Hi, I'm Jon

I grew up in Las Vegas Nevada. I'm a laboratory geek. I'm a soldier. I'm a husband, and a good one at that! and... I'm a Mormon.

About Me

I grew up in the Las Vegas area of southern Nevada. My family was always into rock climbing, hiking, and mountain biking. I went to BYU-Idaho after serving a mission in the Northern California/ Redding area.

I met my wife Kimberli in college and was so impressed with how brilliant, driven, and blonde she was! We have been married for about 3 years and I couldn't be happier!

I'm currently working in a hospital laboratory in Tacoma WA. My wife is less than a year from becoming a certified Doctor of Physical Therapy. I'm also a Lab Tech in the Washington National Guard.

Why I am a Mormon

When I was 16 I was pretty confused. Every one at school and people that I saw had different recipes for happiness and they all seemed a little different. Some partied, some drank, some did sports, some played video games, some went to college, some didn't, some did crazy stuff for attention, some tried to be unseen.

So I really wanted to find out what would make me happy and it seemed like living wild would do that. My parents had long ago signed me up for Boy Scouts of America and on a long trip to go 4 wheeling I talked to a young 25 year old guy who recently volunteered to be a scout leader. and I can't forget what he said.

"people do a lot of stuff to be happy but I promise you if you follow Christ and try to keep his commandments you will never be sad you did it."

He was the first young, fun loving guy I ever heard talk about living a Christ centered life bringing happiness. I was intrigued, I could tell he was happy. I could tell his wife was happy.

So I tried it. for weeks I read the Book of Mormon and tried to live what Christ taught... I was happy but I didn't feel the passion towards Christ that people talked about. One night while praying the thought came to my mind "what would you do if you knew Christ was the Savior of the world"... I never thought about that. If my prayers had been answered before then I probably wouldn't have changed anything.

So I thought... if Jesus really is the Son of God and the Savior of the world... then I would would try to follow, I would go on a mission, and really try to change. And right then I felt the Spirit of God and I felt so much love and warmth that I couldn't sleep for hours. I knew that Christ changed my life.

How I live my faith

I just do! Love and help as many people as God puts in my path.

Why is family so important to Mormons?

Jon answered...

A strong conviction in Christ gives you a eternal perspective. And when you realize that after we pass on from this life we will leave all of the stuff we have accumulated and the only thing we take with us are our relationships and the things we learned, the love of family becomes so important.

And if you believe that we will spend forever together you will want to strengthen those family ties.
Greg answered...

After I joined the Mormon Church I learned about the importance of families. Not long after that I realized that if I was going to follow this teaching I needed to tell my father that I loved him. That was very difficult for me since my dad and I argued so much. I spent the better part of 2 weeks trying to determine how I could do this. When the time came I found that the words came more easily than I had thought. From that point to the time he died, about 22 years later, he and I had an entirely different relationship. We were now friends. And I found how much I regretted all our arguments while growing up. And now I find that I miss him and more fully understand how important our families are.

Why do some call Mormonism a cult?

Michael Johnston answered...

Because we believe in continuing revelation through Prophets as in the days of old, i.e. Moses, Abraham, this is uncomfortable for some people because media has made our Prophets seem like evil men leading people astray, when they are just trying to teach us correct principles so that one day we all may return to live with our Father in Heaven.

Another reason is because we believe in the sacred nature of temples, meaning only worthy members may enter the Temple so people think that evil rituals are performed. However, in reality the nature of the temple is uplifting and beautiful and gives us clarity to what the purpose of life is, the plan of salvation, and other topics such as life, death, and the atonement of Christ. The temple is not "secret, but it is sacred. However, we encourage all to live so that they may one day enter the temple.

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