Hi, I'm JD

I'm a dentist at a community health clinic. I love being outdoors, reading and playing sports. I'm a Mormon.

About Me

I grew up all over the country. I've lived in Wyoming, Utah, Ohio, Florida, North Carolina, New York and now Colorado. I love to take road trips and see new things, people and places. I think that moving around so much has given me a great perspective of others and so I tend to be a compassionate person who (sometimes to my detriment) sees both sides of a situation.

Why I am a Mormon

I was raised by parents who were LDS, but there came a time when I had to find out for myself. As I went through the process of finding out I came to see that my life was better because of my church and its teachings. Today, I find great support not only socially, but spiritually from being a Mormon.

Personal Stories

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

Absolutely! I served a 2-year mission in Fresno, California. While it may not sound as exciting as South America or Africa and even though I didn't learn a new language it was a life altering experience that has impacted my life on a daily basis. When I was serving as a missionary I was very focused on serving others and helping them change their lives for the better, but since returning home I have seen that the greatest change wrought was in me. The sacrifice has been repaid tenfold or more.

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

The story of the restoration is a powerful and faith promoting event for me. When I was fifteen I decided that it was finally time to learn for myself if this religion of my parents was for me. So I took time to read, study, and pray about what I'd learned. The first thing that I gained a strong testimony of was the Book of Mormon and the mission of Joseph Smith to restore the full gospel of Jesus Christ to the earth. When I lived in New York my wife and I had several opportunities to visit places where some major events of this restoration took place and the feeling I had when visiting and thinking about these momentous events was wonderful! I know that Joseph Smith was called of God to do a great work and this work continues to impact my life in a very personal and powerful way.

How I live my faith

I've always enjoyed serving others, and that's a big part of being a Mormon. I currently serve in the church's Boy Scouts program - I work with the 11year-old scouts. It's great getting to see these boys grow and mature into young men. I also have a responsibility to look out for and help a few families in our church. In the past this has involved everything from helping to paint a house to helping with a plate of cookies (I'm pretty good at chocolate chip).

Do you really believe there is a prophet like Moses alive today?

JD answered...

I heard a lecture on this years ago where the speaker asked how Noah knew what to do about the coming flood. He received revelation for his own time; there wasn't anything in the writings of previous prophets that said he'd need to build an ark. Our day is no different. While there are many wonderful and useful things in the scriptures that help me everyday, there are many things that we need a prophet's guidance for in our day and time. My life has been blesed because of the counsel from modern prophets and because I have listened, had faith, and followed.
Michael answered...

Sure I do. People have been deceived into believing that there are no prophets throughout biblical history. The first thing the adversary does when there is a prophet on the earth is to try to convince you that there are no such things or that the time has passed.

Think about it...when Noah preached to the people and prophesied that the flood was coming, they laughed at him. Even amongst the Jews, they disregarded and/or imprisoned Isaiah and Jeremiah because they prophesied that Israel would be carried away captive into Babylon.

I believe that the thing that one must overcome in order to believe that there are prophets alive today is get over the mindset that tells you that prophets have to be splitting the Red Sea or calling down fire from heaven in order to be considered as such. For every great miracle wrought by a biblical prophet there are many more who simply preached about the coming Messiah. Think of the prophets like Joel, Amos, Hosea and Habbakuk. These were prophets sent by God, but they were "boring" because they weren't performing miracles or commanding armies. The people disregarded their counsels at their spiritual peril.

Let us not repeat their error by not believing that prophets can't exist today. Let's instead get on our knees and receive our own personal revelation about the ones here amongst us.

What is the purpose of the welfare services of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints?

Vinson answered...

Working as a volunteer out-of-town truck driver for the Mesa Bishops Storehouse has given me an opportunity to see and give service as part of the welfare services of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. Orders are transmitted to the Bishops Store House where volunteers, each Monday morning, package and assemble orders for truck delivery to individuals or families in communities that are located several hundred miles from the Phoenix Metropolin area. The purpose of the Bishops Storehouse welfare services program is to assit those that are not able to purchase food or commodities with temporary assistance. As a volunteer, I feel blessed to see in action the welfare assistance program and the great blessing it is to individuals from order to delivery.