Hi, I'm Lauren

I'm in college. I work. I like to kayak and travel and hang with friends and family. I'm a Mormon.

About Me

I am an American. I love going to musicals and watching the Cubs. I love kayaking, making sculpture, and reading. I am in college, studying to become a middle school history teacher. I am from Chicago and Alaska. I'm the middle of five children in my family. I'm a mormon.

Why I am a Mormon

Being Mormon, I get to learn a lot of true things that make me super happy:

-My family doesn't die when our bodies die. There's more after this life.
-I'm never forgotten. My Heavenly Father always knows, remembers, and cares about me.
-Though my world is going a hundred different directions, God is always the same.
-Heavenly Father wants me back! He even sent a Savior to provide a way for me. I'm not set up to fail here. I'm not doomed because I'm human. He knows I will sin and make mistakes, and he knows I can do better. He has faith in me. I can be better every time I act more like Jesus. We have to be patient with ourselves as we get better.

Did you read all that? Do you feel great?

Personal Stories

How can we develop greater harmony in our homes?

I believe the world has enough negative stuff - enough hard stuff - enough scary stuff - that homes should be a shelter from all that. I'm so grateful to my siblings and parents because they make my home a safe, comfortable, loving, strengthening place. However. They can also be frustrating people. So I have to be loving and forgiving. I'm not saying I always am that way... I mean, I'm not Jesus. But I can try. The patience is always worth it. I never say to myself, "I wish I would have yelled at her." Instead, I'm always glad in hindsight when I've been patient and forgiving when my sister takes all the hot shower water or my brother eats all my favorite cereal. (We have bigger issues too, but the same stuff applies.) At college, homes are different. My five roommates and I come from six different families. We make our house a home the same way - kindness and understanding.

How I live my faith

I challenge myself to remember those simple things that make all the difference: count my blessings; smile in public and at home - no shame in that; say my prayers when I wake up, go to bed, and any other time. Somehow it seems the smallest things make the biggest differences. Was it Aristotle who said 'we are what we routinely do'? I think so. I believe that.

Who chooses the Mormon prophet?

Lauren answered...

God chooses him!
There are three members of the general presidency, including the prophet. When the prophet dies, the most senior person in the presidency becomes the new prophet. The presidency as all other positions of leadership in the church is chosen by inspiration from God.

How can we stop the spread and influence of pornography?

Richard. answered...

I frequently hear people say that we need to protect children from pornography. That statement is true, but it forgets that adults are also damaged by the self-gratifying attitudes that pornography depicts. Pornography changes how we view each other. We should be politely vocal about our desire to avoid pornography. Pornography should not be forced upon us by our friends, government, employment, or entertainers. But it will be if we don't speak up about our values.