Hi, I'm Danny

I'm a Mormon daddy.

About Me

I'm married and have 3 kids. By day I'm a director in a large school district. By night I'm known around the house as the "tickle monster." It's hard balancing a demanding job and my responsibilities as a dad and husband, but nothing beats a happy wife and smiling kids. Right now I'm doing everything I can to finish a doctorate in education before my oldest son starts t-ball...he's going to need a good coach.

Why I am a Mormon

It helps me remember my goals. Everyone makes goals because they help us become better people. Being Mormon gives me tools that remind me of my eternal goals - having a happy family, helping others through service, focusing on a Christ-centered life, and returning to live with God. I hope that my dedication to my religion will be a source of strength for my family.

Personal Stories

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

When I was twenty I lost a really close friend in a car accident. I struggled a lot trying to balance my hope in Jesus Christ and my sadness from missing such a good friend. I remember a specific day that summer I was reading a passage in the Book of Mormon where Christ is teaching people about his love. He told them he was full of compassion for them, and then healed many of the sick and blind that were in the crowd. I was overcome with a feeling of joy and peace. It was like that feeling you get when someone close to you calls you out of the blue - just to tell you they love you. I think about that day and re-read that passage often, just to make sure I always remember that feeling of God's love that came to me through the Book of Mormon.

How I live my faith

I try really hard to study from scriptures every day by myself, as well as with my wife and kids. I try really hard to keep a prayer in my heart. I try really hard to reflect on a regular basis about personal improvement and actions I need to take to be more like Christ. I try really hard to come to Sunday services every week. I try really hard to teach my children why it's important to follow the teachings of Christ in our daily lives. I feel that's all we can do...try really hard.

Why do some call Mormonism a cult?

Michael Johnston answered...

Because we believe in continuing revelation through Prophets as in the days of old, i.e. Moses, Abraham, this is uncomfortable for some people because media has made our Prophets seem like evil men leading people astray, when they are just trying to teach us correct principles so that one day we all may return to live with our Father in Heaven.

Another reason is because we believe in the sacred nature of temples, meaning only worthy members may enter the Temple so people think that evil rituals are performed. However, in reality the nature of the temple is uplifting and beautiful and gives us clarity to what the purpose of life is, the plan of salvation, and other topics such as life, death, and the atonement of Christ. The temple is not "secret, but it is sacred. However, we encourage all to live so that they may one day enter the temple.

http//www.mormon.org/videos/
Garth answered...

I just saw news footage where a minister called the Mormon Church a ‘cult’ and the news commentator turned around and said it wasn’t. The news commentator was right. One definition listed for ‘cult’ in Webster’s Dictionary is “a religion regarded as unorthodox.” ‘Unorthodox’ according to whom? Catholicism and over 2000 churches who broke off of the Catholic Church or the original teachings of the Church of Jesus Christ? We believe some of the original doctrines contained in the original Church of Jesus Christ fell into apostasy and were changed by men. One example is the definition of the Godhead as laid out in the Nicene and Athanasian Creeds that are widely accepted by most Catholic and Protestant churches today. We believe the Godhead is made up of three separate and distinct individuals that are one in purpose not in body. When I read about the atonement in Matthew 26:39 (KJV), “And he went a little further, and fell on his face, and prayed, saying, O my Father, if it be possible, let this cup pass from me: nevertheless not as I will, but as thou wilt” I believe God the Father, Jesus Christ, Peter and the other Apostles would find the teaching that ‘Jesus Christ was praying to himself’ as quite ‘unorthodox’. I choose to follow the teachings of Jesus Christ, not the teachings of men…regardless of the names they choose to call us.

Do Mormons worship Joseph Smith?

Christopher answered...

No. We admire Joseph Smith and consider him a prophet of God and follow his teachings as we do with Moses and other prophets of old. The thing that makes Joseph Smith unique amongst prophets is that he helped to bring the Church of Jesus Christ back to the earth after a period of darkness which is known as the Great Apostacy.