If anyone would like to be added to the list, or if there are any changes to your information, send an email to John Colton: colton.idislikespam.john@uwlax.edu, without the simple spam blocker of course. If you have not posted in many moons (roughly 6 months), your name may be taken off of this list. Names are presented alphabetically.
Joseph Absalom, posts as "father of peace" - Age 40. Mormon Monk. Grew up on the family farm in a small rural mormon village where six generations of my family practiced mormonism. Spanish mission to California. Moved back East and became a jet setting business executive and programmer. Served in all the typical positions in the ward including, elders quorum counselor, ward mission leader, ward clerk, etc. As a result of feedback received from my first post to *.r.m in 1995, I decided that the church today is seriously out of whack with traditional mormon beliefs and wrote a web site to explore the issues: http://absalom.com/mormon/ Converted to mormon fundamentalism by the True and Living Church in Manti. As a result of my conversion I left the business and political worlds and was ordained a monk by Christian Disciples International.
David Bowie - Yes that *is* my real name. Married to Jeanne with two daughters (Sadra Marie, b. 1999, and Hriana, b. 2001). Active Mormon, b. 1970, and a linguist (focusing on American dialects) in the Department of English of the University of Central Florida in Orlando, Florida, USA. Served as a full-time missionary in the Germany Munich Mission 1990 to 1992. Reading and posting on Mormon-oriented newsgroups since the creation of alt.religion.mormon in the summer of 1994. Personal web page at http://pmpkn.net/d/ that includes some badly in need of updating Mormon-oriented stuff and professional page at http://pmpkn.net/lx/ for those of you interested in such things.
Guy R. Briggs, 52 - IT Director looking for stable, quality organization. Married FT&FAE to Pam (met at BYU, 1974), 4 children. 6th-generation LdS, native of Utah, currently living in SoCal. Served California East (Spanish) Mission, 1971-73. Active in *.religion.mormon since 02/1995; battle-scarred veteran of Great s.r.m Debate of 1996; authored FAQ on Temples & Temple Worship. Taught early-morning seminary, 2000-01. Loves old movies, barbershoppe quartettes, Simon & Garfunkel, Alison Krause, walks on the beach, Westies and Ragdoll cats. Often gets misty during Fast & Testimony meetings.
John Colton - born in Sept, 1970. I'm a physicist, currently teaching and doing research as a faculty member of University of Wisconsin, La Crosse. I'm teaching electronics and thermodynamics, and some topics of my research are "spintronics" and "quantum computation". I am married (wife: Pauline) with 2 kids (daughters: Leslie, born in Sept 1996, and Emily, born in March 2000). I am LDS, and served a mission in Munich, Germany from 1989-1991. I maintain an LDS web page of sorts here: http://www.uwlax.edu/faculty/colton/personal/lds.html. I've been posting on SRM since ~ Jan 2000, I think. In what little spare time I have, I read, play computer games, sing in a community choir, serve as the branch mission leader, and wish I could find people here with whom I could play table tennis. And, of course, I answer people's questions (asked, and unasked!) at SRM.
Roger Covalt (posts with a "alias" but on occassions will post with his real name) -- born in 1959, native San Diegan and is a member of the Poway, CA stake. Roger is a former politician who decided to go straight and be honest and is now employed with the local school district. Mother was Presbyterian, father was RLDS, and later a Presbyterian convert. Roger was baptized into the LDS church at age 17, which made for interesting conversations with his RLDS relatives. Got married in 1990 in the Los Angeles Temple. Have been a Temple Worker with his wife. Have had lots of Church callings-each one has been a favorite until the next one. After his conversion, he found out more about his RLDS/LDS family history. He found to his surprise that his dad's mother's side (Bemis) included some very early members of the original LDS church, having joined in 1830. His great-great-grand father died in Winter Quarters. The Bemis and others traveled on a wagon train together from SLC to San Bernardino, CA. Here's a site of his that sort of explains his LDS San Bernardino connection: http://www.geocities.com/rogercovalt/mormon.htm
Lynn Gazis-Sax - married, no kids, lots of nephews and nieces, living in California. I'm a software engineer. I was raised as an Episcopalian, lost my faith in God in high school, made my way to Quaker meeting in college, and have been attending for a little over 20 years (becoming a member after attending for four years). My husband was raised Catholic. You can find out more about what my husband and I do aside from soc.religion.mormon at http://www.notfrisco.com or http://www.alsirat.com, or see our family pictures at our Family Album Ring site at http://www.best.com/~gazissax/album/index.html.
Jerry James - age 33 [35 now in 2003?]. I'm a computer scientist. I am currently on the faculty of the Electrical Engineering & Computer Science Department at the University of Kansas in Lawrence, Kansas. However, some people know me better in my previous incarnation as a Ph.D. student at UC Santa Barbara. I am married with 3 children (2 sons, ages 6 and 2, and a 5 month old daughter). I am LDS, and served a mission in Taichung, Taiwan, 1986-1988. I've been posting on s.r.m. since it started (and in fact was fairly active in the news.groups debates that led to its creation), and before that on a.r.m. since about 2 months after it was created. For fun, I like to write Emacs macros, argue obscure philosophical points, and play with formal proof assistants.
John Johnson--I was born March 2, 1977 in Afton Wyoming. I spent my early years in Pocatello, Idaho, and moved to Shelley, Idaho when I was 11 years old, which is where I grew up. I served a mission to Nashville, TN from 1996 to 1998. Since that time I've worked at various occupations, but I've finally settled in at a company that specializes in the telecommunications industry. I work doing quality assurance, and I love what I do. I serve as the Ward Mission Leader in my ward, and enjoy it very much. I've been posting (and lurking) here at SRM since the fall of 1998.
Yeechang Lee - was born in Korea, raised in New York City, served a mission in Nevada, received an AB in history and Spanish from Columbia University, and now works for a bulge-bracket investment bank in Silicon Valley. The founder of EEMABNES and the coiner of Lee's Two Laws of Usenet, Yeechang is (along with Prof. David Bowie) among the only posters to remain more or less continuously active from the first giddy days of alt.religion.mormon back in 1994. He is a firm believer in the Restored Gospel of Jesus Christ and of Linux.
James C. Miller, a financial professional and free-lance writer in Arizona, is a fiftyish Utah-born former Mormon who served an LDS Mission to Denmark 1967-69 and was married in the Temple, but is currently an affable, if excitable, atheist. In the 1980s, he reluctantly abandoned all organized religion because of severe, irreconcilable philosophical differences and a total lack of persuasive evidence of any supernatural beings. However, he still has active Mormon family members and friends and is immensely entertained and intellectually stimulated by the discussions on this NG and on ARM.
Jeff Needle - I'm 53 years old, and I live in the San Diego area. I am not LDS, but have been involved in LDS-related activities for more than a dozen years. Before becoming disabled, I was a frequent presenter at Sunstone symposia, and a frequent visitor to BYU, FARMS, and other Utah locales. My main involvement right now is as a reviewer for the Association for Mormon Letters (www.aml-online.org) and on the internet, where I participate in several newgroups and many discussion lists. I've been building an LDS library in my home. I have about 1500 volumes right now, and will soon have to move out to make room for my books...
Cassandra Jesseca Nichols - Born 1982/04/06 in Montreal. Moved to and throughout the United States a lot until I was 12, when I moved to Mesa, Arizona, where I reside now. I am a student at Mesa Community College and Arizona State University studying right now for a Bachelor's degree in Electrical Engineering; after which I may go for a Master's or Doctorate. I occasionally work as a system's administrator. I was raised Catholic but never really cared for it, causing me to stop regularly attending mass around the age of 11. For the past five or so years I've been rather atheistic/agnostic (basically indifferent). I've been reading soc.religion.mormon to help me better understand my friends and certain Mormon vs. Non-Mormon inter-personal conflicts I recently witnessed and participated in. In my free time I swim, ride my bike, do some computer game programming, play computer/video games, listen to orchestral/symphonic music, and play some tabletop fantasy games.
Michael O'Barr - (born 1955, in Mesa, Arizona). I've been married to Deborah for 24 years and we have 2 sons, a daughter-in-law and a 4 year old grandson. I served a mission to North Carolina in the 70's. Within 18 months of returning home, I became inactive, lost my faith, joined an anti-Mormon group called 'Concerned Christians', got excommunicated, and then got married. My experience with Christian orthodoxy led me to become an atheist. After moving to Tulsa, Oklahoma, to go to school to get certified as an Airframe and PowerPlant mechanic, I hit rock bottom and I don't even know how I got there. All I know was that I was sitting on a hill overlooking a dam near Tulsa with a pistol in my hand. While I sat there contemplating the end I received a special visitation from a very specific person I was missing in a way only few know. He and I spoke for several hours. After that I was rebaptized a member, and a little more than a year later I received a restoration of my blessings and was sealed to my wife and child in the Mesa, Arizona Temple. I moved back to Mesa where I work for Honeywell International - Aerospace division as a Jet Engine Test Technician in Phoenix. I've had several positions within the church and am currently serving as the Wards Emergency Preparedness guru. My hobbies are playing Paintball, Camping / Boating / Hiking, Shooting, Astronomy, Rocketry (especially high power), Physics, Engineering (designed and built a little baby jet engine that you could hold in your hand), reading things like the Dead Sea Scrolls, Nag Hammadii, Egyptian Book of the Dead, the Popul Vul, BoM, PoGP, D&C, Bible, Sci-fi / Fantasy / Adventure / Horror. I collect Model Rockets, Guns, Old Pianos and Old Pump Organs, and VW Things (the car).
Rob Perkins - b. 1969 ("Uh... I don't remember the 60's..."). I'm a software engineer for a very small company you've never heard of, unless you work in a foundry. I'm studying to be a private pilot, with a goal to build enough experience to participate in search and rescue, and hospital runs for people. I'm married with four children, the oldest of whom was born in 1995. I live in Vancouver, WA. I'm LDS, served a mission in Switzerland (German speaking) 1989-1990. I've never had a negative reaction to telling people that. Today I'm active in my local ward and stake.
Robb Leslie Robertson (sometimes posts as "Floydian Engineer") - 34, born 1968 in Idaho Falls, ID, second child of 7 to Dr. Boyd L. and Benita Jo Robertson. California resident since 1970. Currently living in Antelope, a suburb of Sacramento, with my wife Sandra (Ruvalcaba), and sons Mason Leslie, 7, and Hayden Elias, 3, and cats Floyd and Barrett (named after favorite rock band and founder). Married Sandra, the 7th and last child of Mexican immigrants after baptizing her in 1990, in Oakland LDS Temple in 1991. I served a mission to Guatemala City (North Mission) from 1988-90. I spent most of my time in the north-central "Polochic" region among the Kek'chi, a Mayan people. Enjoyed much success, including participation in the conversion of an entire village, and subsequent construction of a small chapel. Graduated from University of California, Davis in 1997 with a B.S. in Civil Engineering. Currently employed by Marr Shaffer & Miyamoto, Inc. Structural Engineers as a project engineer. Involved in structural design of low and mid-rise commercial buildings and various non-building structures. Member of Structural Engineer's Accociation of Central California (SEAOCC) and American Society of Civil Engineers (ASCE). Pursuing M.S. in Structural Engineering at California State University, Sacramento. Registered Professional Engineer (Civil) in the State of California. Enjoy snow-skiing, fishing, tennis, choral singing, guitar and piano. Early participant in alt.religion.mormon circa 1994, and later s.r.m.
Bill Schroader - I consider myself to be a relatively infrequent poster, as compared to most. Indeed, I almost feel guilty for spending too much time on SRM or ARM. I've been around off and on for about six years or so. I'm a 37 year old Utah native with a pioneer heritage. (My Great Grandfather, a bridge builder, designed the roof of the Tabernacle.) I'm married nine years now and have four children. I'm a staunch conservative Republican and a Ditto Head to boot. (That's a Rush Limbaugh fan for those that didn't know.) I served a mission in San Jose California 1984-86. My occupation is that of a Network Engineer. I love sushi, golfing, cooking, and playing ball with my three sons. I consider myself to be very active in the Church and have been known to bear my testimony two to three times a year. I don't so much enjoy debating here on SRM or ARM as much as I enjoy understanding the varying perspectives, good or bad, about the Church.
Jeff Shirton - (b.1963). I'm Canadian, single, living in the Greater Toronto Area (GTA). Considering myself a Reform Christian, I teach science for the local Catholic Board of Education. My faith began when I started searching for hope of seeing my deceased mother again. While looking for hope of her, I found Christ. My studies of faith and God have led me to the same road taken by Calvin, Augustine, and others of the historical church. I find LDS beliefs to be fascinating, but contrary to the word of God. The differences only emphasize to me the depth of God's being, His supremacy, His love, His grace, and our need for His gospel, and I long to share these truths with the LDS. Discussions here also help me to further study God's word and to be enriched from it. Other interests include duplicate bridge, chess, classical music, and classic movies.
Kathryn Simpson - I live in the beautiful Pacific NW, have two active "pre-teen" children, and am a convert of 22 years. Three passions have dominated most of my adult life: the Gospel, my children, and sports (in no particular order). Politically, I am a gently-swaying-moderate. Sometimes I sway a bit left and other times a bit right, depending on the issue. If you want to know a bit more about me, I sometimes update my personal website at http://kjsimpson.home.att.net.
Peggy Tatyana - I'm a Boomer, so I'm old enough to be your mother (or maybe your grandmother!) My current occupation is homeschooling my two children, which I enjoy enormously. I play the Celtic harp, because my husband makes the things (though not for a living.) I've been hanging around *.r.m. newsgroups since the mid-90's, and one of the proud accomplishments of my life was nudging soc.religion.mormon safely through the approval process on news.groups. I don't post a lot these days, but for me s.r.m. is kind of like a child that I gave birth to, so I need to keep tabs on what it's up to. I call myself a "Fringe Mormon" or an "LDS Universalist" -- meaning a person who is basically fond of the church and loyal to it, without being convinced that it is the only or the best way for people to find their way to God.
Tristyn Underwood, posts to Usenet as iphigenia. Born 1975, married 1995, widowed 2002. Currently a stay-at-home-mama to Gabe, born 2001. Planning to go back to school and end up a certified lactation consultant. Will vigorously expound on the importance of attachment parenting with only the slightest provocation. Loves scrapbooking and needlepoint. With regard to Mormonism, tends to fall in with Peggy's "universalist LdS" category.
James Wolf - of Midwest fly-over country. A father of one, an electrical engineer by trade, a Lutheran by grace and an evangelical by gosh. A charter srm'er, I first started visiting arm about 94 after a good friend became a LDS. The arm/srm newsgroups forced me visit theology in places where I thought I'd never go. I finally became an unwilling critic. I'm also much less assertive in "real-life". Another lesser passion is eschatology of the amillennialist confusion. Favorite theological reads: "Where God Meets Man", by Forde and "Dying to Live", by Senkbeil. Favorite Movie: "Last of the Mohicans" (1992).
Joseph Daniel Zukiger is the latest incarnation of a poster who has posted on and off in (s/a).r.m since before y2k. "Joudanzuki" is a Japanese idiom for "tease" (noun). It was intended to be a reminder to keep things light, but doesn't seem to work, as the poster in question seems to like to swim in deep water. It turns out that a near-homonym, joudandzuki, is a name for a class of blows in karate. Apologies in advance when the latter becomes too appropriate. The person behind joudanzuki claims to be a computer professional living in his wife's mother country, Japan. His identity is probably not hard to determine, but is left as an exercise for the rare interested reader.