Hi, I'm Ken

I grew up in the western United States. Served a mission in Mexico. I am a Firefighter and I'm a Mormon.

About Me

I have a very large family, my Parents are divorced and remarried, and because of that I had the opportunity while growing up to learn about different faiths. I enjoy playing the Guitar and singing, I used to be in a cover band. I enjoy exercising to maintain my fitness for personal enjoyment as well as for my career. I am a newly wed, and have found new interests in cooking and in raising our hound puppy. I enjoy participating in and watching sports.

Why I am a Mormon

My Mother was adopted by a family who raised her to a certain extent as a Member of the church and my father had grown up around Mormons, so I always had an influence in my life from the church. After my parents divorced my father remarried and his new wife was Mormon. During operation Desert storm my step mother was afraid my Father would be drafted and encouraged him to join the church so they could be Sealed for time and eternity. After a little persuasion my Father listened to the Message the missionaries had and joined the Church. Less than a year later 2 days after my 8th birthday I was baptized by my Father. I had great friends and influences during my life that helped me continue to go to church and my testimony grew. I gained a testimony of the Truth of the restored Gospel of Jesus Christ when I was young because my Mother, whom I lived with, was not very active in the Church. My testimony was nourished by by friends and my church leaders. The restored Gospel means everything to me, I have been sealed to my parents for all eternity, as well as to my Wife whom I love very dearly. I am grateful that these truths have been restored to the earth and that everyone has a chance to partake in these blessings.

How I live my faith

I live my faith both by attending church regularly and serving the community. I am currently responsible for making sure everyone has a Sunday School teacher. In the past I have taught Sunday school to 8 and 9 year olds, I served a mission in Mexico, I have been responsible for visiting families assigned to me, outside of church once a month, to bring messages and help out in anyway that I can. Outside of church I serve the community as a volunteer fire fighter, and help out by volunteering for community events that the Fire Department puts on every year such as handing out water safety pamphlets, changing out old smoke detectors, and helping collect money every year for MDA with the Fill the Boot fundraiser.

Do Mormons worship Joseph Smith?

Richie answered...

No, but we respect him, just as we would any prophet.
Jim answered...

Mormons see Joseph Smith in the same way Jews see Moses - while we respect and honor their lives and their contributions, we understand that they are real people, worthy of our veneration but not our worship. We understand that they were selected for important duties that God called them to complete and we respect the work that they performed. Joseph does occupy a unique place in Mormon theology because so many doctrines of the re-established church can be traced to revelations that were given to him. The scriptures tell that it is "by their fruits" that an individual will be able to determine if someone is acting on God's behalf, and this is one of the central messages of the re-established church, we invite all men everywhere to read and pray about the Book of Mormon since it a tangible fruit of the prophet Joseph Smith's calling as a prophet and restorer of Christ's church. It is my witness that if you do so you will know that the book is true, Joseph is a prophet and the church he founded is true.

What is the Mormon lifestyle like? How do Mormons live?

Serge answered...

Family is everything to us. Our family spends lots of our free time together because we like each other. Life gets crazy with teenagers, dance practice, after school academic decathlon, usually with a toddler in tow, but no matter what, every Monday night is Family Night.

The kids know that every Monday we spend time together and nothing gets in the way of it. It's our commitment to each other. We bake cookies, have lessons about the Savior, work on personal goals, go to the park, go geocaching, play board games or just go out for ice cream.

We do lots of things together. The point is that at least once a week we spend an hour or two together, just for the sake of being together, just because we love being together as a family. It's not as perfect as it may sound, with all the poking and "she's in my spot," and all the other crazy things family members do to each other when scrambling for a spot in the living room, but we try real hard. It takes effort to make sure we don't miss, but it's worth it.

I'm not sure the kids will remember all the games we played, the places we went or what we did, but I hope they always remember that we loved each other enough to dedicate one night a week to be with each other. And that we spent every Monday night together for as many Mondays as they can remember because family is everything to us, and every member of our family is important.