|
The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints 
I have been a member of the L.D.S. church for a large portion of my life.
I was born into a home with two different faiths: my father is a
member of the United Church of Canada, and my mother, though born United,
converted to the LDS church in her early 20's. My parents made efforts to
raise me in both religions. I was baptised at birth in the United Church's tradition
and attended church with my father a few times a year. I was baptized as a member of the LDS faith at 8 years old, the typical baptismal age for
that church. To my dad's credit he let me make that decision for myself.
During the 18 years I have been a member of this Church I have had several opportunities to lead and participate in various programs. My experiences are split in two by the two year, full time mission I served in Mesa Arizona. While there I learned a lot about myself and people. I returned a changed person, having gained the focus and drive to do my best in all my endeavors. Since my mission I have served as a local part-time missionary and Elder's Quorum President (Single's Branch, nothing big), a Primary music director, and Sunday School teacher (Gospel Essentials - current). Some of the best things in my life were brought to me through religion. The best example of these is music. I began singing unwillingly at the age of 3 because of a mandatory church choir for young children (practices are held weekly during regular worship services and the choir performs 5-10 numbers on at least 3 occaisions during the year). I was blessed with an ear for music and did well, but stopped singing in public for a while when I was teased for "singing like a girl" at age 9 though I always felt good when I sang. My voice changed the following year and I joined the adult's choir at age 11. I've been singing ever since with various groups including the Saskatchewan Express and the University of Regina Chamber Singers. The MP3 below is a clip of me singing the last line of one of my favorite church hymns. All three parts are my voice. I mixed them on my PC using a really cheesy sound card. (I know this paragraph should be on some kind of music page, but music and religion are very closely tied in my mind.) For the strength of the Hills The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints Basic Beliefs - Articles of Faith Official Church Website Official Church Visitor's Site Orson Scott Card's LDS Online Community Page While I have at my disposal a small arsenal of simple defenses for what some consider strange or even heretical Mormon beliefs, I do not enjoy having to explain myself very much beyond the "I have prayed and I have received a witness from the Holy Ghost that the Book of Mormon is true and by extension Joseph Smith is a Prophet of God and the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints is Christ's true church restored in our day." line of reasoning. Other people do enjoy getting technical about the Church, and sometimes make some sensational blunders. If you insist on delving into the deep stuff go here . |