Hi, I'm Taerra

I'm going to be an opera singer and voice teacher when get home from my mission. I'm a Mormon.

About Me

I just finished my master's degree this spring and now I'm going on a mission for the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. I'm excited to set aside my personal goals and dreams for 18 months to serve my Savior. I think it'll be the best preparation for the rest of my life I could ever hope for. When I return I will be pursuing a career in opera and voice instruction. I think that the patience, faith and people skills I develop on my mission will be immensely helpful to me for the rest of my life.

Why I am a Mormon

I was "born into the church," so to speak. Both of my parents have been members for basically their whole lives. They've taught me the doctrine and truths of the gospel since childhood. From a very early age the principles of truth have been my guide and protection in life, but that is not why I am a "Mormon" today. As a teenager I wanted to know for myself if the things my parents taught me were actually true. I began to search the scriptures and pray and try the promises in the scriptures. Daily, small and simple evidences built my faith. I learned that obedience to the gospel brought me great peace and joy in my life. I began to know that God was real and that the Book of Mormon was true and through those two testimonies I was able to accept the rest and the Holy Ghost gave me peace about them. Interestingly, My "conversion" was simple and quiet, built on years of struggling and faithful obedience. I never felt the "burning of the bosom" some have, I didn't see any angels or hear any voices. Little by little, almost imperceptibly, the spirit helped me to understand and know that The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day saints is Jesus Christ's church, on earth again, it was restored by revelation through Joseph Smith in the early 1800s. Through prophets and apostles and personal revelation God speaks to his children, he loves us individually, and has an eternal destiny and purpose for each one of us.

How I live my faith

Every day I try to do the little things that make the biggest difference. I search the scriptures to find out what God wants me to focus on, pray for guidance and serve as much as possible. I find that if my life is focused on others I am better able to cope with hard times. It doesn't seem to matter where I am or what I'm doing, as long as I've done my best to keep close to Christ, everything works out and I am happy.

Can you tell me about Mormon customs: how you dress for church, what holidays you celebrate, etc.?

Taerra answered...

For me, the way I dress for church and other church related activities reflect how I feel about my relationship with God. If I am casual in my dress, I am casual in my relationship with God. I love him and want to show him respect, so I dress to show him how I feel.

I celebrate all the standard holidays: Christmas, Easter, Halloween, Thanksgiving etc. I guess Christmas, Easter and Thanksgiving are the most important to us though. They are the ones that remind us of Christ and bring us together as families.
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Graeme answered...

Mormon customs throughout the world do not vary widely. In fact in my travels around the world, the church is one big family which welcomes you as one of their own. Most of the major national and Christian holidays are celebrated Christmas, Easter, New Years when ever oit occurs, and nation's founding, and personal birthdays. Mormons dress up for Sunday services. When traveling, casual, modest clothing is normal. For other activities, any modest attire is acceptable. There are occasional "theme" activities with approprite dress.

What is being a Mormon like?

Michael answered...

The shortest answer that I could give is that it's AWESOME.
But really, it's great! The standards of the Church help me live and love a more clean life, and help me enjoy what I do every day.
Sometimes it's hard, but I try to think about WHY I do it all. It's like working out- I don't always enjoy it, but I keep thinking about the finish line and why I'm working out.
Like Captain Moroni wrote on the ensign banner he called the "Title of Liberty" to rally the country to understand why they were doing what they were:
"In memory of our God, our religion, and freedom, and our peace, our wives, and our children."
Being a Mormon makes me love life more. And I sure live a lot of it!