The church of Latter Day Saints (LDS) is a branch of Christianity with many followers. One of those followers is Hannah Durney (12). Hannah says the LDS church is, “really all about becoming closer to our Heavenly Father and, you know, becoming more like him.” Through service projects, weekly youth meetings, reading and studying scripture, and constantly improving oneself is a few ways LDS members work to become closer to God and become more like Christ. Members also believe God, Jesus Christ, and the Holy Spirit are three separate entities and not a connected holy trinity like other religions believe. The LDS church also has living prophets members believe are seers and revelators of God who relay his messages.

While many outside the LDS church are bewildered by an LDS members “restrictions,” many do not mind. These “restraints” of not drinking caffeine, coffee, or alcohol; smoking, doing drugs, restraining from tattoos and multiple piercings, and dressing modestly are merely suggestions made by church leaders to allow members to live a healthy life and treating oneself with love and respect. Because these are suggestions, there are LDS members who have tattoos and have multiple piercings, but are still faithful to their religion. Durney says, “the Word of Wisdom [Book of Mormon] is on an individual basis, like for me it also includes moderation in sleep. It’s really about one person and moderating.” The church advocates a healthy lifestyle with suggestions to its members to wake up early, be productive, and eat healthy. Even when certain suggestions are made, such as refraining from getting multiple piercings, Durney “trusts our prophets have a good reason, and God does too.”

Like almost every religion, the LDS church has scriptures, the King James Translation of the Bible and the Book of Mormon. Members believe the King James version to have the most truth and most accurate translation, and Durney says, “because the Bible has been translated in so many ways and by different people and in so many different languages, it seems even contradictory at times.” But despite the many interpretations and translations, Durney still loves reading and learning from the Bible. The next scripture Durney talked about was the Book of Mormon, which she says is “another testament of Jesus Christ in addition to the Bible… it’s about the inhabitants of the ancient Americas and about their trials.” LDS members believe the Bible and Book of Mormon can teach us the most truth.

The LDS church also has youth program. When girls and boys in the church turn 12, they are placed in Young Women’s and Young Men. They stay in this program until they turn 18. As young women and men go through the program, they meet once a week in their individual groups (usually on a Tuesday) and do activities together. At least once a month, the young men and women work together on a service project or do an activity together such as parties, picnics, or movie nights. While the activities are handled and controlled by the youth, there are leaders who act as mentors, guides, and teachers. Durney says the program has “been such a blessing in my life… it’s [Young Women’s] taught me more about like our leaders. They were also teenagers at one point and their stories have helped me so much how to know how to deal with everything of being a teenager, like college and all of these big questions.”

Hannah Durney’s connection with the church extends beyond youth programs and fun activities. “The church has given me so much confidence and knowledge about Jesus Christ and about my Heavenly Father, it has allowed me to improve myself, to know what’s really important, how to accept myself, and like what I should be okay with,” Durney says. Through diligently studying the scriptures and actively practicing her faith, she has learned more about herself and the past prophets she looks up to. Durney says, “I think that without the gospel, I wouldn’t endure the through hard things. I wouldn’t be able to get through and have the determination.”