I am a Mormon

I went to the Utah State Fair with my family on Thursday night. As we were strolling through the smelly cow barn, I remembered taking a family picture in that exact spot 5 years ago. I used that picture as the header of the blog I was starting. I entitled it "1 guy 3 girls" since Nic was a lone man surrounded by the twins and myself. I guess it's still fitting for my kids...the lone Nixon :)

 I've been pretty diligent at keeping up my blog since then. In 2007, EVERYBODY had a blog and kept it up, then Myspace, Facebook and Twitter seemed to take over. I like to print off my blog and use it as our Family Journal....I am NOT a scrapbooker, so this seems like the best way for me!

 I know there are people from many parts of the world that look at this blog, and I'm flattered that people would find my life interesting enough to follow us! There is one BIG part of my life that I don't talk about enough. Mostly because I usually just post pictures of fun things we do. I am a member of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. I realize that my religion has become a popular topic in the media with Mitt Romney as a presidential candidate. I've heard a lot of great things said about the LDS church, and also some not so great things.

 Our beliefs are simple. We believe in Jesus Christ. We believe in modern day revelation. We believe in Eternal life and we know that our families are FOREVER. We believe in doing good to all men. We have standards that we follow in order to keep our bodies and minds clean and healthy and free of addiction. We believe in the Bible and in a book called "The Book of Mormon", which is another testament of Jesus Christ when he visited the Americas. We believe that our church was restored to the earth in 1830 through a man by the name of Joseph Smith, the first prophet of the LDS church.

We have thirteen statements outlining some of our basic teachings and ordinances written by Joseph Smith. We refer to these as the Articles of Faith. Mormon.org is a user friendly, fun way to get a more in depth look at our church and our beliefs.

I was lucky enough to be born into an LDS family. I've always had a testimony and pure belief of these things. That doesn't mean that I'm perfect and haven't made mistakes. I make mistakes every day, some bigger than others. I am grateful for the gift of repentance, so that if I mess up or lose my way, I can be forgiven. The atonement of our Savior Jesus Christ has made this possible.

 I am a mother and a wife now. My husband and I were married in the Bountiful, Utah LDS Temple. We have been sealed together for time and all eternity. We have had 4 beautiful children that are now automatically sealed to us because of the covenants we made in the temple. Our children have become our LIVES! They have made life sweet and wonderful. We know that death in this life will not be the end of our family.

 I am so thankful for this Gospel in my life. It keeps me on a righteous path. It brings a beautiful spirit in to my home that is unlike any other feeling. It brings peace and understanding to my life. It allows me to be patient and loving to others. It gives me the opportunity to humble myself, put others before myself and try to improve on my own weaknesses and shortcomings. It is perfect and it is true. I hope that if you're reading this, and this is your first glimpse into the LDS (mormon) church, you'll search our website for more information and answers. There are links on mormon.org to request your own Book of Mormon and also a request form to have the LDS missionaries meet with you in your home to give you further knowledge of the church.