Hi, I'm Marlene

I'm an artist. I love to travel and I'm a Mormon.

About Me

I am a wife, a painter and a graphic designer. I love to create. I love to read. I love to organize. Traveling with my husband is one of my favorite things to do. I love seeing, experiencing and tasting new things in new places. I think Ireland is the most beautiful place I've ever seen and Maryland has the best crab cakes.

Why I am a Mormon

Being a member of the LDS church helps me maintain a close relationship with my Heavenly Father and keep his commandments. Through my religion I learn what is truly important in this life and how I can return to live with my family and my Heavenly Father again in the next. Most importantly, it has helped me learn about and become closer to our older brother, Jesus Christ.

How I live my faith

I love working with the youth in church, more specifically the young women. Teaching the young women class at church and planning and doing weekly activities with them has been an amazing experience. I have learned so much about what I believe by teaching them and listening to their testimonies of Jesus Christ. Not all the youth of today are lost. I have seen the young people of today be strong and courageous under peer pressure, teach their friends about Jesus Christ and stand strong for what they believe. I've seen them achieve their goals, fix their mistakes, learn and become better. I have seen them reach out to others and serve those in need. My experiences with the youth through church has taught me that our future is a bright one.

How can we increase our faith in Jesus Christ?

Jason answered...

Simply by trying to. If you have a desire to increase your faith in Jesus Christ, try to do it. Start by praying. Read his words in the Bible. Try to put them into practice. For example, he told us to "love one another." Try and follow that teaching. Be nice to others, help people who might have less than you, smile... As you do so, you will notice a change come over you. You might feel more peace in your life, a calm enter your mind, or a warm feeling that seems to say you're doing the right thing. These things help you realize your faith is growing. Faith is an action word. If you put action behind your belief, I have found that it will grow.
Brian answered...

Faith in Jesus Christ doesn't just happen. You have to work for it. I discovered my faith increasing when I decided to study the scriptures for a minimum of 30 minutes a day. Doing so has allowed me to understand the doctrines of the gospel on a deeper level. Scripture study coupled with daily personal prayer where I really try to converse with my Father in heaven, and seek to know His will concerning me, rather than give him a list of my wants and needs and ask him to grant them as if he was my personal butler. The best way I have found is to seek to do as Jesus did. Be friendly with everyone I meet. Go the extra mile and help people beyond what is expected. Avoid judging people and try to find the good in people, rather than dwell on their weaknesses. I've found that seeking to do God's will and striving to live like Jesus Christ taught us to live, has not deprived me of anything, rather by doing things Heavenly Father's way has freed me and brought me more happiness than trying to do it my own way.

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

David answered...

Part of our purpose here on earth is to form eternal families. A husband and his wife possess the God-given abilities to procreate. Together they are two halves of a whole. Each possess gifts and abilities necessary to the creating and rearing of children. God has ordained it such, and any lifestyle that inhibits the progression towards forming eternal families is not in accord with God's plan and purpose for life. "Nevertheless neither is the man without the woman, neither the woman without the man, in the Lord" (1 Corinthians 11:11)