Hi, I'm Scottie

I grew up in rural Utah. I am an outdoor enthusiast, a husband, a father, and a son. And I am a Mormon.

About Me

I grew up living a pretty simple life. The outdoors were my daily playground, and I enjoyed fishing, camping, riding horses, and all kinds of ATVs. Summers consisted of swimming in a nearby canal, climbing apple trees, building make shift forts in the trees, and flooding our field to play in the mud. I never realized we weren't wealthy, because no one I knew was. My mother was diagnosed with cancer when I was 13 and fought a hard fight for 8 years. She passed away while I was away from home serving an LDS mission, I was 21 at the time. I married a wonderful wife who is the mother of my two year-old son, who thinks he's a tiger. I love life and always try to find the happiness that life brings.

Why I am a Mormon

When I was in seventh grade I came and my father gathered the family in the living room, and with tears in his eyes, barely able to speak, he explained to the family that my mother had colon cancer. It was then that I realized my life would never be the care free life that I thought I would be. My mother was amazing through it all and always found a way to not only make herself laugh, but the family and the doctors too. My father changed careers and took a job close to home so that he could care for my mother and the family. Together they tried to make the family’s lives be as normal as possible. After surgery and multiple treatments of chemotherapy, my mother went into remission.

At age nineteen, I decided to serve a two year mission to preach the gospel of Jesus Christ. It was while I was away from home that I learned my mother's cancer had returned. After a very long and hard day I came back to my apartment, opened the scriptures and read, "And if men come unto me I will show unto them their weakness. I give unto men weakness that they may be humble; and my grace is sufficient for all men that humble themselves before me; for if they humble themselves before me, and have faith in me, then will I make weak things become strong unto them."

As I thought about the events that had occurred in my life I finally understood what the Atonement was. I gained a pure testimony of the Savior’s life, mission, and the resulting blessings of being united with loved ones for all eternity. I knew that the Lord Jesus Christ and My Father in Heaven knew me personally. From that time on I knew what it meant to be a “Child of God.” I know Jesus is the Christ, Joseph Smith was called by God the Father and Jesus Christ to bring the fullness of the gospel and the blessings of eternity to all of God’s children. I will be forever grateful for the blessings of peace and love that I have received in my life.

How I live my faith

I have had many opportunities to teach others about the life, ministry and mission of Jesus Christ, while serving in the church. I strive everyday to honor my family and provide for their spiritual, physical, and emotional needs. I try to look for opportunities to serve others, even if those opportunities don't always fit into what i had planned, because I know that through my service others can feel of the same love Jesus Christ and Heavenly Father have for all of us. I am far from perfect and if you ask my wife, I am just a big kid which includes getting into trouble, but I try everyday to be the kind of person my Heavenly Father can be proud of.

Are Mormons Christians?

Chad answered...

In the truest sense of the word, most certainly yes!
The main belief of the mormon church is that of Christ and His Atonement for mankind. We believe that anybody who wants to can be saved through Christ's Sacrifice for us.
Without Christ, our church would be meaningless, void, and pointless. He is the core of this church. In fact, He is the leader and head of this church.
Some people say we don't believe in Christ, but I wholeheartedly disagree; Christ is everything to us - He rescues us from sin and fear, He is the reason for our being.
We celebrate and rejoice in His life and works and know that He lives today! Christ is risen and is ready to help us in our lives.
Debbie answered...

This question always surprises me when I am asked. I always answer with a resounding "YES". We are Christians in every sense of the word. We believe in Christ. He is the head of our church. All of our teachings are based on Him. We have hope in His eternal atonement.

Why do some call Mormonism a cult?

Jeff answered...

I think some call Mormonism a cult mainly because they don't understand what it's about. Before I was a Mormon, I used to believe that Mormons did not believe in the Bible, in Jesus Christ and a good deal of other things. I didn't realize how incorrect I was. There have been some pretty amazing things that have happened in conjunction with The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints, and if you don't get the whole picture, then some of the stuff can sound pretty odd, and I think that's where I was before.
An example I sometimes use is: if someone told you that he had cut a man with a knife, from that limited piece of information, you'd probably report him for stabbing someone. But if you found out that this someone was a Doctor, and that he was preforming a surgery to save a man's life, having the full story completely changes your perspective on the situation.
In regards to the church I belong to, once I did have the whole story, I could see that Mormons were not cultish, but that they really are in fact Christians. I've even found that I have a stronger love of the the core things I believed before I was a Mormon, like the Bible and Jesus Christ.