actually manage to be clever. I enjoy witty and well-written movies and TV shows, and as my family and friends can attest, I love to quote them--maybe a little too much.

Why I am a Mormon

I was born into the Mormon church, and like many people in that situation, I grew up faithful to Mormonism simply because it was my parents' church. For much of my childhood, that was the case, and at the time I was content with that. However, when I was ten years old, my father had a severe crisis of faith. His crisis spread to all of us, in one form or another, and I remember that it hit me very strongly. I wish I could ascribe my current faith to some great miracle, but in reality, it came piece by piece, assembled like a jigsaw puzzle over a decade of doubt, study, and prayer. However, all that I've learned, felt, and discovered has led me to this great truth: there is a God who loves us all, and he is earnestly seeking our best welfare. He has given us great gifts--the scriptures, the Spirit, the power of prayer--but most importantly, He gave the gift of His Son. In fact, that is the crux of my faith, that Jesus truly saved me from sin, and that by following His path and His example, I can live with Him and with God again.

Personal Stories

Please share your feelings/testimony of the Restoration of the Gospel.

I have been privileged to live a rather blessed life, especially when compared to the vast majority of people on this planet. I'm well aware that I have done very little to deserve the good health, relative monetary security, and education that I possess. There are many things I have been fortunate enough to receive; but that thing that I treasure above all others is my knowledge of the restoration of the gospel of Jesus Christ. I have been in places without indoor plumbing where, because of this same knowledge, the people are happy—honestly and sincerely happy. This is the type of joy that is absent in the lives of so many, even among those as unfairly blessed as I am. What is true happiness, then? It isn't found in the acquisition of wealth, or in living comfortably; true happiness comes from the peace and hope found in the gospel of Jesus Christ, restored in our day by the prophet Joseph Smith.

How I live my faith

I currently serve in the church as an instructor every other Sunday. I'm also a home teacher, which means that every month I visit a few members of our congregation to share a brief spiritual thought and to help them out in any ways they may need an extra hand. I've had an opportunity as well to be a full-time missionary in Western Ukraine--a place, by the way, that I have come to absolutely love.

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

Brett answered...

I remember the first time I read the story of Moses. I was taken aback by the utter power of that one man's conviction; because of his faith, God empowered him such that an entire nation was not only brought out of bondage, it was held together in the wilderness and organized into a Godly people.

Why, I wondered, would we be any different today? As for myself, I may not be a literal slave, but I'm certainly in bondage to the many vices that plague me. Even after finding help for these through the Church and the Spirit, I still have to wade through a wilderness of constant temptation, depression, and heartache--in other words, life. And in the end, I need help becoming the man of God that I so desperately want to be.

Just like how the Lord spoke to Moses and made him into His prophet, even so does He make righteous men into prophets today. Thomas S. Monson is the living Moses, the man called of God to lead each of us through our bondage and our wildernesses until we, too, become men and women of God.

Do I believe there is a prophet like Moses alive today? Absolutely I do.
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LaWana answered...

Yes, I truly believe there is a prophet today leading our church and bringing blessings into the world. Why would God provide a prophet in olden days, but not now? Did He love those people more than He loves us? Did they need guidance more than we do? Is the world less confusing now than it was then? The answers to all these questions are no. It only makes sense that God would have a prophet now as He did in days of old. He loves us just as much as He did those people long ago and we need Him just as much as they needed Him then.

Does The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints endorse political parties?

John Odell answered...

Of course the Church does not endorse political parties. Political parties do not represent the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. But all the members of the Church are encouraged to participate in the political system and many have and do. We will be held responsible for our actions in the political arena just as we are in every other activity of our lives. I feel strongly that we have an obligation to support the Constitution of this land and that the Lord had a lot to do in its founding and in the freedoms that we receive from adhering to its principles. The Founding Fathers were inspired by God and we should be inspired by them. There are many criteria that we can use to choose political candidates but none are of more value than that recommended by modern scripture, namely, to search after honest and good men. I love our American Republic and our Constitution and try to support men or women who support the ideas and principles found in that document. According to the Declaration of Independence we receive our rights from our creator and must be ever aware that we do not turn our rights to the whims of men, however well meaning they may be. I am not a fan of political parties and consider myself a Constitutional conservative and very independent.