Hi I'm Andre

Put simply, I was raised a Mormon because my Mom was Mormon. I am now a Mormon because I know for myself that this is the Lord's church. I was an active member of the church until I was about 16 years old. At that time I decided I no longer wanted to go to this church, or any church for that matter. I wanted to live life how I thought it should be lived, regardless the consequences. Fast-forward two years. I was successful. I lived life exactly how I wanted to: "eat, drink, and be merry, for tomorrow we die..." as the scriptures say. Instead of finding happiness living life the way I wanted to, though, I found only grief and pain. I had lost the trust of my mother, let down my family, alienated my friends. I had done everything and anything I wanted for 2 years, truly believing that I would find happiness at the end of that road. When I reached the end, and found only bitter sorrow, I realized that the happiness I was searching for can only be found by following the path that leads to Christ. I was raised on that path and had willfully removed myself from it. When I reached rock-bottom, I had to make another willful choice--this time to put myself back on that path. Over a decade has passed since I made that choice and I have come to know what my mother knew all along--the way to happiness is through the teachings of Christ, and the only place to find ALL of His teachings is through His church. That's why I'm a Mormon. Because this church is Christ's church.

As a member of the Church, I have the opportunity to fill various roles in the congregation. In the past I have been an Assistant Scoutmaster for our local troop of Boy Scouts, taught the 12-13 year old boys in Sunday School and been in charge of coordinating missionary efforts amongst our members--fortunately not all at the same time. In my current duties, I actually fill two roles. I teach the Sunday School class to the adults, which is a challenging responsibility that has had the benefit of getting me to focus much closer on the scriptures that I teach than I normally would. I also am an Assistant Clerk, with the responsibility of taking notes during leadership meetings and following up on various assignments given. This has allowed me to get to know the leaders of our congregation in a new way, and has strengthened my faith as I have seen the Lord direct this small part of his flock through these men.