Chat With a Mormon Online
Your privacy is important to us. Please read our Privacy Policy.
Hi, I'm Shauna
I'm a wife, a mother, and a Mormon.
About Me
My name is Shauna and I am 22 years old. I got married two years ago and last year we had our first baby. She's a beautiful little girl and a joy in my life. I graduated with a degree in Economics last year, and my husband is studying Political Science. I teach piano to supplement our income, but other than that I spend my time being a homemaker.
I love baking, tatting, singing, reading, and playing with my daughter. We enjoy taking long walks around the temple grounds. It's especially beautiful during the spring. We live in a great community where I can go outside and visit with other women while our children play together. Life is beautiful! :)
Why I am a Mormon
I grew up in a Mormon family and amongst a Mormon community. I have gone to church my whole life and I was baptized into the faith when I was eight. Originally, I was just Mormon because I knew nothing else. I trusted that if my parents believed it was true, it must be true. But, as most people discover, you cannot lean on the faith of your parents forever. I had a difficult time during my teenage years, trying to discover what I believed separate from my parents. I struggled with knowing what was true. How could I know whether the church was true? I mean, how could I really know?
It took a little time, but eventually the answer came so clearly: God would tell me. He loves His children, and He wants us to be happy. So if I asked Him whether the church is true, I could trust Him to answer me. And He did answer me. When I prayed first to know that He was there, the spirit so strongly confirmed His existence and love for me that I was driven to tears. It was as if He had wrapped His arms around me and reminded me that I am His daughter, and He hasn't forgotten me. Then I asked if the Mormon church was true, and again I felt a warmth and peace fill my whole body. I knew it was right. I knew that I was communicating with my Heavenly Father and this was His answer for me. The church is true! I am a Mormon because I know that the teachings of the church are true, and when I live the gospel, I am happy.
Personal Stories
Please explain the part prayer plays in your life?
We pray all the time in our home. I wake up and have personal morning prayer, we pray over our breakfast, we have family prayer before my husband leaves in the morning. I pray before I read my scriptures, and again over lunch and over dinner. We have family prayer again before bed, and then I have my personal nightly prayer.
What I have found is that part of the point of prayer is to keep Heavenly Father and the gospel always on your mind. It also allows you to create a very real personal relationship with your Father in Heaven. I know that I can talk to Him anytime about anything. As I practice praying with more sincerity, I find that I can really feel Him listening. He loves me, and wants to help me. I must first humble myself and let Him into my life. Prayer is one of the ways that I do that.
How has the Book of Mormon brought you closer to God?
At the beginning of this year we were challenged by our bishop to read the whole Book of Mormon in about three months. I had been pretty good about reading my scriptures, but I wasn't nearly as consistent with it as I knew I should be. I decided that I was going to take up the challenge, and I set aside time every morning to read several chapters. At the same time, I consciously prayed for an increased measure of the spirit and for a testimony that what I was reading was true.
It was as if the floodgates had opened in my heart. Everyday I was so happy to open up the Book of Mormon and feel the change it made in my mind and emotions. The spirit was so strong, testifying to me daily that what I was reading was from my Heavenly Father, and that He had revealed these truths to us because He loves us so dearly. He love me! That was the truth that I had been longing to know and feel.
The challenge is over now and I completed my reading on time. I have committed to studying the Book of Mormon in depth since then, and I have felt the joy of even more light and knowledge. I'm so grateful for the scriptures and for the influence that they have in my life.
How does making right choices help us make more right choices?
How do we know what right choices even are? It's through the spirit. Some people say that this is your conscience, but we in the church believe that it is the Holy Ghost that confirms to us which choice is right and which is wrong. When we use the spirit's guidance to make a right choice, we draw closer to the spirit, thus being able to discern even better between right and wrong. When we make wrong choices, we drive the spirit away, making it harder and harder to see the truth.
For me, this became most clear when I was choosing what movies and TV shows to watch. Initially, I knew very clearly that a certain show was not worth my time, but I chose to watch it anyway. This made it easier for me to justify other shows, some even worse than the first. I became numb to the spirit, because it couldn't remain with me while I ignored its promptings. (Plus, those types of shows are not conducive to inviting the spirit in the first place.)
At some point I was telling my father about one of these shows and he pointed out that I was making a lot of qualifications. ("It's really good, except this part" or "except that episode." etc.) It helped open my eyes to the filth that I was allowing into my brain and to the way I was wasting my time. I began breaking my addictions to these shows one at a time, and now I am happily rid of them all. The spirit has confirmed to me that this is the right choice, and now I have the power to judge much better which media is worth my time and which is not.
How I live my faith
I try to live my faith in many different ways. First of all, I work very hard to be the best wife and mother I can be. I believe that this is my main purpose in life and that I can make the biggest contribution to the world within the walls of my own home. I work on making healthy, delicious meals and keeping the home clean, organized, and inviting. I work with my husband in managing our budget and striving to be self-reliant. I play with and teach my daughter, especially trying to set a good example for her in everything I do.
I also strive to serve others in my community. I visit a couple of women every month and teach them lessons about the gospel. Other women report to me about whether they were able to visit the women they were assigned to. (It's important to us that no one is forgotten or left out.) We talk to each other about our lives as wives and mothers and help each other with whatever we are going through at the time. I take meals to people who are sick, recovering from having a baby, or mourning the loss of a loved one. I help babysit for women in the community who don't have the money to pay. I attend church every Sunday to worship and learn more about the gospel. I work on Family History and volunteer to index old records to make them searchable online. I love working and serving for a good cause. I love having purpose in my life. It makes me happy.
View Other People:
Discover Mormons who share your personal experience:
Enter as much address information as you can to find a church near you:

Humanitarian Aid
Caring for the homeless, the hungry and the destitute is one of our missions. We work together to offer immediate relief and hope for a better life.
Learn More
Lifelong Learning
Education empowers us to be better people and helps us more effectively contribute to society.
Learn More