Hi, I'm Sara

I'm a work-at-home mom of four beautiful children. I grew up and still live in Utah. I'm blessed to be a Mormon.

About Me

I'm a business coach and work a bit at home while balancing the needs of four young children. I'm married to a wonderful man who is the greatest daddy - and we met online when it was still weird. Music has been a huge part of my life: piano, singing, percussion, handbells, and I have tried to learn the guitar...

Why I am a Mormon

The simplest answer might be that I was born Mormon, but that doesn't necessarily explain why I choose for it to be such a big part of my life now. I love my Savior, and I'm so grateful for the peace that Christ gives me in my daily struggles as well as the larger and more painful things. Being a Mormon helps me be a better person and definitely helps me be a better Mom. When I became a missionary and was preparing to head to Japan, I was told in a blessing that the experience would help me be a better mother, and although I always need to improve, I know it's helped me teach my kids and help them feel Christ's love through me.

I think my faith provides a real anchor for me. I'm clear about what I need to do to experience true joy in my life and can avoid many of the storms of life that would be of my own making. Looking back on my growing up years, and especially as a teenager and young adult, I know that being Mormon gave me specific standards that allowed me to grow and express myself with a real clarity of purpose.

Personal Stories

Which of the Savior’s teachings have influenced you in your life?

I'm grateful for all of the teachings of the Savior, but in particular I've been thinking recently about the importance of forgiving others and forgiving myself. The Savior is willing to take that burden, so there's no need to continue to hold it. He took upon Himself our sorrows as well as our sins, so we can truly experience peace and joy when we finally let go of them. Merrill J. Bateman once said, "The Savior's atonement in the garden and on the cross is intimate as well as infinite." That's has stuck with me. His atonement is intimate because He knows exactly what I'm going through - He's experienced it Himself.

How can your talents and gifts bless others?

I've had a great opportunity to share my musical talents to bless the lives of others - when I am singing or playing and can see people smiling and feeling the spirit of the song, that's the greatest.

One talent I didn't really know I had when I was younger was the ability to teach so that others can understand and feel encouraged to apply what they're learning. I've seen that develop over time, and I've been really grateful for the opportunities I've had to serve and teach in the church. It's definitely helped me in my profession as well.

Please share your feelings/testimony of Joseph Smith.

I love Joseph Smith - the experiences that he had in his life were truly amazing and have the capacity to bring us all closer to our Savior and to our Heavenly Father if we learn from them. I am grateful that he, at such a young age, was concerned about the things of the spirit enough to ask Heavenly Father in faith which of the churches were right, believing that he would receive an answer. The answer was bigger than he could have imagined: the restoration of the Church that Christ organized during his earthly ministry. It must have been overwhelming as he realized his role in that restoration, yet he never wavered in his commitment to keep learning, keep asking in faith, keep doing what was asked of him. We have a tangible gift from Joseph Smith that we can read every day: the translation of The Book of Mormon, which contains beautiful truths about Christ and His gospel.

How I live my faith

The way I describe my mission in life is "to be a light." Light means so many things to me: sharing a heart-to-heart connection with someone, sharing feelings of love, peace, and even fun, being an example of faith and hope, goodness, and following Christ. I don't often have opportunities to talk openly about my faith with others, but I love it when I can share what I believe and how the gospel has blessed my life.

Sometimes it's difficult to lift my head up from my personal and family concerns - all that busy-ness! - so that I can see what others need and work to fill that need. Serving in the church has really helped me to get better at that. Right now, I work to coordinate service efforts by the women in our area when a family or individual needs something. For example, organizing a funeral meal, lining up childcare or meals when someone has been ill or in the hospital, welcoming home parents of new babies, and so on. I also direct the choir, and we practice weekly and prepare a special inspirational number to perform in our church services about once a month.

One of the coolest things about being a part of the church is the opportunity to serve in so many different ways. Nearly always an invitation to serve stretches me and gets me out of my comfort zone, but leads to wonderful relationships or developing a talent or a deeper understanding of the gospel and the truthfulness of it.

Why are Mormons asked to donate 10% of their income to their Church?

Sara answered...

I've noticed that when people are invested in something, they really care about its welfare. They're more committed. Practically speaking, when everyone is doing their part and giving their share, it relieves a big burden from local leaders of the church who might otherwise worry where operating expenses would come from and have to spend a lot of time and energy on fundraising efforts. There's no comparing or competing either - everyone gives their fair share - and that builds unity among church members.

There's more to it than that, however. The Lord has promised us spiritual and temporal blessings when we give a tithe. It's a principle of faith - my husband and I made the decision from the beginning of our relationship that we would continue to pay our tithing even when times are tight. We know that the Lord will bless us - "open the windows of heaven," like it says in the Bible - and help us make things work financially. And we've never not been able to pay our bills or provide for ourselves, even when we weren't sure how we would do it. Spiritually, it's helped us feel closer to the Lord and more like a team in our marriage and has given us peace in the midst of challenging times.
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Kristen answered...

This is nothing new, nor is it exclusive to the Judeo-Christian tradition. Many faiths practice alms or a tithe, including Islam and Sikhism.

A voluntary religious contribution of 10% is a tithe or tithing. This type of offering is mentioned many times in the both the Old and New Testaments of the Bible. In the book of Genesis, chapter 28 verse 22, the ancient patriarch Jacob covenanted with the Lord, "and of all that thou shalt give me I will surely give the tenth unto thee."

Everything we have, our lives, the earth and everything in it, have been given freely to us by a loving Father in Heaven. He asks only a small portion in return to help build his kingdom on the earth.

When my husband and I were first married, we decided to make paying a 10% tithe a top financial priority, and it has been a great blessing to us through the years. In Malachi, chapter 3 verse 10 it states, "Bring yea ll the tithes into the storehouse, that there may be meat in mine house, and prove me now herewith, saith the Lord of hosts, if I will not open you thei windows of heaven, and pour you out a blessing, that there shall not be room enough to receive it." This has certainly been the case with us.

I realize that 10% of one's income can seem like a large sacrifice. However, when the law of the tithe is kept, it serves as a portal through which great blessings (both tangible and intangible) can flow. The Lord always finds a way to bless those who do what He asks them to do.

How can I find someone to talk with, in person, about the Mormon religion?

Taylor answered...

A. You could go to a mormon.org profile from someone in your area that has a facebook link, and locate them that way!
B. You could go to the link on mormon.org that says "request the missionaries"
C. You could go to the link that says " Find a Church" and come visit us. We all would be more than happy to meet you to and explain why this message is so important for all of us.