Why I am a Mormon: It could be thought that I am a Mormon because my parents are. Or because I was born into the Church. Or because most of my extended family are members of the Church. Originally, this was the case. I went to church because my family did. But that all changed for me one night a few years ago when I decided after having finished the Book of Mormon for the first time, that I should pray to know if it is true. It was about 2 in the morning, so everyone in the house was asleep. I went into the living room and left all of the lights off. I told myself that I was going to say "Heavenly Father, I have read the Book of Mormon and I need to know if it is true", but as soon as my knees hit the ground, I had such an incredible feeling rush through my body that I couldn't move. I was frozen to the spot. I could not move. Eyes wide open, heart pounding, blood rushing through my veins...I didn't know what to do. But that only lasted for a split second because all of a sudden, my mouth began to move and words came out that I had not told myself to say. These are the words that came out: "Lord, I know that this book is true". It was the most incredible experience of my life thus far and I must have knelt there for the next twenty minutes in shock at what had just happened. That was not the last testimony building experience I had, nor was it the first, but from that point on, I knew for myself that this church had to be true. I've never looked back.

How I live my faith: While in high school, I was active in Boy Scouts and Rotary Life and enjoyed doing service for the community. Many people in our community have given to me so much through their time, efforts, and advice. By doing service in the community, it's kind of like giving back and saying "thank you". While I was at BYU, I was called as Family Home Evening (FHE) coordinator for the first semester and Ward Mission Leader for the second semester. As FHE coordinator, I, together with my co-coordinator, came up with activities to do and lessons to be taught for our group of 14 students. Every Monday evening, we would have a fun night. As Ward Mission Leader, I was in charge of teaching a Gospel Essentials class (explaining the fundamentals of our beliefs) and also teaching a Mission Prep (a preparatory class for prospective missionaries). I also, together with the bishopric and presidencies, oversaw the missionary efforts in our ward.