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New Hampshire LDS Family Featured in Local News Report
PORTSMOUTH, NEW HAMPSHIRE -- The Pouliot family of Barrington was
chosen by the Portsmouth New Hampshire Herald as an example of ideal
members of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. Mike
Pouliot is a stake president covering eight wards in Massachusetts,
Maine and New Hampshire. He and his wife have three children, Shauna,
20, Gavin, 19, and Shelby, 16.
Shauna is now attending Brigham Young University-Idaho. "Just as a
college student (my faith has) given me such direction," Shauna said.
"It gives you a really good base. You know who you are and why you're
here." Friends at home think the Church tells its members how to feel
and what to do. Not true, she said. "I know what I believe in. I know
who I am. As teenagers in the Church you go through a phase where you
ask, 'do I believe this?"
Gavin is leaving January 29 for a two-year mission in England. He's
been working two jobs to save the money necessary to support himself
while he is away sharing the message of the Gospel with others.
Although his father Mike never went on a mission, he and his wife
plan on serving a mission together when the children have all grown
up.
Shauna and Gavin have chosen to live the Word of Wisdom. "It's never
been a problem for me" to follow those guidelines, Shauna said. "It
frees me from dealing with addiction," Gavin says. "I think it
would've been harder if I hadn't grown up in the Church."
And since September 11, Mike has noticed an increase of interest in
the Church. "It's a stressful time. A lot of people are looking for
peace and some direction," Deborah says. "After the tragedy in New
York, more people are asking 'where does my family fit into what I'm
doing?'" Deborah credits a belief in Jesus Christ and his Gospel as
bringing peace and meaning into her life.
Source:
Family is forever
Portsmouth NH Herald 3Jan02 P2
By Gina Carbone
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