Hi, I'm David

I was born in California. I love to sing and act. I'm a Mormon.

About Me

For me, I wasn't good at a lot of stuff. I had tried out for everything and pretty much failed. Then I auditioned for a play in Jr High and fell in love with it. I moved on through school to do many different plays and musicals and even though I wasn't always the lead character, I had the most fun being around my friends and being able to pretend to be someone else for a while.
I love to do all sorts of things! I enjoy sports, reading, doodling, singing, acting, and learning.
I do enjoy camping the most I would say. I find that being in the woods, away from civilization and being able to listen to nature and gaze at the beauty of the world are the times when I come to appreciate life most.
I absolutely love to rock climb, even though I'm pretty much terrified of heights. I love to swim and see how long I can hold my breath for.
I enjoy playing around with my nephews and nieces and my dog.
I love my family most of all.

Why I am a Mormon

The main reason I would say I am a Mormon is because I was raised in the church. Now that doesn't mean I didn't have to come to my own conclusions about everything. I wasn't going to let my relationship with God be solely based on something that someone else had told me. I had to gain my own knowledge of the truth.
As any person does, I came to a point in my life where I really didn't know what church was true. I questioned the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints. I always remembered, though, what James 1:5 says. "If any of you lack wisdom let him ask of God that giveth to all men liberally and upbraideth not and it shall be given him."
I took that challenge and turned it to God.
There is no question in my mind that this church is the true church of Jesus Christ. It is where He want's us to be and where we can best grow our relationship with our Heavenly Father.

Personal Stories

Can you talk about the missions of the Church and your participation in them?

A mission in the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints is when a 19 year old man can choose to go out and preach the gospel. A mission is something that we decide to do, not something that is forced onto us. When we have decided to go on a mission and have followed the proper steps, a member of the First Presidency or the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles follows the Holy Ghost and assigns us to a specific mission area. Like, for instance, I have been called to serve in the Missouri St. Louis Mission. That includes many of the surrounding cities as well. I have another missionary that goes out with me so we can declare the gospel two by two. Our next two years of life are completely dedicated to the Lord and His gospel. We don't watch TV, we don't read the news, we don't surf the internet. We are to be completely focused on the work of the Lord.

While we are out here, we going around doing various things. The most famous thing is to knock on doors, or to tract. We try and talk to as many people as we can about the church. What we do as missionaries is teach about the church, where it came from and what we believe. The most important thing we invite people to do is to read from the Book of Mormon and to pray to God asking if it is a true book. We in no way want to convice people with the logic of man. We want them to come to know the church is true because God told them that the church was true.

Ulitmately, we are there to be guides. We answer questions and try to help all the people we can. We are always out looking for service opportunities. We are always looking to help people accept the gospel so that they can have the same blessing that we have.

I know that it may seem hard and like it is a waste of time, but I can quarantee you that there is no where else I would rather be. I know that I am doing the work of the Lord and that it will continue on with or without me. I know that this church is true.

In what ways have your prayers been answered?

In my life, I have had many prayers that have been answered. One of the major times that this happened was when I was 6. It was around Christmas time and my dad had been laid off from his job a couple of months earlier. His attempts at finding a new job were unsuccessful.Things were not looking good for Christmas.

My parents told us children that Santa wouldn't be making a stop by our house this Christmas. As a six year old, I was pretty devastated thinking that I had done something horrible to cause Santa not to come.
We spent a lot of our time trying to find other things to do that would lift our spirits. We focused a lot on giving and helping others in need, even though we ourselves didn't have a lot to give.

Before we went to sleep on Christmas Eve, we said a family prayer that our needs would be taken care of and that we would be able to have a nice Christmas in the morning. We went to sleep. I remember talking with my sisters about it trying to lighten our spirits and focus our minds more on the Spirit of Christmas rather than the gifts. I went to bed calmed down.

We woke up in the morning and were able to open up the presents that we had gotten one another. It was a great day. As we sat down to eat breakfast, there was a knock on the door. We went to it and found no one there. We called out and no one answered. What we did find was an envelope. Saomeone had left us a lot of money in it. We were able to have a wonderful Christmas dinner and able to get the necessities and some other gifts that we needed. Most important, we felt the Christmas Spirit so strongly.

To this day we still have no idea who it was that gave us that money. All I know is that they were led by God to do such a wonderful thing. It was a direct answer to our prayer and a confirmation that our Heavenly Father was watching over us. I am forever thankful for His eternal love, care and guidance and to whoever it was that sacrificed so that we could have a good Christmas.

How has your knowledge of the Plan of Happiness changed/benefited your life?

For me, the Plan of Happiness is a great blessing of comfort. It is a great feeling to know that everything is taken care of. God planned for everything. He has created this perfect system for us to be a part of. He knows what is going on.

The part that really hits home for me is the fact that after we die, we are all able to be with our families for all eternity. I will be able to know and recognize my family and enjoy eternity with them.

My family has stood by me throughout all of my trials, successes, and in between. They continue to love and support me to this day. We have been through so much together already. I could not imagine losing that after we die. It would crush me. I honestly would have no hope and would probably sink into a life of 'gloom and doom' and live it how I wanted to.

This fact alone is a major reason of why I continue on the path I am on. It is why I strive to keep the commandments. To be able to live in heaven with God AND my family is a blessing that is worth any sacrifice to me.

This comes to the second part that I am thankful for. Christ's atonement. I am so thankful that even when I fall short, even when I mess up, I am able to overcome that and be forgiven. That is able to be erased and I can strive to change that and become a new person through Christ. I am so thankful for His willingness to go through that so that I could gain the blessings of exhaltation, no matter how much I messed up. I know that as long as I continue to try to learn from my mistakes and correct them, God will forgive me and help me along the way.

He wants us to have success. He wants us to live with Him again. Why would He not? He is our Eternal Father in Heaven. He could not make it easy for us. We have come down here to learn and grow. If everything were easy and given to us, then what would be the point?

I know that families can be eternal, I know that we can be clean of our sins, and I know that God loves us and created this plan for us our benefit.

How has the Book of Mormon brought you closer to God?

The Book of Mormon is amazing. Period. Lately I've been trying to read it more and more so that I can constantly try to get closer to God and be able to be the person that He sees in me.

For a long time as a teen, I didn't read the Book of Mormon. I didn't have time, I had other things I wanted to do, I don't want to read that I'm reading another book: all of these were the excuses that I used to not read it. So I didn't.

Instead I continued on in some bad habits, whether it be watching TV all day, or playing video games, or sitting around really not doing anything productive. I got caught in this downward spiral until the thought of reading the Book of Mormon was at the end of my list.

Then one day I was challenged to try and read the Book of Mormon in a year. I like challenges, so I took it, fully intending to win. I am so thankful that I did. It was hard at first to try and start reading it every day. Honestly I forgot half the time and ended up having to scramble to make up for it. But the more I kept at it with my determination to finish, the more important it was to me to read. I grew to love it.

It wasn't until this past year that I really truly started to study from it and since then, my life has gotten so much better. My understanding of God's will and ultimate plan for all of us has grown so much. I have been able to receive guidance in my own life as I search for my own way.

Everytime I have a problem, or am down, I turn to the Book of Mormon. Whether I continue to read from where I left off or just flip to a random page, everytime I have been able to find something that has brought me comfort and direction through my trials. I know that those things are revelation from God to me. I know that through the Book of Mormon, He is able to help me realize my potential.

I love the Book of Mormon and I have a testimony that it is the word of God just like the Bible. I know that through it anyone can come closer to God, just like I have.

How I live my faith

Right now I'm living my faith by serving a full time mission. I am going out and preaching the message of the restored gospel of Jesus Christ to those in Missouri. I am striving to be better at this calling by giving everyone a chance to hear that message so that they can come to know the blessings that can come from living it. I am also giving service to all who need it. I am here to help and I always pray that as I go out, the Lord will bless me with the strength, courage, and love to keep going.

Is it true that Jesus appeared in North America after his crucifixion and resurrection according to the Book of Mormon?

David answered...

Yes. It is true.

I don't really know what else to say besides that. I don't think it takes some big fancy explanation on why other than that God let me know through the Holy Ghost.

I know that He created a gospel for everyone, not just the people in Israel and that He shared it with everyone. I also know that you can gain this knowledge for yourself.

Just pray and ask God if Jesus came to the America's. That's what I did.

And it worked.
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What will the Mormon missionaries talk about when they visit my home?

Max answered...

We will talk about gods love for all of us down here on earth.
we will talk about how you can be with your family and loved ones forever.
we will talk about how the gospel of jesus christ has been restored to the earth and the evidence of this restoration which is found in the book of mormon.
we will talk about how god continues to talk to his children like he did in biblicial times!
we will talk about the steps that you need to take to insure eternal happines!
we will talk about any other questions you may have about god, Jesus Christ, and about this church.
we have the truth to share. why dont you just talk to one of us?