Hi, I'm Jessi

I grew up 15 minutes outside DC in Maryland. I am a full time college student. I am also partially deaf

About Me

I am a college student and I love psychology. I grew up in the church and am the youngest of three children. I am also deaf in one ear and grew up around other kids with disabilities because of it. Frankly with being deaf people find it a weakness but to me it is a strength and I have learned a lot about myself because I never let it get to me. It has also taught me not to judge others because no one can tell what is wrong with me until I say what it is. I truly love my life and love everyday that I am here.

Why I am a Mormon

I grew up in the church, but I did not become active until I was twelve because I am from an inactive family. I did not get my testimony however until I was nineteen years old. This was two years after I almost died due to a mistake by a doctor and after some rehabilitation. It is because of a voice telling me to hold on in my darkest hour that I am here and can truly say I am a Mormon.

Personal Stories

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

I may be the youngest in my family, but I am actually the first to graduate high school out of three children. Also my mother did not complete college nor did my Grandmother or my female cousins. It is interesting though because since I have been at college my Mom is going and so are some friends who said I have taught them that an education is important. My eldest brother is also going back. You see my decision to make the right choice of getting an education and staying out of trouble has affected others because they follow my example. You really never know who is watching what you do until you make a choice. Good or bad someone is always seeing what you are doing. It helps us to make more right choices because we are examples whether we like it or not. Thus for me at least it makes me make the right choice because I think of others and what would I want my loved ones to do. For the Gospel making right choices leads to more because it is like a fire almost. Once it warms you you never want it to leave and so you will do what you can to keep it there so you make them for the joy and for the blessings that follow.

How can your talents and gifts bless others?

Your talents and gifts can bless others by shining light into their lives. For example I have a talent for public speaking so in high school I went around to different schools and taught others about my disability and the importance of advocating. In the long run I ended up learning the importance of accepting others and not judging. I learned how to be a leader since it led to bigger things. I use these leadership skills to help others in their times of need and in general I learned how to be a better person. I also still use this talent in leadership for the service activities department at my school. This benefits others since I help to serve others. I also use it in research with my creativity to research things like why we react certain ways to certain names of things or how mnemonics work. Thus my talents help to make others happy and to perhaps one day find out new things we never knew about the human mind.

Can you think of a specific challenge in your family that Gospel Principles helped overcome?

I am the only child out of three that does not have bipolar disorder. Also my mother has it and out of my seven aunts and uncle's three of them have bipolar disorder. In fact my aunt died because she went into such a severe depression she could not live any longer. thus it runs rapidly in my family and my mom was also a single mother. Thus I did not really have much stability in my family life. Gospel principles have helped overcome all this chaos in my life by being able to first go to college where I am surrounded by people with the same beliefs and where that Gospel is something stable in my life. Second the main principle of loving one another has helped me to be able to love those around me and instead of crying about my life and the fact my father abandoned my family I serve others. I prefer to go and share my love by helping others and even doing things for my roommates when I had them and now my husband and family. I can escape from the sadness at home and celebrate life by bringing happiness to others and their lives. In the long run it makes me happy to be able to do something that will bring joy to others. Thus the gospel principle of loving one another has helped me to overcome many difficulties in my life.

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?

I tend to do a lot of volunteer work. To me a smile even is me showing charity and love. The things I do I never see the end result. For example when you smile at someone you do not know or say hi to them you do not know if they are having a bad day. Maybe that made it a little better. Or when I help at a blood drive I never see the people whom we are giving blood to. I only see the donors. I know however that we are saving lives. Thus my everyday activity of being charitable and being loving influences others, but I never know how much it really does. My faith even moves me to these actions since it is one of our beliefs.We believe it is a part of love to be charitable as well as having hope and faith. Thus it moves me to action to do more with it. Like fix up a boy scout camp, or help to move a trail in a mountain from one side of a canyon to another, or run to help build a hospital in Kenya. Or even the smallest act of visiting the elderly every week in a nursing home. I never know what they are going through or anything really. They are strangers and I am simply there to be loving and show charity as well as love.

In what ways have your prayers been answered?

In my deepest moment of darkness I had a prayer answered in a an unexpected way. When I was seventeen and after I found out all about my allergies and all the things I cannot do anymore like swimming in a swimming pool I became angry. I was already limited since I am deaf in my right ear and had a list of things I cannot do so I felt trapped and helpless. I left the church for two years because of this. However when I was twenty I realized I was not happy with my life an nothing was going how I wanted it to go because I was supporting my family by working full time, trying to go to college but finding it hard with a family to care for and just so many other things going on. Due to all this I did something I had not done in to years, I prayed. I asked Heavenly Father what I should do and where I was supposed to be because I felt so out of place. He responded by my Mom's visiting teacher asking me if I would go to BYUI since I flatly refused to go to BYU. I begrudgingly replied by saying I would apply. Funny enough I got accepted and I have never been happier. Granted it took a little adjustment but I have found the fresh Idaho air has been good for my health and I can focus on my education without worrying about my family. Best part is they are doing great without me and my allergies do not feel so constraining anymore.

How I live my faith

I live my faith by attending the temple regularly. I actually go twice a week and I love it. I also am an indexer for my ward and thus I get to transcribe old papers onto the internet so that others can read them to do things like genealogy. I visit teach two girls and it is amazing. I love listening to them and teaching them. We have become good friends and I love being able to share my stories and cooking with them. In my community I also go to an elderly home once a week and get to do things with the elderly and talk to them. I love to help out in my community and always love to lend a helping hand to those who need it.

What are Mormon women like? Do Mormons believe in equality of men and women?

Jessi answered...

Mormon women are just like all the other women out there. We have heartbeats and brains and we use them. Some of us can cook and some cannot like some roommates I have had, but we all have our own abilities example: I cannot knit if my life depended on it but I am an awesome lab partner for biology and I am a good chef. I am also doing research at my university and I rock at it. For those who grew up in the church we were taught to have faith, divine nature, individual worth, knowledge, choice and accountability, good works, integrity, and virtue. Thus we tend to be respectful and most Mormon girls tend to lean towards having a family, but we also are taught to not wait for a family and to go to college. The church wants women to get an education because you never know what will happen and you should not put your life on hold to wait for the perfect man. Thus in conclusion women in the church are just like women in the world except we hold our values high and we believe in the importance of family.
We do believe in equality of men and women. The reason women do not have the priesthood however is because I was taught we have something they do not. We have to power to create life and to hold life in us. Men cannot do this since they cannot bear a child. They can only help to create them and thus they have the priesthood; it is equal in a way but people tend not to think about it.
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Nicole answered...

Mormon women are strong. Mormon women are sure. We are taught from the time that we are tiny that we are daughters of God. Many people question equality between Mormon men and women because we believe in the traditional roles of the family, the classic stay-at-home mom and the working father. It makes me sad that society has degraded the role of a mother and made it seem undesirable and less than an occupation outside the home.

We believe in eternal families. We believe that this life is the one time in all eternity that we are sent to be tried and tested. If those beliefs be true than there is nothing more noble and exciting than being a mother. To be chosen to bring life into the world and to steer that life to goodness and love is one of the greatest and most impressive things that can be done.

I am proud to be a woman. I am excited to be a mother one day. I am an advocate for education and self-betterment for all. I value the differences of women from men. All of these things I learned to do from my religion. If that's not feminism I don't know what is.

Are there restrictions based on race or color concerning who can join The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints and have the priesthood?

Peter Blomfield answered...

No. We are fortunate enough in these days to have the blessings of the gospel and the Priesthood available to all. Unlike other times throughout the world's history, God has offered the Priesthood to every worthy male. Women are able to enjoy the blessings of the Priesthood through these men, and are invaluable in blessing the world through their attributes.