Hi, I'm Andrew

I'm a Mormon, born in Canada. I like to do web design, play video games, and write stories.

About Me

I'm a single college student, hoping for a wife. I like to play video games, write stories, design websites, reading books, watching anime, and of course, studying the scriptures the scriptures are the most important on this list. Eating and breathing is also important.

Why I am a Mormon

I was born 'into the covenant', meaning I was born into a family that was already part of the church. I am in this church because I know its true. The Holy Ghost made a witness to me of it, and I cannot deny that witness. I love the church and have a strong testimony of the Book of Mormon. I was challenged to read it in two weeks by my Bishop once when I was young. I did it, and I was filled with the Spirit of the Lord, knowing the book was true. Everything else just fell into place.

Personal Stories

How has The Book of Mormon helped you understand the purpose of life?

The Book of Mormon has shown me that the purpose of life is to live like Christ did. This does not mean that we are exactly like Him because we have our individual personalities that God created us with. Regardless, I've seen the Book of Mormon touched my life. Lehi taught that our first parents were noble. King Benjamin taught that there is no other name, save Jesus Christ, upon which we can obtain Salvation. Alma the Younger, along with Amulek taught that at the Resurrection, every part of our bodies would be restored to an "incorruptible" state.

The Book of Mormon teaches me the best way to live my life. It does not dictate my life, but guides me. Its teachings of charity, which is the true of Christ is something I aspire to have. Without it, I cannot obtain salvation. It teaches us to be patient, loving, slow to anger, steadfast in the cause of liberty, serving my fellowmen (and King Benjamin taught that "when you are in the service of your fellowmen, you are only in the service of your God" (paraphrased)), to have faith, hope, and trust in Jesus Christ that all will turn out all right in the end, and that we will obtain a mansion in the Kingdom of his Father.

The purpose of life, therefore, is to progress, become like Christ, and obtain salvation in the loving arms of our beloved Heavenly Father. Amen.

How I live my faith

I'm part of the communications committee in my ward. We help develop the website and get news out to our ward, and the like. I work on the calender for my ward specifically. I love to serve others whenever I find the opportunity.

Do Mormons worship Joseph Smith?

Rachel answered...

No. We only worship God. Joseph Smith was not a god. He was a prophet. Just like Moses and Abraham and all of the other prophets in the Bible. He is not a god, we do not worship him, however, as a prophet, God used him as a tool to communicate with us by giving Joseph Smith revelation. God spoke to us through Joseph Smith. Therefore, we accept what Joseph Smith said to be the word of God.
Jim answered...

Mormons see Joseph Smith in the same way Jews see Moses - while we respect and honor their lives and their contributions, we understand that they are real people, worthy of our veneration but not our worship. We understand that they were selected for important duties that God called them to complete and we respect the work that they performed. Joseph does occupy a unique place in Mormon theology because so many doctrines of the re-established church can be traced to revelations that were given to him. The scriptures tell that it is "by their fruits" that an individual will be able to determine if someone is acting on God's behalf, and this is one of the central messages of the re-established church, we invite all men everywhere to read and pray about the Book of Mormon since it a tangible fruit of the prophet Joseph Smith's calling as a prophet and restorer of Christ's church. It is my witness that if you do so you will know that the book is true, Joseph is a prophet and the church he founded is true.

Why are only some Mormons allowed into temples? Is there something secret going on in Mormon Temples? What goes on in Mormon Temples?

Katie answered...

I used to play in a Balinese Gamelan ensemble here in Washington, DC on weeknights and had some of my friends ask me this question. First, I pointed out that anyone can go into the temple during the open house to see what it is like. After it is dedicated, it becomes holy ground and you have to make yourself clean or holy to go in. I told them that EVERYONE can go to the temple, as long as they are wiling to go through that process of becoming clean. I reminded them that you can't just waltz in to the White House either (much to the chagrin of many tourists here). You have to go through a background check that takes 6 weeks and that is just to get into the East Wing, the West Wing requires a job and security clearance. Our protectiveness of the temple is not a sign of secrecy, it is more a manifestation of how special and important the the building and its rituals are.

And I hope people don't get intimidated by the word "ritual", everyone who has gone through a school graduation has experienced a ritual. It just means that we are participating in life-changing experiences that turn our hearts to God, our families and our fellow men. The real difference is that we believe that process of making devotional promises to God in a sacred place is necessary for our salvation. That is why we encourage everyone to join with us and make their way to the temple.