Hi, I'm Melissa

I am a speech therapist, a 6th generation Californian, and I'm a Mormon.

About Me

I am a speech-language pathologist, a mom of two boys, and a busy wife! Family time is really important to me. I love doing activities with my husband and boys like head over to our pool, go to the beach, or have a family day down at Legoland California. I also really love working at my private practice, where I help children to overcome their communication obstacles.

Why I am a Mormon

I am a Mormon because I know this is God's church on the earth today. I can overcome any trial, any difficult time, through Jesus Christ. I am a Mormon because I believe with all of my heart that Joseph Smith was a prophet, that he translated the Book of Mormon, and that we have that precious history of the people in Ancient America to guide us today. The Bible and the Book of Mormon compliment one another and are my pathways to having the best human experience I, as a spiritual being, can have!

Personal Stories

Why do Mormons do family history or genealogy work?

I have a great love for family history. I personally work as a librarian at one of the Mormon Family History Centers. We love family history because we believe we can be with our families once more after we die. I can't think of anything better than doing family history research and finding out stories, places, and other information about our ancestors who have passed on. When we do see them again someday, wouldn't it be wonderful if we had taken the time to get to know who they were? We also do important work in the temple for our loved ones who have passed away so that they can be spiritually linked to us forever.

How I live my faith

I live everyday by waking up and praying for myself, my children, and my husband. I am currently the music chairperson and chorister for my ward. Music and singing has been a part of my life for a very long time. I am blessed to be able to pray and be inspired to choose our hymns that we, as a congregation, sing each Sunday. I also have the fun task of searching out and finding the musically talented people in our congregation and having them perform from time to time in our sacrament meeting.
We live in a wonderful community full of very religious families. I have the opportunity to share my faith with them and they are able to share their beliefs with me as well. Our community thrives on helping one another and that is a big part of how I live my faith. I believe that helping one another and being kind are key elements to living a Christ-like life.

What do Mormons believe happens to us after we die? What do Mormons believe about life after death?

Melissa answered...

When we die, we move on to a wonderful place called Paradise. There, people who have not yet had the opportunity to hear the gospel of Jesus Christ, can listen and choose to accept it or not. We are the same beings as when we were alive, we simply no longer have our bodies with us. When the Jesus returns to the earth one day, we will then be reunited with our bodies once more. Although our bodies will be perfect, we will still be judged based on our actions here on earth. If not for Jesus, none of us could live with our Father in Heaven again. Jesus will save us from our sins and if we have been judged worthy, we can return to live in the presence of our Heavenly Father with our earthly families for forever and ever.

Are Mormons Christians?

David answered...

Depends on whom you ask. If you ask a faithful Latter-day Saint, the answer will be "yes". The arguments that I've heard against our being Christian are that we believe in the Book of Mormon (Another Testament of Jesus Christ); we believe that God the Father and Jesus Christ are two separate beings with physical, glorified bodies of flesh and bone; we believe that Joseph Smith was called of God in our time as a prophet; etc. The short answer is "yes", we are Christians. I would even go so far as to say we are the only Christians; that is, we are the only church that Christ has given his priesthood authority. If a Christian is a disciple of Christ, then we are certainly striving to be Christians. Certainly, other churches help and serve in ways that are admirable. There are good people everywhere in the world. However, Heavenly Father is a God of order, not chaos. He has established one faith, one church, and one baptism. There are not several roads that lead to His Kingdom; there is one. We all can receive a witness from the Holy Ghost that we are on that one path that leads to eternal happiness.