Hi, I'm Beth

I love sunshine and flowers,the ocean, volunteering, genealogy, movies, hiking and time with my family. I'm a Mormon.

About Me

I am a mother of five children. Four of those children are still here with us, three have graduated from college and one is still at home. I love to read! I like to work on family history and help others get information as well. I love sunshine!!! I love flowers although I tend to kill mine. I am thinking of going back to school to finish my degree.

Why I am a Mormon

My parents were converted to the Mormon church before I was born. That doesn't mean I didn't have a choice. I was raised in the church and knew it was true. And then I became a teenager and had to have some proof. I stopped attending church activities. I went around with a group of good people who were my friends but who did not necessarily all have a belief system, especially one that I had come from.
And then one day I mentally looked around me and thought," There has to be more. This life is empty." I decided to change and to see if following the principles of the gospel really made a difference. I started attending church again. I even attended a church school of higher education. I came home and realized that everything was different. I had indeed found out that there was something more. That something was the gospel. It gave me everything I needed. I had answers, some of which came after a long time. I had good friends that wanted the best for me. I had peace and joy and I knew in my heart I was doing what my Heavenly Father wanted. I learned you have to really have a desire for more, a desire to change, and to put those correct principles into practice in your everyday life, and then you will know for yourself that it is true. That is why I am a Mormon. Because I know.

Personal Stories

Could you talk about your baptism?

I was eight years old when I was baptized and I remember that day perfectly. It was a busy day. I was being baptized by a family friend because my father could not do it. I remember being terrified that I was going to do something wrong. And I don't think I totally understood everything that made my baptism so important and special to me personally.
I walked down the tile steps into the warm water. Let our friend put my hands in position so I could have something to hold on to and yet still plug my nose. Then I listened to what he said and went under the water. After I came back up I stood for a moment before turning around and walking out of the font. I remember thinking "So this is what they are talking about!". My body was cold but I felt lighter than air. I did not feel my feet touch the tile steps as I came up out of the water, as though I were floating. I felt a glow inside- I was clean! The best part was feeling so happy because I knew I had done something that was right and my Heavenly Father was happy with me.

How does making right choices help us make more right choices?

Sometimes it feels like making right choices, keeping the commandments, is hard. But I promise you that if you will make the effort to "choose the right" you will see a huge difference in your life. Making right choices brings happiness. The more right choices the happier you will be. When you start a pattern of choosing to do what is right it slowly becomes part of who you are and then it just become natural, and easier, to do what is right.
Even if there are struggles in your life you can carry peace and joy around inside of you because you know you have done what you should; what was right. That peace and happiness, and the desire to have it in our lives, helps us to keep making choices that are right.

Think about your everyday activities. What are things you act upon each day where you cannot see the end results? How does faith move you to action?

We pray everyday, alone and with our family. We read the scriptures. We take moments to talk to each other and very often they turn into gospel discussions. We make sure we have dinner together. We shut off the TV, computer, and the music to have time together. What good does this do? It gives us each other. There are many activities in everyones life that have future results that we cannot see; How our children will raise their children, will they embrace what they have been taught or turn away? In our lives all we can do is our best and pray for guidance from God, our Heavenly Father, and His son, Jesus Christ. The hope, the faith, that what we do every day WILL make a difference, that it will bring us closer to God, and bring joy and happiness to our family are what keeps us doing all the things we know we should. And knowing that God keeps His promises~ that makes a difference.

We may never know, in this life, the good that we have done. That doesn't mean we should stop doing it. That's all the more reason to continue.

Why/How do you share the gospel with your friends?

I would like for all of my friends to be able to have the opportunity to have their families, whom they love, with them forever. I would like for them to be able to make covenants, or promises, with our Heavenly Father that will bind them together forever. When you have those promises, those binding covenants, even if you loose someone you love in an accident, or to disease, you can overcome the grief because you know you will see them again and have the same relationship with them again. The love you have will never end.

I share the gospel with my friends by having conversations with them as we work or visit together. I invite them to our ward activities where we are doing something that is low key and will help them to see we are just normal people. I volunteer and try to live my life as an example of Christ and I try to be open to any questions that others have. I also post links and comments on Face Book for others to be able to find any information that they want about the church.

Sometimes I have a negative experience where others try to tell me what I believe and don't want to hear what I have to say, but for the most part I have had lovely conversations with people of many different religions. Some just want to ask questions for a better understanding of who we are, and that is wonderful. I am the same way. I like to understand others also. But for those who are really searching the answers can be found here and you will be amazed at what happiness you can have in your life.

How I live my faith

I have been on the PTA board for many years at three different schools. I have chaperoned band and choir trips as well as been on many field trips for young children. I have been a parent on the parent/teacher advisory board and have attended many school board meetings to make my voice heard.
At this time I am working with the youth in our ward - girls ages 12-18- and I love that. I have done it many times before and appreciate this opportunity. They can be a lot of fun. I like doing activities with them inside and outside of class rooms and getting to know them and we learn the gospel together.

It has been fun to shuttle kids back and forth to school and listen to what they say. Sometimes they ask questions about what I think and it is great to be able to be an example of honesty to them and show that I really care about them. It has been fun to share some of our family experiences with them and help them to feel that they too are important.

It is also great to connect with others who are searching for family members and trying to figure out who they are and where they came from in the earthly sense. My youngest daughter and I have taken pictures of headstones for people on find a grave who want some record of a family member. She has worked hard to make a family record and post some of the connections on line. Through both of our efforts we have been able to share vital information with others and have received information in return.

I have made an effort to be an example to my family and to others around us of that things that we should do in our lives, the things our Heavenly Father would have us do, that maybe the world thinks are not important. Doing the things that are good and right, caring about others, has made me feel closer to God and has brought that spirit into our home.
I love volunteering and serving. It makes life worth while. It's a good life.

Can a husband and wife be together forever? Do Mormons believe that families will live together in heaven?

Beth answered...

Husbands and wives CAN be together forever! Through marriage by the proper Priesthood authority husbands and wives can be "sealed" together for now and forever. Then the children that are born to them are bound to them through that Priesthood power.

Converts can also go to the temple and be "sealed" as husband and wife and have their children "sealed" to them also. We will all be able to have association with those we love through all eternity as long as we live a life that is true to the promises we make to God and each other.

(This promise includes all children that have been born to us, even babies, that have been lost. The sealing power makes that loss only temporary.)
Amanda answered...

YES!!! This is one of my favorite parts of the gospel. I believe that my family will live together in heaven. I will know my family as my family members. My husband is my husband for now and for all eternity. My children are my children here on earth and for all eternity. I know that if something happened to one of us that I will see them again. I love this about the church. Before joining, I always had a question about this concept and when taking the discussions from the missionaries this came up. Makes me love the church more and more.

Why do some call Mormonism a cult?

Suzanne answered...

I don't know. Quite honestly when labels are used I think this comes from someone's desire to quickly explain away something that they don't understand. If they really took a hard look at the church it would be easy to tell that Mormons do not blindly follow any human being. I think maybe someone who might use that label could look at the level of commitment and obedience found among the members of this church and casually explain this away as blind obedience. They certainly do not see the personal struggles and the effort that maintaining a personal relationship with God requires. Like most Mormons I think, I do what I do out of devotion and love. It may start out as duty and habit, but as I have come to know God and His mercy and love (the big picture) I can't help but want to keep the commandments. I don't follow a person, I follow God and His Son and they help me every step of the way.