"All around the world, children go to church, sing songs,
pray, read scriptures, participate in family home evening, and get baptized. We
may meet in different types of buildings or speak different languages, but we
have a lot in common. Why? Because no matter where we live, we all love and
believe in Jesus, and He loves each one of us just the same. Are you like
Pablo, Dimitri, Bayani, Junpei, and Shamara? Do you believe in Jesus too?"
Mark Nielsen has written a children's book called I Believe In Jesus Too. After reading it, I realized this was an excellent book that parents all around the world could read and enjoy sharing with their children, grandchildren, friends and family. What I appreciated most was how simple and straightforward this book is.
Interview with author, Mark Nielsen:
How long have you
been writing?
I don't remember who the mail was addressed to, but
around 5th grade, someone in my house received a piece of junk mail from a
publishing company. It was that piece of junk mail that started me thinking
about writing and becoming an author. Thank you junk mail...you are good for
something!
Although a desire to write was lit inside me in 5th
grade, it was 13 years later, in 2001 that I actually started writing a book.
My first book idea was a novel. While I was writing my novel though, I kept on
thinking of ideas for children’s books…and that is what I have been mainly
writing for the last ten years. I hope to finish my novel someday soon though.
Your children’s
book, I Believe In Jesus Too, makes reference to children who belong to the LDS
faith (The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints) . How could children of other faiths benefit
from reading this book?
As I read this question I couldn’t help but think of my
brother who recently told me that a lady he works with, who is a member of
another faith, bought two copies of my book so she could have one for her
family and one to put in the library at her Church. What a nice lady!
To answer your question, I think children of other faiths
could definitely benefit from reading this book. I originally wrote this book
so that no matter what other people said, LDS children would know for sure that
they are Christian and that they believe in Jesus. Many other religions for one reason or
another don’t believe that members of our Church believe in Jesus Christ.
This book could maybe break down that barrier a little
bit and curb some incorrect information. In fact there are children and
families all over the world of our faith that love the Savior and this book
talks about that. When members of other faiths realize that we are Christian
too, maybe they can benefit from this book by knowing that they have Christian
friends all over the world.
Where do you get
the inspiration for writing?
I love my children and my family. They make me so happy
and they are definitely the inspiration for my writing. In fact my oldest child,
and only daughter, was my inspiration for “I Believe in Jesus Too”. Mary was about 2 and a half, at this time and
my wife was getting close to delivering Sam. One night I really tried hard to
think about a lesson that I wanted Mary to learn. That’s usually how I write my
stories. I usually think of the lesson that I want the reader to get, and then
I form the story that will lead to that lesson.
I came up with the
idea to write a story that would help Mary know that she was a Christian and
that there were children of all races and cultures all over the world that were
also LDS and that believed in Jesus just like she did. I decided to call the
book “I Believe in Jesus Too”. Hopefully both Mary, who is almost five and a
half, and Sam, who is almost three, will like the book!
What would you
like the readers to know about you?
In the spring of
1996 I graduated from high school and immediately started my college career
that summer at BYU Jerusalem. That experience in the Holy Land changed my life!
After a great first year at BYU I received my mission call in April 1997 and
was called to serve in the Barcelona, Spain Mission.
(NOTE: The LDS church calls young men and women around
the ages of 19-28 to serve as full-time missionaries. These missionaries pay
for the entire mission and set aside education, jobs, and dating for 1 ½ - 2
years so they can dedicate all their time and efforts to sharing the gospel of
Jesus Christ.)
On returning from my mission I started teaching seminary
at a school for special needs children.
In the fall of 2002 I graduated from BYU with a Bachelor of Arts degree
in Humanities and a minor in Spanish. Anne, my wife, graduated with a Bachelor
of Science degree in Sociology. After
graduation we moved to Phoenix, Arizona where I was hired to teach seminary
full time for The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints.
(NOTE: Seminary is a religious class taught to high
school age students. It’s a 4 year course that uses the Old Testament, New
Testament, Book of Mormon, and Doctrine and Covenants as the lesson material.)
I love my family,
the Church, good movies, BYU football, my mom's spaghetti, good books, softball,
Chufi (horchata drink from Spain), trying to make my students and kids laugh,
teaching, traveling, and of course writing children's books.
I lived in Russia
and traveled around Europe, Israel, and Egypt. As I have reflected on these
experiences I have learned that although everyone has different cultures and is
different, everyone is also very much the same. Everyone is a child of God and
whether they show it or not, everyone wants to be treated fairly, to be loved,
and to be respected.
It is so neat to know that there are people all over the
world that believe in what I believe. When I hear their stories, I want to be
better and I want to be like them. I am so grateful for the Savior Jesus
Christ. I know that he loves me and that he died for me and for everyone that I
meet on this planet. We are all brothers and sisters because of him.
If people want to check out some illustrations or purchase I Believe in Jesus Too they can visit:
OR you can enter to win it free right here!
