Hi, I'm Keli'i Isaiah

I'm proud to be Hawaiian and Filipino. I'm a convert. I'm short and sweet, and I'm a Mormon.

About Me

My name is Keli'i, but people who really know me call me Hana Boy. I have a lot of Aunties and Uncles. The importance of familes are so great to me. Familes are a way that I gain a lot of my happiness. The family is split a little, Filipino on my Moms side and Hawaiian on my Dads side, but we all love each other. I was raised by two amazing parents whom I love and cherish. I have one sister and she is a complete opposite from me, but we still get a long somehow and still love each other. I was raised in a family in which fishing is a way of life. I have been deep sea fishing since I was age 5 and Freedive spearfishing since age 7. I truly love the ocean because of the amount of peace it offers to ones soul. I have always loved the ocean and was taught when I was young not to play sports because it would not teach you to take care of a family when times get hard. I love anything having to do with ocean going and fun in the sun. I am currently serving a mission in the California Anaheim Mission and truly loving every second of it. I was not always a member of the church. Ever since I've been on my mission, I've had the joy to witness the miracle of the Gospel being shared. When I served in the Yorba Linda Ward, I met the Dalton's and the Goettsche's, they shared the gospel with my parents. My Mother and Father were baptized on October 29, 2011 and I cannot wait for the time that we can be sealed together for time and all eternity.

Why I am a Mormon

Well the reason I am Mormon is because I know that this is the true gospel. I found this out through the only way I knew how and that was through sincere prayer. I was introduced by someone very special to me that I met during high school who helped to bring my life to the right direction. I took the missionary discussions for 1 year because I couldn't get baptized due to family troubles. I never gave up though because once I knew it was true, there wasn't going to be anything that was going to stop me. After 1 year I had the approval to get baptized and I was baptized the day before Easter in 2009. I was then confirmed a member of the Church on Easter Sunday 2009. The thing to know from this is that even though many things might be holding you back from becoming a part of His Church, there is always going to be that chance for you if you continue with a steadfastness in Christ. I know that the Book of Mormon is true and that this is His true gospel once restored to the Earth again. I love the joy that it brings in my life to know of the plan that Our Father in Heaven has prepared for us to return to him.

How I live my faith

Right now I am on a mission, probably the hardest, but probably most rewarding time of my life. I've heard it said that "The mission might not necessarily be the best two years of my life, but it definitely will be the best two years FOR my life" Participating in the ward as a full time missionary is very rewarding in getting to see the joys of people at Church and the love they have for one another. I continue to live my faith by being a missionary. I continue to pray and read the Book of Mormon because if I didn't then I wouldn't truely be living my faith. The Lord gives us commandments because He wants to bless us, if we were to just think differently that the commandments were a blessings, how GREAT would be our joy!

Are all Mormons required to serve a mission?

Keli'i Isaiah answered...

The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints has always been a missionary church. When I found out about a mission, I was kind of thinking of it as a joke. They are truly giving up 2 years of their life to serve the Lord.
As Missionaries, we don't get any money from the Church for serving a mission, actually we have to pay $400 a month to be on a mission. Even though Missions are not mandatory as members of His Church, it is strongly encouraged because it teaches and blesses both parties. We also do not get to choose the place in which we serve, but we know that wherever we do go, that that is the place that Our Heavenly Father wants us to be.
Taylor answered...

Quite simply, no. The young men of the church have been strongly encouraged to serve a mission at age 19, and the sisters are able to serve at age 21, but no one is required to serve. We do it because we want to! Who in their right mind would give up two years and pay that's right, missionaries pay their own way to go somewhere they had never been and do all that they do? We serve missions becuase we know that Jesus is the Christ, and we want the happiness that knowledge bring to be available to everyone! So no, Mormons are not required to serve a mission. It's a personal choice to share the happiness and joy they've received from the Gospel.

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

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.