Hi, I'm Steve

I am a husband, father, businessman, jack-of-all-trades and master of none and a Mormon

About Me

I am born and raised a Mormon from Utah. I am a father to 5 and a grandfather to 9. I enjoy Water skiing, golfing, motorcycles and fast cars.

Why I am a Mormon

I have found no better way to raise and strengthen a family. I love and accept the atonement of my Savior in my behalf. Guidance from the Spirit has become very real and comforting to me.

How I live my faith

For me, my religion starts in the home. We enjoy family home evenings, activities, praying and working together. I believe strongly in helping and serving others and have hopefully passed those values along to my children. I enjoy working in the church helping youth and adults to better live their lives and to find greater happiness.

What is The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints' attitude regarding homosexuality and same sex marriage?

Jacob answered...

We all have the freedom to pursue happiness in their own way, and I would even be willing to allow that some desires may be genetically given. This does not make our desires right. In the scriptures we read " For the natural man is an enemy to God, and has been from the fall of Adam, and will be, forever and ever, unless he yields to the enticings of the Holy Spirit, and putteth off the natural man and becometh a saint through the atonement of Christ the Lord." (Mosiah 3:19) We all have "natural desires" that place us in opposition with God's purpose and desires for us and we must each seek to correct them if we wish true happiness.

I sympathize with those whose desires are powerful and poignant; you face a sore trial indeed. The scriptures give us hope though; "There hath no temptation taken you but such as is common to man: but God is faithful, who will not suffer you to be tempted above that ye are able; but will with the temptation also make a way to escape, that ye may be able to bear it." (1 Corinthians 10:13) God is merciful and Christ is compassionate, while there may be yet an effectual struggle to be had perhaps for many years or the rest of our lives full repentance and change is possible.

If a homosexual individual desires to continue as such and marry only by the laws and rites of the state, then I have no qualms, I will do my utmost to be a friend to such an individual. I only ask that my rights, beliefs, and Church are respected.
Mike. answered...

First, I wholeheartedly believe in the "Official Church Answer" to this question. Homosexual behavior is, as the scriptures clearly state, against God's law, just as fornication and adultery are against God's law. There are no exceptions, but there is always repentance.

God loves all of his children. Christ died to redeem all of God's children. To these statements there are also no exceptions. I am firmly conviced that whether a person experiences same gender attraction or not, he or she is still a child of God. God's love for us is constant, but that does not mean that He will always approve of our choices or our behavior.

Through the atonement of Christ, all of our hurts and pains, all of our sorrows and anguish, will be taken away. All of our sins will be forgiven on condition of repentance. All these are His. He paid the price for them, and we have no right to hold on to them.

Do Mormons practice polygamy?

Doug answered...

The short answer: no.

The fun answer: I am always a bit surprised when I get asked whether Mormon's practice polygamy, especially since it is a point of pride among Mormons that we tend to be more "monogomous" than the general population - the divorce rate among Mormons is much lower than it is among non-Mormons, hence marriage to a second, third, or fourth husband or wife is much less likely.

The informative answer: In the first half of the 19th century and beginning with Joseph Smith, the founding Prophet of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, the Lord commanded certain men to take more than one wife for reasons that are known in full only to God himself. These men and women sought in faith to live the commandments of God as they were taught by the Prophets of God. The practice of plural marriage continued in a highly organized and church-sanctioned fashion until the Lord commanded that the practice be discontinued in the year 1890.

I am a descendant of the fourth wife of one such man. I have read his journals and heard accounts of his day to day interactions with his family and friends. He was a good and an honest man, as were most if not all of the men to whom the command was given from the Lord to take more than one wife, both in the early days of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints and in Biblical times.