Hi, I'm Dave Hand

I grew up in Southern California. I'm a car mechanic by trade. I'm a Mormon.

About Me

I've lived in "Arid-zona" for many years now. I met my wife in high school early-morning seminary class. We have four kids and four grandkids. When I'm not working on cars, I like to hunt, fish, backpack, or just jump in the car and get lost somewhere.

Why I am a Mormon

Mormon kids I knew in high school ganged up on me. I thought I was in love with the Stake Executive Secretary's daughter. Next thing I knew I was in Institute being offered a calling and needed to be a member to accept it.

There was no real religious zeal in my family. When I found myself a guest in my LDS friends' homes I felt something that was electrifying to me. They were sincere, serving, and knowledgable about their faith. They loved each other and worked together as a family. It seemed like everyone had a singing voice, played musical instruments and danced. They studied and prayed together. It seemed like there was always something going on at church; a meeting, a conference, a party. It was culture shock, but in a good way.

They had answers to questions everyone else seemed to avoid. They were strong and composed in situations that had caused havoc in my family. They were happy. Not perfect, but I knew very quickly I wanted what they had.

That was many years ago. Since then my sweetheart and I have raised a family enjoying temple covenants.
We have had many opportunities to serve and to grow. We have been richly blessed spiritually and temporally. We have met people and done things that never would have happened outside of our church service. We share a sense of love of family and belonging that is difficult to explain, because it extends to
our ward, the whole membership of the church, all mankind and even those who have passed beyond the veil.

Personal Stories

Which of the Savior’s teachings have influenced you?

For me, the admonition " Come, Follow me." is huge. Three short words with such scope and power!
I understand He wants me to do the things He did, and while that alone is imposing, there is more. The question arises: " Lord, what would you have me do? ". I find myself asking it all the time. Sometimes it's uncomfortable because I think I know the answer, but acting on it pushes me out of my comfort zone.

I have to wrestle with the answer, I have to listen for the confirmation, and then I am bound to act on it. And it is applicable everywhere. Church assignments, interpersonal relationships, (especially spouse and kids), time management, pretty much every time I have pause to make a decision; " Lord, What would you have me do? ". Over the years it has served to give me some training in the Lord's will. I believe I think more like Him, I do the things He would have done, I create in me more of an image of Him. I understand Him more, and I love and appreciate Him more as I try "to walk in His sandals".

How I live my faith

As we have a " lay clergy ", everything that gets done at church gets done by a member of the congregation, and there's always plenty to do. I've led Boy Scouts, planned ward activities, taught Sunday School, been called as a missionary several times, been a clerk, worked security details, worked farm projects, served in leadership positions, been a janitor, and pretty much anything else I've been asked to do.

In the meantime I have met and worked with hundreds of people and have developed a pretty well-rounded grasp of how things work in the church. Sometimes it was challenging, often fun, always satisfying.

I've always been a "home teacher", where I visit the homes of several member families that I am assigned to every month. My companion and I visit with them, leave a gospel message, pray with and for them. We grow closer, develop friendships with them,...by assignment, strange as that may sound. We identify ways to assist them where we can, help with yardwork, broken cars, rides to appointments or what have you.
We share in celebration, and sometimes sorrow as well.

For the last several years I have worked with LDS Family Services in the Addiction Recovery Program, perhaps the most challenging thing I have ever done, and at the same time the most rewarding. This is the gospel "where the rubber meets the road".

I try to be an example at work and in the community. It's just fun to help someone out of the wild blue and turn around and leave, asking nothing in return. Some people are so perplexed. I just get a warm feeling and a grin.

What is faith?

Dave Hand answered...

Before I converted, I saw what I considered good things in my mormon friends' lives, things I frankly envied. I asked " How can I have those things too?" The answers required certain actions on my part. I had to believe those actions would actually bring the desired result. But, more importantly, I had to act. So I started with study and prayer, fully expecting answers and inspiration which did surely come. I continued building on my faith, I was baptised by one having authority, and I recieved the Holy Ghost. I was ordained to the Priesthood, labored in many callings and continued to seek and recieve greater knowledge and blessings. I recieved the blessings of the temple, have raised my family and continue to ask, recieve, and act.

Today I enjoy all of those things that first stirred my interest in the church, and much more. The seed was good and it's fruit is delicious. The difference in my life was that I acted on correct principles as they came to me. I did not turn my back, I did not let anything keep me from moving forward. I acted, and I expect to continue acting throughout my life.
Cary answered...

Faith is a huge topic, rarely fully understood even by people who talk about it a lot. In the Mormon conception, it's a step of confidence between mere belief and full knowledge. It's perhaps best described by contrast with these two extremes on the continuum on which they all lie. First, faith is not that passive thing we call belief because it's a principle of action. So for someone to have faith, they have to be motivated to put a belief into practice, not merely be content with keeping it in their mind. For example, we believe that Christ is the Savior, but because we have faith we ACT as if this were true, and follow His example as best we can. In fact, "acting as if..." is a fairly good phrase to define faith. On the other hand, faith is not "perfect knowledge" either. There is enough of an element of uncertainty about the thing we have faith in, that it takes an effort of conscious decision-making to test our faith's hypothesis. If we had a full knowledge of a thing, that whole test, and the faith to find out if it's true, wouldn't be necessary. Atheists will argue that faith is mere belief (and baseless, at that), but what I have described for faith here leads to a more "scientific" approach that Atheists would like to admit is operable in the minds of the faithful. The proper response to a scriptural assertion, then, becomes not blind obedience, but rather careful thought, hypothesis forming, and testing. As tests come back proven or unproven, faith will grow in the right direction until it approaches "perfect knowledge".

Where did Mormonism and The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints begin?

Bari answered...

In the early 1800´s a wave of religious interest known as "The Great Awakening" swept the United States, and with it several new Christian churches. With so many different opinions on The Bible, many people were confused about which church was true. A young man named Joseph Smith lived in upstate New York with his family. They visted several churches and listened to several different preachers, but still came to no conclusion. A Bible passage in the first chapter of James reads "If any of ye lack wisdom, let him ask of God," and upon reading this and feeling very impressed by it, Joseph Smith decided that he could only get an answer through God. One day in the spring of 1820, he went into a grove near his house and began to pray. Unexpectedly, he was visted by God the Father and His Son, Jesus Christ, who told him that the Church organization Christ established on the Earth, the Priesthood authority to do sacred things, and many simple doctrines had been lost after His death and that of His Apostles. Christ also told Joseph Smith that with time, He would restore His church with the proper authority again on the Earth. After this visit, Christ sent other heavenly messengers inclding Peter, James, and John to lay their hands on Joseph Smith´s head and give Priesthood authority just like it was given in times of old. Over the course of 10 years, the same church that Christ established in His Earthly ministry with all its offices and the fullnes of the Gospel was restored.