Hi, I'm Michelle

I am a member of the local search and rescue team. I'm a Mormon.

About Me

I am a recent graduate with a bachelor's degree in psychology. I am also a search and rescue volunteer. My hobbies include hiking and nature photography. I love spending time and observing the beauty of God's creations all around me. I have a love for children, and love watching them learn and grow.

Why I am a Mormon

Life is full of struggles and challenges. Being a Mormon has helped me through these challenges. The knowlege that God is our Father and that He hears and answers my prayers, has brought great peace and comfort during these times. With so many paths and directions I can take, prayer has lead and guided my life in the direction that is according to God's plan and which brings me the greatest happiness. The knowlegde of the atonement brings hope into my life, and heals my wounded soul. As I try each day to do my best, I fall short of perfect. Yet, I know that through the atonement of Jesus Christ I can repent and resolve to do better. The knowledge of the Plan of Salvation, provides me with the answers to the questions of the soul. I know that I lived with God and Jesus Christ before this life. I then was sent to this earth to prove my willingness to follow God through all the trials and tribulations in this life. I have also been given great peace in times of loss of a loved one. I know that as my family and I try to be the best we can and we keep our covenants, we can live together again as a family in the life here after.

Personal Stories

Could you talk about your baptism?

I was baptized at the age of 8. I wish I could remember it better than I do, but here is what I remember I remember being a little anxious that I was going to do something wrong. Yet, my father who baptized me kept reassuring me and helped me to relax. I remeber it happening so fast, it is a quick process, and yet I felt a change come over me. I was so happy and at peace. I was also left with a determination to be good. I felt a tremendous amount of love and support from my family, ward members, and most importantly from my Father in Heaven.

How has attending Church services helped you?

Attending Church services each week, serve as a reminder of the proper priorities in my life. During the week I get so caught up in life, that I often take little time to reflect on Jesus Christ and His sacrifice for me. Each Sunday I am reminded of this sacrifice and am given the oppurtinity to resolve to do better the following week. I have also been able to talk with other members who may be facing similair challenges as I am. As I have the oppurtunity to talk with them, I gather strength, courage, and hope from them to help me get through the challenge. Through Church services I have also learned and come to understand certain principles of the gospel through other members.

Please explain the part prayer plays in your life?

Prayer has played a important and influential role in my life. In times of emotional or physical distress I have found peace and comfort through prayer. Whenever I feel alone or that know one understands me, I know that I can turn to my Father in Heaven through prayer and He will always be there for me, and that He knows better than anyone how I feel and what I am going through. At times of confusion, I turn to prayer to show me the way to go or to answer the questions that are weighing down my mind. My prayers have been answered countless times through peace, comfort, knowledge, direction, and many other ways that were what I needed at the time.

How does making right choices help us make more right choices?

Making right choices help us to make more right choices, as we see the blessing of making right choices. Each of us want to be happy, and as soon as we discover that making right choices makes us truly happy, then we just want to keep that feeling with us so we make more right choices. Also, I find that once I have decided to make choices and to follow through, it becomes easier to make right choices. Once you start the process of making right choices it is easy to keep the momentum going.

Why do Mormons go on missions?

Mormons go on missions to share with the children of God throughout the world the truths about God the Father and His Son Jesus Christ. All must repent and be baptized into Christ's true church to live in His presence again. We as members of this church desire to have everyone to share in this blessing with us.

Why/How do you share the gospel with your friends?

I share the gospel with my friends, because the gospel has brought such peace and happiness into my life, and I want my friends to have the same peace and happiness. I share the gospel with my friends by sharing the truths I have been taught in the gosepl that have me through the problems either my friends or I am facing. I also invite them to come and see for themselves what our church is like and the things we believe.

What has helped develop greater harmony in your home?

Having family prayer and family meals has helped to develop greater harmony in my home. As we pray for our family members it is hard to hold hard feelings against them. We also gain a better understanding and love for each other as we share our worries, gratitude, joys and sorrows of the day, and our dreams through these means.

How can your talents and gifts bless others?

Everyone has been given different gifts and talents by our Father in Heaven. We do not all share the same gift, to some is given one talent to another is given a different talent. Since we all have different gifts, we can bless others as we share our gifts and talents with them. It is the idea that, it takes an orchestra to play a symphony. Each of us can add a special and significant part as we share our gifts and talents with others.

Which of the Savior’s teachings have influenced you in your life?

Many of the Savior's teachings have influenced my life. Yet, the one that has influenced probably the most, is charity. Christ taught and showed a perfect example of the importance of charity, of loving and serving your fellowman. This teaching has changed my view and interactions with the people I encounter each day. As I strive to love and serve those around me, my love and understanding of that individual grows exponentially. My life has been blessed, as I have loved my neighbor as myself.

Please share your feelings/testimony of Joseph Smith.

I know that Joseph Smith is a prophet of God. Joseph Smith was called of God to bring the true church of Christ back to the earth. It was through his humility and dedication service, that we can enjoy the fulness of the gospel. I have a deep respect and love for Joseph Smith and for his willingness to suffer all that he did, in order for me to enjoy the blessing of the gospel.

Think about your everyday activities. What are things you act upon each day where you cannot see the end results? How does faith move you to action?

The faith that I have in a Heavenly Father and Jesus Christ, and the chance to live with them again someday, influences my daily activities. Since, I have faith in these things I use respectful language, I keep the word of wisdom, I dress modestly, I am honest. I also pray and read my scriptures daily. These things often do not preceed immediate blessings. Yet, I know by doing these things I am keeping God's commandments and I will be blessed in the time table of the Lord.

What blessings have come through your faith in Jesus Christ?

Feelings of hope, love, and peace have been some of the greatest blessings I have received from my faith in Jesus Christ. My faith in Jesus Christ atonement lets me know someone loves me, there is a plan for me, and that even though I make mistakes it can be made right through the atonement.

Why do Mormons do family history or genealogy work?

Families are an important doctrine in the church. There are two main reasons we do family history work: we seek to learn and connect with the members of our family across time, we also seek to have each member of our family enjoy the blessings of the gospel. In order to ensure our family has the gospel we discover our ancestors and then we can take their information to the temple, to act as proxies for them as they receive baptism and other saving ordinances.

How has the Book of Mormon brought you closer to God?

The Book of Mormon has brought me closer to God as it has taught me more about the nature of the God. By reading the Book of Mormon, I have learned more deeply of God's love for His children and the relationship they hold. This understanding of my relationship with God has changed the way I pray and receive answeres to my prayers.

Please share your feelings/testimony of the Restoration of the Gospel.

I know that Joseph Smith is a prophet of God. Joseph Smith was called of God to bring the true church of Christ back to the earth. Without the Restoration of the Gospel, I would be in a state of confusion as to which church is true. I am truly grateful for the Resoration of the Gospel through Joseph Smith, it has blessed my life in many ways and has led me to happiness.

In what ways have your prayers been answered?

Answers to my prayers have come in many different forms. Sometimes it is through another person who says or does something that is an answer to my prayer, sometimes it is a feeling of peace that I am doing something right, it could be through a sudden idea I have, or sometimes a door of opportunity is opened right in front of me.

What is hope and what do you hope for?

Hope is trusting in or desiring for something to happen. I hope to become a wife and a mother someday. I also hope for the oppurtunity for my family and I to live together in God's presence after this life.

How has the Holy Ghost helped you?

The Holy Ghost has helped me to feel peace in times of stress or confusion. The Holy Ghost has also shown me the way I should go through my journey of life on earth. Comfort and love and two feelings that I have felt from the Holy Ghost, when I have felt alone, scared or sad. The Holy Ghost has been a great influence in my life, and I always seek to keep its companionship.

Which of the Savior’s teachings have influenced you?

The Savior's teaching of love one another as you love yourself has changed my life. Often when I am feeling depressed, it is because I am thinking too much of myself and the troubles I face. Yet, as I turn my thoughts to those around me and maybe the troubles they are facing, I no longer am depressed and my love for that individual grows. One of the reasons I joined a serach and rescue team was because of this teaching of the Savior. I know that God loves all of His children, and He seeks to reach out His arms and gather His children back in. I hope to share the love of our Father in Heaven to those that are lost. We all have felt lost at one moment at another, and I want those individuals in my community to know that someone loves them enough to put away the things in their life to come and help them return to those they love.

How I live my faith

I attend the young single adult ward a ward of single adults ages 18-31 in my area each Sunday. I take part of the lessons during church by sharing my thoughts, beliefs, and asking questions. I also take time to visit other women from my ward, and seeing that all their needs are being met. I also am part of a committee which plans monthly activities for other young singles adults in the neighboring areas. These activities are use to create friendships with other people our own age who believe the same things, and which face similar challenges as us. In my community I am involved in a search and rescue team, where I give up my time to find those that are lost. The search and rescue motto is: "that others may live". I am woken up in the night, I leave events in the middle, I spend hours in the rain; to ensure that others may live, and, I love every minute of it!

How does the Church finance its operations?

Michelle answered...

The Church's operations are financed through tithing paid by the members. Tithing is giving 10 of your income back to the Lord.
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Clint answered...

The Church finances its operations primarily through voluntary donations from its members, generally referred to as Tithing. The Lord commanded his people in the Old Testament to bring their tithes to his servants. Many Church members today voluntarily donate a portion of their income help the Church bless the lives of millions of individuals through providing meetinghouses for worship, schools for education, supplies for humanitarian aid, food and housing assistance to the poor, etc. In addition, the Church owns and operates taxable for-profit business enterprises that generate income to help fund Church initiatives. The Church invests a portion of its gross receipts to maintain a financial reserve, and income from these investments provide an additional source of funds.

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

Mary answered...

I have many homosexual friends, and I have best friends who are gay rights activists. They know my stand on same-sex marriage, and I know theirs, but guess what? We are still friends. I hope you and I can be friends too, as I try to explain a portion of what I feel about the issue of same-sex marriage.

According to principles that I believe were established by God to protect both men and women and provide for their temporal and eternal welfare, only marriage between a man and woman is allowed. This marriage must entail complete fidelity from both parties. Just as post-marital sexual desires and impulses should be controlled, pre-marital ones are equally tameable.

The LDS Church penalizes no one based on their sexual orientation. What someone feels is not equal to what they do. Once someone acts on same-sex attraction, they are committing sin. Merely being attracted is not a sin. It is not easy or simple or enjoyable to suppress one's physical appetites. Frankly, I'm not even sure of all the reasons it is commanded that we do so (though I know of the basic reasons). What I do know (and believe me when I say I do know this) is that God has ordained marriage between man and woman. He always has reasons, and we usually don't understand them for quite some time. But I know with all my heart that it is for the good of all people, regardless of sexual orientation, that marriage only be permited between a man and a woman.