Hi, I'm Steven Luke

I am a stay at home Dad and enjoy taking my family on adventures in the Outdoors. I'm a Morman.

About Me

I am a stay at home Dad and have recently graduated from college. I take my responsibility as a stay at home Dad very serious. I am very active in outdoor activities. I enjoy mountain biking, backpacking, running, cycling, snowboarding, and camping. I guess you might say that I like anything that gets me outdoors. My greatest passion is experiencing the outdoors with my family. Nothing beats playing the card game Uno with my wife, four kids, and my dog Fetch huddled in a tent during a hail storm out in the Sawtooth Mountains. We have so many great memories. I also love to play the drums. I marched drums in High School, have taught my son to play drums, and now volenteer at his High School as a drum instructor. I really have it all.

Why I am a Mormon

I have been a member my entire life but was converted when I was a young adult. My life has been richly blessed since I decided to be active in the church. I have a strong belief in eternal families and know that if I fulfill th promises I have made with my Heavenly Father that I will be with my family forever in eternal happiness. I know that if I continue to live worthily that I will live with my Mother once again. I know that she is proud of the person I have become and that I have chosen to be a member of Christ's church. I know that through my faithfulness Heavenly Father and Jesus Christ will be proud of the person I have become. I feel this with all my heart. I know the difference of having the Holy Ghost with me or not. I have been on the other side of the fence and know that since going back to church I have been watched over and blessed greatly.

Personal Stories

Why do Mormons go on missions?

Mormans go on mission to share the gospel of Jesus Christ with others. We are all sons and daughters of Heavely Father. We go on a mission to teach and share the happiness we feel by living the gospel of Jesus Christ with our brothers and sisters so that they can receive the same happiness and blessings. If you had something really amazing happen in your life, you would want to share it with everyone. The gospel of Jesus Christ is just that. It is an amazing gift and blessing that brings eternal hapiness to those that follow Jesus Christ. We go on missions to bless the lives of others and to bring people unto Christ. It is only through Christ that we can be truely happy. If you had a great gift that would change the lives of others, wouldn't you want to share it with others?

How I live my faith

I have been in the Young Men's youth program for as long as I can remember. I love being connected with the youth that will some day be the instruments in taking the Gospel to all the world. I have been involved in Boy Scouts for many years and am a firm believer that it helps these young boys to learn and grow into great men. it is amazing to see these young boys grow in the Gospel and to see their testimony and faith grow. I enjoy every aspect of my calling and love to serve the youth. They are so strong. These calling have helped me grow in the gospel and I have seen the wonderful changes it makes in the young men.

What is The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints' attitude regarding homosexuality and same sex marriage?

Ryan answered...

To have feelings of attraction for members of the same sex is not a sin. Acting upon those inclinations is. We all are tempted with things that will draw us away from God's plan of happiness if we act upon them. The choice is ours whether to act upon those inclinations or not.

God's plan for us involves the family unit as the primary building block of our interactions with our fellow human beings. Anything that disrupts the healthy creation of those building blocks will frustrate our happiness in this life and in the life to come.
Jenny answered...

My father is gay and I have many friends who are gay. Though we have some differing opinions and beliefs, we have a great relationship - each respecting the other's right to choose their own way. Its no secret that the Church does not support gay marriage. We believe that God's plan for the family is, always has been and always will be a man and a woman and their children. However, the perception that the church is anti-gay is inaccurate. We support the rights of all men and woman to exercise their free agency and be entitled to the same legal rights as anyone, as long as they don't erode the principles on which our country was founded - freedom of religion. The scriptures affirm that homosexual behaviors are a sin, but I believe Christ understands the extreme difficulty that a gay person would experience refusing to act upon their same-sex attraction. I also believe that through Him, all things are possible and that no person is unworthy or undeserving of His love and the benefits of His atonement.

Why don’t women hold the priesthood in The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints? How do Mormon women lead in the Church?

Leeny answered...

This is a question I had to really consider before joining the Church. My mother is a non-denominational chaplain, and both my sisters are pastors. Female leadership in church settings is very important to my family.

It is to me as well. I think many people become offended when they learn that only men hold the priesthood because they misunderstand it. The priesthood is a tool given to men in order that they might serve others more. It does not in any way give them power or dominion over women. Those people who suppose the priesthood is a way to control others are deeply mistaken.

My husband is a priesthood holder, this means I am too. I have claim on my husband's priesthood power. Even more than he does. If I am sick, discouraged, or in need of help I can call upon my husband to give me a blessing through the priesthood that he holds. I then recieve many blessings because of my husband's worthiness to work in behalf of Christ. My husband is never able to give himself a blessing though. If he is sick or discouraged he must call on other priesthood holders to administer to him. My husband holds the priesthood so that he can bless me and our child - never himself.

The priesthood is the power of Christ on the earth. It allows those who hold it to serve their families in the same way Christ served the Church. Did Christ do any deed for himself during his earthly ministry? No. Christ spent all his energy serving the people. This is what the priesthood does for my husband. It infuses him with Christ's compassion and ability to love, and then my husband is able to use that celestial love in our family.

Why don't women also recieve this special gift then? The simple answer is women don't need it. As women we are innately endowed with compassion, selflessness, and love. Think about the way a mother loves her child. I believe there is nothing more pure and similar to Christ's love for us, than a mother's love for her children. Women naturally have the ability to love as Christ does.

In an ideal situation, which is what God always intended for us, there are two partners in marriage. There is the husband and father, a priesthood leader who can be called upon to administer blessings and serve in Christ's name. And there is also the wife and mother, who is blessed with the ability to love as Christ loves and sacrifice for her family. These are two seperate and divinely appointed roles. Each complementing the other. Both make a complete home.

Women do not hold the priesthood because they do not need it. Women have other God-given powers that raise them up to the task they are called to. A man is appointed to serve his wife and children - it is the power of the priesthood that enables him to do this.

I am grateful to have a husband who is worhty to use the priesthood in my behalf. It has blessed me many times and I know that it is a special gift from God - not only to my husband, but to me as well.