Hi, I'm Michael Fuhriman

I am a father of 5 boys and 3 girls. I am a financial advisor helping others to achieve their financial goals. I'm a Mormon.

About Me

I was raised in Idaho by a mom and dad who had 7 other children. I am the 8th. My dad loved to go fishing. I grew up fishing streams and lakes every Saturday in the spring, summer and fall. I guess that is why I also enjoy fishing. I was an athlete and musician in school. As a 7th grader I played in the high school pep band. Music was my major in college. In school I played basketball, football, baseball and ran track. I was fortunate to serve a mission for the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints in Germany. I loved it! I love the German people! I was able to bear testimony of Jesus Christ and his atonement for all of us. After my mission I married my high school sweetheart in the Provo temple after she returned from her mission in England. I worked in an electronics store for 5 years and then started a sporting goods store specializing in soccer apparel, footwear and equipment. I grew to love that sport. I coached soccer for over 20 years, coaching most of my children when they turned 6 until they turned 14 at which time my expertise in the sport was insufficient to coach further. After establishing 6 stores in 3 states I discovered that I was not enjoying what I was doing anymore, sold and closed some stores and became a financial advisor. I love my job in helping others to establish their financial goals, make a plan to achieve them and then putting that plan to work. Now all my children have left home. All of them striving to follow the Savior.

Why I am a Mormon

The restored gospel of Jesus Christ has been for me the pattern that has brought great joy into my life. Even as a child I could feel the love of my Savior and the truthfulness of his gospel. As I grew up seeing the love of the gospel in my parents, it motivated me to study and pray to find out for myself for sure if everything I had seen and heard was really true. When I was a Junior in High School my mother got pneumonia and was admitted into the hospital. My Dad called the school and told me to come to the hospital at once. When I arrived there I found my Mom in an oxygen tent. The doctor told us that she would not live through the night. I asked my Dad if he had given her a blessing by the power of the priesthood which he held. He hadn't, so he called his best friend who came immediately and they gave her a blessing. My Mom went home the next day without the pneumonia, completely well. I knew then that the Priesthood of God was real. I also knew that my parents had great faith. Since that time witness after witness have come to me in so many ways, from my mission and great miracles there, to being married and filling the Holy Ghost so strong in the temple, to blessing my children before the first day of school each year, from serving in church callings and seeing the great change in peo

Personal Stories

How can we develop greater harmony in our homes?

Having raised 8 children I have learned a lot about how to have greater harmony in our homes. First, make sure that you love your spouse and show it in the home. Second, teach of Jesus Christ and show your love and appreciation for Him. Third, read the scriptures and pray as a family every day. Forth, attend all your church meetings and serve faithfully in your church callings. Fifth, teach your children about choices and consequences. Make sure that they understand the difference between guessing and choosing. Choosing involves knowledge where guessing does not. Give them knowledge of options and their consequences. Sixth, give time to the family in general as well as special time to each individual in the family. Seventh, don't be selfish. Love as Jesus loves. Eighth, express your love in word and deed, consistently. One can't go too far wrong if ones does these 8 things.

How I live my faith

I think that living a gospel centered life takes in every aspect of ones life. No matter if one is at work, at home or at church, there should be no difference. Be kind to everyone. Use proper language. Try to live the way the Savior lived his life in service to others. I have the blessing of doing that in my work as a financial advisor. I have tried (not always successfully) to do that at home with my wife and children (and now grandchildren). I have the privilege of serving in a bishopric of a Young Single Adult ward at this time. What a joy that is. These young adults are marvelous! Sure they have their challenges and trials but I have the opportunity to serve them and counsel with them sharing my experiences and love for Heavenly Father, His Son and them. These are the things that give lasting joy. Understanding that there is so much more to life than just what we can see. Life is here and now as well as yet to come, past this present existence. Now is the time to show our love for, and faith in, Jesus Christ by all that we think, do and say.

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

Mary answered...

I have many homosexual friends, and I have best friends who are gay rights activists. They know my stand on same-sex marriage, and I know theirs, but guess what? We are still friends. I hope you and I can be friends too, as I try to explain a portion of what I feel about the issue of same-sex marriage.

According to principles that I believe were established by God to protect both men and women and provide for their temporal and eternal welfare, only marriage between a man and woman is allowed. This marriage must entail complete fidelity from both parties. Just as post-marital sexual desires and impulses should be controlled, pre-marital ones are equally tameable.

The LDS Church penalizes no one based on their sexual orientation. What someone feels is not equal to what they do. Once someone acts on same-sex attraction, they are committing sin. Merely being attracted is not a sin. It is not easy or simple or enjoyable to suppress one's physical appetites. Frankly, I'm not even sure of all the reasons it is commanded that we do so (though I know of the basic reasons). What I do know (and believe me when I say I do know this) is that God has ordained marriage between man and woman. He always has reasons, and we usually don't understand them for quite some time. But I know with all my heart that it is for the good of all people, regardless of sexual orientation, that marriage only be permited between a man and a woman.
Devin answered...

One of the core teachings of the Church is the eternal nature of the family relationship and that marriage and gender play foundational roles in that relationship. Gender is an immutable aspect of our identity that has been part of us from the beginning, before this life. Viewed from this eternal perspective, marriage is more than a contractual arraignment between two people. In the Gospel of Jesus Christ, marriage involves eternal commitments, including having children and teaching them to distinguish right from wrong. In addition to the ability to conceive children, Men and women have unique parental characteristics that, when combined, create the best scenario for raising those children. Those abilities and characteristics are not present in same-sex marriages.

As far as same-gender attraction goes, the Church's attitude mirrors that of its attitude to any sexual activity outside of the marriage relationship -- complete abstinence. In that sense, the Church does not distinguish between homosexuals and heterosexuals in how it looks upon sexual activity outside of marriage. It emphasizes the cultivation of heterosexual relationships at appropriate times because it is that relationship that leads to marriage.

Do you really believe there is a prophet like Moses alive today?

Steven answered...

Definitely! In fact, it is hard for me to imagine the world without them. We live in difficult times with wars, economic uncertainty, and just issues and questions that are unique to our generation. Prophets are able to speak with God and relay critical guidance to us that help us to always know what God would have us do.

I believe God loved His children enough in the 'old' days to send His prophets to guide and teach them. He is unchanging, and loves us equally and continues to always have His prophets give us instructions that pertain to our generation.