Hi, I'm Mariah

Hi, I'm Mariah. I live in Arizona. I'm a high school student, and a musician. I'm a Mormon.

About Me

I'm 15 years old, and in 10th grade. I live with my parents and my brother, who is a year younger than me. I was born in American Fork, Utah, and lived in that state until I was 4, when my family and I moved to Japan for my dad's job. We moved back to Utah when I was seven. I have now lived in Arizona for five years. I have also traveled over the United States, as well as to Egypt and Costa Rica.

I love music. I sing in my school choir program, and I also do church choir. I have played the piano since I was six years old, and I still take lessons. Music is definitely a huge part of my life.

I love reading, mostly fiction. My favorites are Harry Potter, Shannon Hale books, Percy Jackson, and the Kingdom and the Crown trilogy. Reading is such a great way to exercise my imagination and experience someone else's point of view on life, thus expanding my own.

My goals are to maintain good grades through high school, and go to college, hopefully BYU. My biggest dream is to be married in an LDS temple and be a mother.

Why I am a Mormon

I have been a member of the church my entire life. I was blessed (the equivalent of a christening) as a baby, and baptized at eight.

I love being a member of the LDS church. It's just such a great environment to grow up in, and the doctrines all make so much sense to me. My church gives me a standard to live by, including staying sober and abstaining from sexual intimacy until marriage. I love this because it gives me a guideline and I am protected from so many dangers of the world, like teenage pregnancy and others.

I truly do feel that this church is the restored church of Christ on this earth today. It has all the truth God has given to mankind, and we are constantly recieving more from our modern prophets and apostles.

Personal Stories

Please share your feelings/testimony of Joseph Smith.

Joseph Smith is one of my very favorite people in history. When he was fourteen, he prayed to know which of the many churches in his area he should join. In answer, he recieved a vision of God himself and Jesus Christ, telling him that none of the existent churches had all of the truth or authority of the original church established by Christ when he was on Earth. He spent the rest of his life building up the LDS church under direction from God, eventually dying for that cause.

A lot of people say that Joseph Smith was lying about everything to do with the Church. That honestly makes no sense to me. Would he have knowingly and willingly died for something that he had made up? Would he have allowed his followers, including his own wife and children, to suffer for anything less than the absolute truth? I personally don't think so.

How I live my faith

In my ward (church congregation), I participate in the Young Womens organization and serve in the leadership of my class, which is comprised of all the 14 and 15-year-old girls. We have youth activities on Tuesday nights, and three hours of church every sunday, starting at 8:00 AM. I also participate in the ward choir, which practices most weeks after church, and we perform about every month during church. We mostly sing arrangements of hymns.

I take an extra class at 6:30 in the morning at school so I can attend Seminary, which is like a class period of church during school. This is a sacrifice for me, as rising early does not come naturally to me at all, but I feel that being able to go to Seminary is 100% worth it. It's so nice to have a break from the stresses of regular school and have an opportunity to learn of my Savior and strengthen my faith in the church. Each year we study a different section of scripture in Seminary. This year is the Old Testament, and I've really enjoyed it so far.

Why is The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints called Mormons or Mormonism?

Mariah answered...

The term "mormon" is a nickname for members of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints. It comes from our belief in and use of the Book of Mormon as holy scripture alongside the Bible. "Mormon" is just a lot easier to say. :)
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Can a husband and wife be together forever? Do Mormons believe that families will live together in heaven?

Amanda answered...

YES!!! This is one of my favorite parts of the gospel. I believe that my family will live together in heaven. I will know my family as my family members. My husband is my husband for now and for all eternity. My children are my children here on earth and for all eternity. I know that if something happened to one of us that I will see them again. I love this about the church. Before joining, I always had a question about this concept and when taking the discussions from the missionaries this came up. Makes me love the church more and more.