Hi, I'm Telsha

I grew up in Utah, in the US. I am a mom of 2 and have been married for almost 6 years now. I love the gospel; I'm a Mormon.

About Me

I am a daughter of two amazing parents who raised me in the gospel along with my two sisters. I have been married to my wonderful husband for 6 years this December. I have two beautiful children. A little girl who is four and a little boy who is one and half. Boy do they keep me busy but they are the joys of my life! I am a sign language interpreter and am working towards advancing my certification to a higher level. I love signing and love the Deaf community. I am the second counselor in the young women's organization of our ward. I have been in young womens now for four years and I love it!

I love to read, play the piano, run, talk, hang out with other moms and friends. I enjoy keeping a blog and then printing it out at the end of each year to keep as a family journal/scrapbook. I love spending time with my family and love to be outdoors.

Why I am a Mormon

I grew up in the church and have had different levels of involvement. I have always stayed very active but I feel my testimony has grown from relying on my parent's testimony to developing my own. I have had so many experiences with my Heavenly Father helping me through some difficult times. I have needed Him to help me through some challenging times and have been so grateful for the gospel and the knowledge I have during those times. My testimony has grown in different areas of the gospel over the years. I feel that this past conference really strengthened my testimony of our prophet and of the Lord continually speaking to us today. I feel He really is aware of what we need and what we need to hear. I feel the spirit teaching me and know that without this gospel I would be lost. It gives me strength and a firm foundation while the world is trying to throw everything askew. I love this gospel and have felt a firm guidance in my life because of it.

Personal Stories

In what ways have your prayers been answered?

I have so many experiences with my prayers being answered I could never name them all. But for me my testimony has strengthened in prayer by some big decisions in my life that have been answered in a way that I didn't necessarily want. I was trying to decide which college to go to. I had two choices I had been praying about and one night I got a distinct answer- a school popped into my mind and the spirit confirmed with an intense feeling of peace that this was the school I was supposed to go to. But, I argued, that wasn't one of the choices! That was right here in my home town. I wanted to leave- go experience the world. I followed that prompting even though I wanted one of the other schools and I am SO grateful I have. It was there that I met my wonderful husband and we were able to be sealed in the temple for time and all eternity and now I have two beautiful children who are sealed to me and all because I followed an answer to a prayer that I didn't think I wanted to hear.

I have had many experiences with times when I have felt completely overwhelmed and I have dropped to my knees and poured out to my Heavenly Father all of my worries and fears and anxieties and I have felt complete peace wash over me. It was all gone and I knew everything would be alright. Countless times this has happened to me and I am so so grateful that Heavenly Father cares enough to send me peace for things that are probably very small problems in his eyes.

I believe in prayer, I know Heavenly Father listens to us. I love Him with all of my heart and am so grateful I can turn to Him in times of need which come every single day. I love prayer!

How I live my faith

I serve with the youth of the church and I adore them! I have the opportunity to meet one time a week called mutual and do activities with our young women and often with the young men as well. I feel it is such a critical time in their life and by taking time to find out their needs I can help them make good choices for their future. I also get to take turns teaching lessons on Sunday about how to prepare to become a woman with strong standards and gain a testimony of our Savior Jesus Christ and work toward going to the temple. I also have four women in our ward that me and a companion try to visit regularly and make sure they have what they need including a friend and someone to call if they are ever in need. I feel this too is a great opportunity to serve my Heavenly Father. I go to church each week and once a month I interpret for a family who is Deaf. I also serve in the Deaf branch when possible interpreting their sacrament meetings, or other meetings such as interviews or meetings they may need interpreters for. I love working with the Deaf, they are such wonderful people.

Can a husband and wife be together forever? Do Mormons believe that families will live together in heaven?

Telsha answered...

That is one of the most beautiful things of the gospel is that we believe with all our hearts that a husband and wife can be together forever. We believe that if we are sealed in the temples of the Lord we can be together for eternity with our beloved families. We don't have to dread when a loved one passes because we can know we can be with them again if we live righteously and are sealed together. It gives us hope and a bright future.
Amanda answered...

YES!!! This is one of my favorite parts of the gospel. I believe that my family will live together in heaven. I will know my family as my family members. My husband is my husband for now and for all eternity. My children are my children here on earth and for all eternity. I know that if something happened to one of us that I will see them again. I love this about the church. Before joining, I always had a question about this concept and when taking the discussions from the missionaries this came up. Makes me love the church more and more.

What do Mormons believe concerning the doctrine of grace?

Tamara Forsyth answered...

We are all saved by grace no matter how we have lived our life, as long as we believe in Christ and believe that he is our Savior. Most Christian religions believe that this is all there is to being saved. Mormons believe this for the part of being saved in which the body of flesh is reunited with the spirit. For this part of being saved, yes, Mormons believe that all people, no matter how they have lived their lives, will be saved and have their body reunited with their spirit at the resurrection through the grace of God. However, Mormons also believe there is another part to Christ's atonement and being saved, and that refers to his taking on of our sins. To be saved from our sins, and take upon us the name of Christ such that his atonement will wash away our sins and we will have everlasting life in God's presence, we must repent of our sins. After we have done all that we can do, then the grace of God will wash away our sins because of Christ's atoning sacrifice on our behalf.