Hi, I'm Stuart Clark

I'm a Mormon. I grew up in California. I work as a company executive and have a wonderful family.

About Me

I am 69 years old and working as Senior Vice President for an international construction company. I am married and have a large family with 13 children and 29 grandchildren. We adopted some of our children. I love to spend time with my children. We like to go backpacking and mountain climbing. I have climbed over 23 mountains in the world including the highest trekking peak in the world, Mera Peak at 21,250 feet in Nepal. I like to visit Nepal and see the Everest region. Together with my boys we like to go on adventures and visit some of the beautiful places in the world. We also like to ski and water ski and I enjoy boating and doing carpentry work around the house. I am also a ham radio operator and like to be involved in emergency preparedness with the radio. I have been a member of the Mormon church all of my life. I have a graduate degree in Business Administration and think education is so important in life. I spend time in my church calling and in my work and at home. I am also a member of the local Rotary Club.

Why I am a Mormon

I was born to a father and mother who loved Jesus Christ and made it the center of their lives. My father was a Mormon and my mother was a Methodist. We always went to church and made the bible stories a part of our life. I remember my mother becoming a Mormon. Nothing changed much because she always believed in the same principles of the Gospel of Jesus Christ. I grew up going to the Mormon church and at an early age, I became aware of God and his love for me as an individual. I was around 12 when I had a prayer answered directly to me and I knew that it was God who answered it. That became an anchor in my life. My family went to church together. We learned about family prayer and had family prayer together growing up. My mother taught me how to pray and taught me to try to choose right. I loved bible stories growing up and then stories from the Book of Mormon after my mother joined the church. From a very young age I felt that the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints was true and provided the answers I had about life. At 14 I read the Book of Mormon and prayed about it and I felt my knowledge of life expand and grow and I began to comprehend the things of heaven and the purpose of life on earth. I loved to read about Joseph Smith and his great accomplishments. My great grandfather knew Joseph Smith and received a blessing at his hand when he was in Illinois. My great grandfather lived to see that blessing fulfilled. He wrote his testimony of Joseph Smith as a prophet of God. He listened to him talk many times and heard him say, "I go like a lamb to the slaughter" just before he was martyred. My great grandfather moved west with the Mormon pioneers and settled in Utah. He knew all of the presidents of the church through to President Joseph F. Smith. That legacy of my great grandfather and his testimony of Joseph Smith helped to fortify my belief that I already had. I gained my knowledge through reading the Book of Mormon and attending church. I felt personal revelation as a young man about the reality of God the Father, His Son Jesus Christ, and felt the Holy Ghost testify in my heart that they live and they are real and love us. That has been a big anchor in my life. My grandfather met one of the three witnesses of the golden plates from which the Book of Mormon was translated it was David Whitmer. David Whitmer's testimony is written in the front of the Book of Mormon. David Whitmer bore his testimony to my grandfather that he did indeed see the plates and held them and testified that it was a true book, that an angel of God had shown him the plates along with others who were present. My grandfather also knew Martin Harris, one of the scribes of the Book of Mormon. Also my great Uncle met Martin Harris when he came to Utah and heard him bear his testimony that he saw the plates from which the Book of Mormon was translated and that it was true. When I was married my great Uncle came to my wedding and told my wife and I how he had heard Martin Harris bear his testimony in the Salt Lake Tabernacle. My great Uncle was 104 years old then. These eye witnesses further added to strengthen not only my faith but my knowledge that these things were true that I had already known at a young age. I count myself very fortunate to have learned the gospel at a young age and to have had a strong witness that the Church of Jesus Christ had been restored to the earth through the Prophet Joseph Smith. I have a always known this from a young age and have tied to pass that same experience on to my children. I bear this my witness to the world that Jesus Christ lives. That he restored his church to the earth and that he is preparing us for his second coming. We are led by prophets and apostles today. Anyone can find this out for themselves by reading, studying, and praying about this fact. God will reveal it to you by the power of the Holy Ghost which is stronger than seeing.

How I live my faith

The Mormon Church is a living church and offers members the opportunity to serve in many different capacities. I attend church each Sunday and have had opportunities to serve in various positions from time to time. I served as a missionary for the church in Chile and Uruguay when I was in my late teens and early 20s. I worked with the Boy Scouts in Chile and helped to establish the scouting program in the church in that country. Since that time have been asked to be a Bishop overseeing an entire congregation. I married people, performed funerals, conducted and organized the meetings and got to sit and meet with many members one on one. It was one of the highlights of my life. I later served as a counselor to several mission presidents who oversaw the missionaries in the area where I lived. I worked with the missionaries and enjoyed seeing others join the church. I worked with the youth of the church where I live for many years, organizing youth outings, youth conferences, dances, athletics and spiritual meetings. I enjoyed speaking with the youth and sharing my experiences. I really enjoyed sharing with them my experience in going to Mt. Everest and seeing that great mountain. I tried to tell them they could accomplish anything in life if they put their mind to it. I attend church each week and enjoy the worship services and the discussions on the gospel. I am also a member of the Rotary Club and like what it does to give relief to people worldwide. I am currently in charge of public affairs and help organize service projects for our congregation. I also teach a class to the men in the church. I read the scriptures everyday to further my knowledge of Christ and his teachings.

What is the Church’s position on abortion?

Stuart Clark answered...

We believe in the sanctity of life and that we should do all we can do to preserve life. Abortion is just the opposite, it destroys life. We believe in the commandment, "Thou shalt not kill" which means that we should not take a life.Only in the instances of incest or rape or endangerment of the mother's life should it ever be considered. Even then, it should be prayerfully considered by the individual.
Show more of my answers Show less of my answers One Moment Please
Chaz answered...

Abortion is a serious matter which is opposed by the Church. The only cases in which abortion is acceptable is when, in the opinion of competent medical council, the life of the mother in is serious danger, or when the pregnancy was caused by rape and causes serious emotional trauma. Even when those cases are present, it is only done after counseling with the local priesthood authority, and recieveing divine confirmation through the Holy Ghost.

In any other case abortion is termination of life. In other words, Murder. Which is contrary to the commandments of God and against the will of God.

What are Mormon church services like? Are visitors allowed at church meetings? Can I attend church?

Brian answered...

Mormon church services are unique. When I first started attending I felt three hours was too long to be in church, but I quickly grew to like it because I realised that each of the three meetings has a very practical, edifying focus. The Sacrament meeting is the principal meeting and it is where everyone (women and men, young and old) come together to have the sacrament (communion) and hear talks by their fellow church members. Since there is no paid clergy, Mormons take turns speaking to the congregation about how a particular principle or doctrine has strengthened their faith in Christ. Depending on the size of the congregation, a Mormon can speak as often as once a year to once every two or three years.

In Sunday School, the youth attend classes according to their age and the adults attend a class together. The curriculum varies from year to year, but the focus each year is on a book of scripture and how its lessons can help us develop stronger families, be better neighbours and parents, etc. For example, this year (2011) all the adults are studying the New Testament.

In the third hour we group together as men and women. The men's class looks at how the gospel of Christ can help us in our roles as men, husbands, fathers, etc., while the women study how Christ's teachings can help them be better women, wives, mothers, etc.

Visitors are welcome in all of these meetings.