Profile

English 2010

Carter Mann

Deciding on a person to interview and describe for my profile was a very easy lay-up. I

decided to do it on my grandpa Kirk Larsen. My grandpa has some good experience of seeing

LDS and non-LDS tension from both sides. My grandpa is easily the most wise, humble and

great person I have ever known. Kirk was very involved in my child hood and he has always

been an amazing role model. My grandpa is 76 years old and still pretty healthy for that age.

When memories and thoughts of grandpa come to mind, I instantly feel a lot of love and pride

to say he is my grandpa. My topic of LDS and non-LDS tension really fits well with profile

person.

Kirk was raised in Logan Utah in a large LDS family with only boys except for his mom.

His mother was described as a “Saint” but his father was very forward, aggressive, and old

school. Kirk pretty quickly learned how to beat to his own drum and learned how to care for

himself. He also lived on a small farm so he learned how to work hard. Kirk later in his mid 20s

joined the national guard reserves. In the reserves he picked up smoking and drinking, anyone

outside the church would view drinking as normal but here in Utah, drinking is viewed as very

wrong. He still smokes to this day and is pretty healthy considering. He is very good at using

coffee and alcohol in moderation.

He would train every weekend and eventually went to Hawaii for “jungle warfare”

training; everyone including him thought he was going to be drafted and deployed to Vietnam.

Luckily he was not drafted and the war ended. Around that time, he married my grandma
Marsha Larsen. Marsha grew up in a non-LDS family but was still familiar with the church. They

later had two kids, my uncle Ryan and my mom Angela.

(My grandpa and his first great grandchild Savannah.)

My mom Angela wasn’t raised LDS but was very exposed to the church and often faced

judgement and criticism because her father drank and smoked. She later became LDS when she

married my dad. My parents have always taught me that being LDS does not make you any

better or worse than anyone. My parents also taught me that someone who smokes is not any

less of a person, it’s just a bad habit like biting your nails. Growing up, my grandpa was the only
person I personally knew how smoked. I often had many questions about this. Grandpa said

“Sure, alcohol, tobacco and coffee aren’t great for you, but neither is diet coke and cookies. I

have always watched what I eat and have tried to remain healthy and active.”

(My Grandpa about to relax after working hard on his jeep.)

Kirk says “I don’t agree with everything and everyone in the LDS church, but I believe it

is a great organization and does many great things for the world.” I believe this is the mind set a

non-LDS person should have about the church. He has received criticism and judgment from

everyone his whole life about his decisions and not being LDS. Despite this criticism, he still tries
to see the good in the church. I am on the other side of this idea of the church. I love the church

and think it is the only true church, but I still try to be friendly to everyone and not judge

someone based on their religious beliefs. I understand that everyone has their own beliefs on

what they think is true and everyone thinks they are right. I usually don’t talk about the church

to non-LDS people unless they ask. Kirk is a good example of respecting everyone’s beliefs.

To describe Kirk, he is the most reserved person I know, he doesn’t say anything unless

it adds to a conversation. He doesn’t talk about ideas or plans unless he knows he is going to

follow through. My grandpa is very thrifty and smart; this is why he was able to retire

comfortably at age 53.

My grandpa has many passions. My grandpa built a really nice cabin with minimal help.

My grandpa always works on his jeep which is another passion. He restored his 1946 willys

wrangler. His passion for jeeps led to me buying a jeep from him. I hope to carry on this

tradition and always drive a Jeep wrangler. Grandpa is a very good role model and he is a prime

example of how to treat other people. Kirk has lived a very good life and has contribute a lot to

society and his family. He has always told his kids that “he wants kids and grandkids that

contribute to society.”
 Sources

Larsen, Kirk J. “Grandpa Larsen.” 21 Jan. 2019.

Editors, History.com. “Vietnam War Timeline.” History.com, A&E Television Networks, 13

Sept. 2017, www.history.com/topics/vietnam-war/vietnam-war-timeline.

Larsen, Marsha E. “Grandma Larsen.” 21 Jan. 2019.

Mann, Angela, L. “Mom” “Daughter” 22 Jan. 2019.