I grew up with parents who clearly loved the Lord. I knew my father loved Him by his daily walk, his words, and his counsel to me as I matured. However, my mother was probably more vocal about her faith, and perhaps more demonstrative in her application of that faith. I saw this in the things she would organize for our family to do, as well as in the efforts she made in enriching her own spiritual center. For instance, in a well-thought-out and consistent fashion, she studied and marked her personal copy of the Holy Scriptures with different colored marking pencils, each color tied to a particular theme. From my perspective, she has desired great gospel scholarship for as long as I can remember. Without a doubt, both her and my father’s religious influence has played an important role in my own development of faith.

Now, having said this, it would be a mistake for anyone to assume that I believe what I believe solely on the basis of my parents’ influence upon me. Children are not born and raised to live in their parents’ shadow. Each child comes into a family to be trained and prepared to leave home, and discover their own place in the world. This is especially true when it comes to religious faith. Therefore, be it known to whomever may read this that I have had my own experience in these matters. I have searched much that I might know the things of God, and His promise that those who seek shall find has been verified to me in an abundance of personal experience. I believe what I believe because God has revealed it to me. He has done so on numerous occasions and in various ways. Therefore, I am a simple, but passionate witness that He is our Father, Jesus is His Son, and their glorious gospel has been restored to the earth in these latter days through the Prophet Joseph Smith.