Hi, I'm Natalie

I'm a college student, a social entrepreneurship enthusiast, a novice ballroom dancer and I'm a Mormon.

About Me

My hobbies are running, dancing, painting, hiking, biking, and reading. I am a Latino culture enthusiast, a wanna-be racquetball star, and an ice cream addict.

I grew up in the Midwest (Chicago and Minnesota) with two older siblings, and I currently live in Utah where I go to school. I am a junior in college studying marketing with minors in visual arts and communications, and I hope to do marketing for a social entrepreneurship company after graduation. (A social entrepreneurship company recognizes a social problem and uses entrepreneurial principles to organize create and manage a venture to achieve [lasting] social change).

Why I am a Mormon

I'm a Mormon because I know this is Christ's church on the earth today, and living the gospel of Jesus Christ has given me greater satisfaction than anything else in my life. I know God is our loving Heavenly Father and that He guides and directs us today through living prophets and apostles, the scriptures, and the Holy Spirit. I also know that this gospel (Christ's teachings in their fulness) is our map to living a happy life and to ultimately returning to live with our Heavenly Father and our families in peace and joy after this life.

I was born into a Mormon family and I grew up learning these doctrines and going to church. My parents are good people and taught me good, true principles. However, growing up I was very skeptical of Christ's doctrines and of the things I had been taught. For a time I wasn't even sure that God existed, much less that He knew who I was and that He loved and cared about me as His daughter. By the time I turned 18 I was pretty determined that I did not want to be Mormon—I felt like it was too hard, too restrictive, and that it prevented me from “being happy.”

Before I completely broke away, however, I decided to try to find out for myself once and for all if what I’d been hearing all my life was really true. I began to pray daily and read in the scriptures for 30 minutes every day, particularly the Book of Mormon. Over a period of months I watched my life change dramatically as I studied that sacred book. I began to feel God’s love for me, I felt happier, and I started to feel and know that the scriptures I was reading and the doctrines I’d been taught all of my life were true. For the first time in my life I wanted to keep God’s commandments because I loved Him and that’s what I wanted to do, not just because it’s what my parents expected of me. And I've been so much happier ever since.

Personal Stories

Can you talk about the missions of the Church and your participation in them?

A mission is when a member of the Church decides to leave his or her daily life/responsibilities for an extended period of time between 1.5 and 3 years to dedicate himself/herself fully to teaching other people about the gospel of Jesus Christ and the restoration of His church on the earth. It is a voluntary service, and once the person fills out the necessary paperwork, he or she is “called,” or assigned, to a specific area in the world for the entire time of his or her mission. In 2009 I decided to serve a mission and I was called to serve in Panama from August 2009 to February 2011. Although it was difficult at times, serving a mission was the best decision I have made and it gave me more satisfaction than I could have ever imagined. I learned to love and care about the Panamanian people and culture and I enjoyed seeing their lives change in positive ways as they embraced the gospel of Jesus Christ.

How I live my faith

I teach a Sunday School class based on the New Testament to other college students in my area. I love being able to learn more about the scriptures every time I prepare a lesson. I enjoy teaching, and I learn so much from the comments of all the students in my class. I also regularly visit different girls who live close to me to get to know them, share scriptural insights, and to love and support them.

What is the Mormon lifestyle like? How do Mormons live?

Natalie answered...

The Mormon lifestyle is one of peace, joy, and happiness. We spend time every day praying and reading the scriptures and we attend church on Sundays. We strive to keep God's commandments by living healthy lives and refraining from drinking alcohol, smoking, or taking other harmful substances into our bodies. We know that families are vital to God's plan for us, so we are family-oriented and try to spend a lot of time together. We serve others, share our beliefs, and look for meaningful ways to contribut our communities.
Serge answered...

Family is everything to us. Our family spends lots of our free time together because we like each other. Life gets crazy with teenagers, dance practice, after school academic decathlon, usually with a toddler in tow, but no matter what, every Monday night is Family Night.

The kids know that every Monday we spend time together and nothing gets in the way of it. It's our commitment to each other. We bake cookies, have lessons about the Savior, work on personal goals, go to the park, go geocaching, play board games or just go out for ice cream.

We do lots of things together. The point is that at least once a week we spend an hour or two together, just for the sake of being together, just because we love being together as a family. It's not as perfect as it may sound, with all the poking and "she's in my spot," and all the other crazy things family members do to each other when scrambling for a spot in the living room, but we try real hard. It takes effort to make sure we don't miss, but it's worth it.

I'm not sure the kids will remember all the games we played, the places we went or what we did, but I hope they always remember that we loved each other enough to dedicate one night a week to be with each other. And that we spent every Monday night together for as many Mondays as they can remember because family is everything to us, and every member of our family is important.

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

Aubri answered...

This question is my all time favorite "tough topic" to discuss. I want to start off right off the bat by saying that no matter what you've been told, or who has told you it, Mormons DO NOT "hate" gays and lesbians. Or ANYONE for any reason. Ever. As witnesses of Christ, we do our best to emulate Him and live as He would have us live. That's not to say that we're perfect, because we're not... but I do know that Christ never hated anyone.

Mormons believe in the sanctity of marriage. We believe that God has ordained marriage, and the sacred powers of procreation, to be between a man and a woman. Sexual relations are a sacred thing. We believe that they are to be reserved for marriage. This law, the law of chastity, applies to every spirit son and daughter of God. It doesn't matter if you are attracted to the opposite gender or your same gender, you are commanded to live a chaste and virtuous life. The neat thing about God is that He's "no respecter of persons". This means that God requires the same things of all of us. We are to remain chaste until marriage, and within marriage chastity means that you only have those sacred relations with your spouse.

As a church, we welcome all who want to draw near to Christ. We love everyone, regardless of circumstance, as Christ loves them. We maintain that every single man, woman, and child on this earth is a son or daughter of God, and we treat them accordingly.