Hi, I'm Ben

I'm a husband and father of 5. I speak Spanish. I'm a Physical Therapist and use Nintendo Wii with my patients. I'm a Mormon!

About Me

I grew up in Northern California in a family of 5, with 2 older sisters close in age. My freshman year of high school I competed in water polo before attempting wrestling. In wrestling I injured my knee and went to the emergency room to have it x-rayed. The x-rays were not showing any fracture, but I was told I would await a simple orhtoscopic surgery in one week. I awoke from the surgery to find out I had a fractured knee cap that was now repaired. I spent six weeks in a straight-leg cast from my hip to my ankle and later went through 3 months of physical therapy before I could bend my knee more normally again. I later went on to compete in swimming and diving and even tried out for football only to tear my ACL in my other knee. My senior year my school won the regional swimming and diving championship for the first time in our school's history. I am an Eagle Scout and currently am an 11 year-old Boy Scout leader. I spent my fresman year of college in Hawaii and later served a mission for 2 years in Argentina. Three years later I graduated from Brigham Young University in Utah where I majored in Exercise Science and minored in Spanish. I was married my sophmore year of college and my wife and I are expecting our 5th child soon. I moved back to California with my wife and oldest son to start a Master's in Physical Therapy. I had 3 children by graduation with one that soon followed. I currently work as a physical therapist in an in-patient rehab hospital.

Why I am a Mormon

I was introduced to the gospel of Jesus Christ by my parents, family members, and other members of the chruch at a very young age. I have come to know for myself through the power of the Holy Spirit that the Chruch of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints is infact the true church of Jesus Christ restored to the Earth with modern day prophets called to lead God's people with continued revelation. I have seen the blessings the gospel brings to those who follow its teachings and it has protected me from both physical and spiritual harm throughout my life. I have felt inspired to share my faith and testimony of the gospel with those I met as a missionary in Argentina and have seen entire families transform their lives and appreciate the same peace and joy that comes with coming closer to God when they learn and follow his teachings. I have personally felt the power of forgiveness from mistakes I have made in my life and later corrected by following Christ's example. I know Jesus Christ suffered, died, and lives again so that we can be like Him and be cleansed from our sins and overcome our sicknesses and return to live with Him and families in Heaven again. Every challenge I have facced in my life I have been able to overcome with the help of the blessings of gospel in my life and know the same can be true for you.

How I live my faith

I have recently had the opportunity to serve in the church teaching the young children Sunday school lessons of stories from the Bible with another teacher. We would prepare an interactive lesson each week that engages the young class to learn stories from the Bible that they can apply to their lives at home, in school, and at play.

I am currently working with the 11-year old boys in Boys Scouts one week night a week at our church building. We plan activities each week to help the boys learn how to be better citizens in the community, learn safety and survival skills, as well as enhancing the awareness to a variety of topics that can better prepare them to be successful in life.

Why is family so important to Mormons?

Ben answered...

We can choose to raise children up with the knowledge of the true and living gospel to assist them and all of God's children in learning what God wants to each experience in this life to bring back with us to return to live with Him someday. God is giving us an opportunity to become more like Him and one of the most powerful ways we can come closer to Him individually is to learn and grow from oneanother and feel the joy and the sorrow that comes with dealing with caring for and being a part of a family unit on Earth.
Greg answered...

After I joined the Mormon Church I learned about the importance of families. Not long after that I realized that if I was going to follow this teaching I needed to tell my father that I loved him. That was very difficult for me since my dad and I argued so much. I spent the better part of 2 weeks trying to determine how I could do this. When the time came I found that the words came more easily than I had thought. From that point to the time he died, about 22 years later, he and I had an entirely different relationship. We were now friends. And I found how much I regretted all our arguments while growing up. And now I find that I miss him and more fully understand how important our families are.

Do Mormons practice polygamy?

Doug answered...

The short answer: no.

The fun answer: I am always a bit surprised when I get asked whether Mormon's practice polygamy, especially since it is a point of pride among Mormons that we tend to be more "monogomous" than the general population - the divorce rate among Mormons is much lower than it is among non-Mormons, hence marriage to a second, third, or fourth husband or wife is much less likely.

The informative answer: In the first half of the 19th century and beginning with Joseph Smith, the founding Prophet of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, the Lord commanded certain men to take more than one wife for reasons that are known in full only to God himself. These men and women sought in faith to live the commandments of God as they were taught by the Prophets of God. The practice of plural marriage continued in a highly organized and church-sanctioned fashion until the Lord commanded that the practice be discontinued in the year 1890.

I am a descendant of the fourth wife of one such man. I have read his journals and heard accounts of his day to day interactions with his family and friends. He was a good and an honest man, as were most if not all of the men to whom the command was given from the Lord to take more than one wife, both in the early days of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints and in Biblical times.