Hi, I'm Ryan

I grew up in Tennessee. I own a design firm. I'm a Mormon.

About Me

I am happily married with six children ranging in ages from 10 years to 4 months. I love to solve problems through design. I enjoy basketball and football and teaching my kids to dribble, shoot, and tackle.

Why I am a Mormon

I am a member of His Church because I love truth and care not from what source it comes. Over the past few years we have had challenges as a family that have forced me to find out for myself if it is true. The path we would take directly hinged on that answer and after much study, pondering, and prayer, I came to know by the power of the Holy Ghost in a way that is unmistakable that the Church is true. I know The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints is Jesus Christ's Church on earth.

The doctrines of the Church have blessed the lives of my family members in countless ways. My wife and I are able to cultivate our marriage by thinking not only of 10-50 years from now, but for the times beyond the grave. Our family is being raised with an eternal perspective and we rejoice in the knowledge that we can be together forever as a family.

Because I am a Mormon, my family enjoys the companionship of the Holy Ghost and want to share that joy with all the world. Our home is happy. We love each other. And I am grateful for the doctrines of Jesus Christ that enable these things to be.

Personal Stories

What are you doing to help strengthen your family and make it successful?

We are praying and reading scriptures as a family twice daily, and are encouraging our children to read on their own and bring questions of things they don't understand to our family councils for group discussion. The purpose of this is two-fold

1. To create daily study habits and experiences with the Holy Ghost

2. To teach them to act, and not merely be acted upon.

We have seen a self-confidence grow in each of them that they can solve problems and understand difficult scriptural language. They are also developing a true sense of right and wrong and are able to identify these things in what they are presented in everyday life. They are learning to be self-starters and not wait to be asked to do things that need to be done. Rather, they are looking for opportunities to serve inside the home and out in a proactive way.

How I live my faith

I currently serve in my ward as the Ward Mission Leader and as a home teacher. It is a privilege to share and teach the gospel with others frequently in these capacities.

My family looks forward to Sundays as that is the time we grow closest together. Through attending our Church meetings and family time together before and after, we are nurtured by the Holy Ghost and our love for one another increases.

We also study the scriptures and have family prayer twice a day, and as a result, our children are doing very well at both home and school, socially, as well as academically.

The doctrines of the Church have blessed us on a day-to-day basis in countless ways. I am grateful to have them in my life.

Do Mormons worship Joseph Smith?

Ryan answered...

We do not worship Joseph Smith. We worship God our Heavenly Father in the name of Jesus Christ, and no one else. We honor Joseph Smith as a revealer of Jesus Christ as his first chosen mouthpiece in these latter days, in the same way Moses or Abraham were revealers of Christ in earlier days. Their people did not worship them, and we do not worship Joseph Smith today. But we love and revere them.
Jerad answered...

No. We worship only God the Father and his son Jesus Christ. Joseph Smith was a prophet of God chosen to restore the gospel of Jesus Christ in its fullness back on the Earth. We deeply respect the man and all that he did for man kind as through him the Church of Jesus Christ and the authority which is called the Priesthood was restored to the Earth. The anciant people of Israel deeply revered and respected Moses and all that he did for them, but did not worship him. Joseph was a true Prophet of God and we see him as such, and we only worship the Father and the Son. Joseph was a servant of God and taught about how we should only worship God and Jesus Christ. The purpose of a Prophet is to point us to Christ and help us to know his will, and in these times as terrible as they are, we need the guidance of Prophets to help keep us on the path that God has put before us.

Why was a Restoration of the Gospel needed? Haven’t we always had the Bible?

Daniel answered...

When Jesus was on the earth he established his church. To guide it, 12 apostles were called by God and had priesthood authority to act in his name. When an apostle died, he was to be replaced so that there would always be 12 “special witnesses” of Christ (this is shown by the calling of Mathias as a member of the 12 in Acts:1)
The early years were troublesome times for Christians. The greatest antagonist to the church was the Roman Empire. During this era of persecution, apostles were killed and priesthood authority was lost. Centuries after Christ was crucified Rome pulled a 180 and adopted its own form of “Christianity” as the mandated state religion. To conform to previously held pagan traditions, ordinances like baptism were changed and creeds of faith, not found in the bible, were established.
Recognizing the discrepancies between this church and New Testament Christianity, righteous people protested and many of their followers formed new churches. This era of protestant reformation was critical in advancing religious liberty. But simply recognizing the errors of a church, does not give one God's priesthood authority (see Hebrews 5:4) Even those with the best intentions of following Christ’s teachings need proper priesthood authority to be baptized. The world needed a Restoration of Christ’s original church, not a reformation of an apostate version of it. And as soon as a nation was established with the religious freedom to allow it, the Lord did restore his church!