Hi, I'm Samantha

I was not raised in the LDS faith, but I joined at age 19. I'm a Mormon.

About Me

My most significant role at the moment is as a stay-at-home-mother, but I am more than that. Before starting our family, I completed my BA with a double major in English and Journalism. I enjoy yoga, reading, and exploring nature. I have a pottery wheel and kiln at home, and I produce and sell handmade pottery locally.

My husband completed his BS in Electrical Engineering then went on to Medical school. He is currently a second-year resident entering the field of Physical Medicine & Rehabilitation. With three children ages 7 and younger, and another on the way, we stay busy and we have a lot of fun!

Why I am a Mormon

I joined the LDS Church 12 years ago, when I was 19 years old. I was not raised in a religious environment and had observed the hypocrisy of many who professed to be faithful people. Growing up in the Southern US, it seemed there were many eager to condemn others for believing differently than they did, whereas I had been raised to respect everyone regardless of their beliefs and to regard religion as a very personal matter. As a result, I had grown to mistrust organized religion, and while I realized that there were many self-proclaimed "Christians" who did truly believe and live according to their faith, I felt that Christianity was not for me.

Then I started dating my best friend from high school, who is now my husband. At the time when we started dating, he happened to be meeting with some LDS missionaries, and he introduced me to them. The message they shared made sense to me, and there were several key points that appealed to me even before I prayed for a personal spiritual confirmation. I liked that they didn't teach "fire and brimstone" and endless torment for those not of their faith, that they believed everyone would have an opportunity to hear the Gospel and choose for themselves. I also appreciated the respect they had for those of other cultures.

After meeting with the missionaries for 8 months and studying the Book of Mormon, I prayed about whether to join the church. I knew my parents would be bewildered that I would choose such a lifestyle-altering faith, and I wondered how my friends would react, as well as my fiance. However, I received an answer that this was right and I set my date for baptism.

My fiance was baptized 3 weeks later, and now we have a wonderful life together. I have never regretted my decision to join the LDS church.

Personal Stories

Why do Mormons do family history or genealogy work?

Members of our faith place great importance on the family, not only as the fundamental unit of society, but also as a divine gift. We believe that through the sealing ordinance, performed only in LDS Temples, we can be sealed to our families and live with them even after our mortal life has ended.

We research our ancestors not only to learn more about our personal heritage, but also so that we can take their names to the Temple and be sealed to them, linking generations for eternity.

How I live my faith

I live my faith each day by trying to set a good example for my children and teaching them about the kind of life Christ wants us to live. I dress modestly, I strive to live with integrity, and I attend church meetings regularly. In our local congregation, I serve in the Young Women's program, and I am specifically responsible for teaching the 12- and13-year-old girls.

Service is a fundamental principle of Christ's teaching, and it is something that has always been important to me. In high school I enjoyed volunteering in the community. Now, as a mother, I am passing that passion on to my children. We volunteer one day a week stocking shelves at the local food pantry. For each of my children's birthdays, we ask friends to bring an item to donate to a specific charity rather than a gift. My children look forward to choosing which charity to help and taking the items in after the party is over. My 7-year-old daughter has decided to start collecting pop tabs from soda cans to donate to the local Ronald McDonald house, and she has our family and friends saving theirs as well.

We are teaching our children to take care of the earth that our Heavenly Father has given us. We pick up litter at local parks and around town when we see it, and we explore and appreciate nature.

How can we come to know our Father in Heaven?

Samantha answered...

I know that we have a loving Heavenly Father who wants us to return to live with Him. I have come to know this and build a relationship with him through study of the scriptures and through prayer. In my times of despair and trial, I have prayed to him and received comfort and powerful answers that I cannot deny. I believe that He is eager to show His love to us if we will just reach out to Him in sincerity and hope.
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Britta answered...

I have come to know our Father in Heaven through private prayer and service. As I pray and receive answers through impressions and feelings, I am able to assist in His work. At other times, I have been comforted at the times when I needed it most by a very real presence. I feel His love as I serve others and I can feel His love for them.

Why don’t women hold the priesthood in The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints? How do Mormon women lead in the Church?

Leeny answered...

This is a question I had to really consider before joining the Church. My mother is a non-denominational chaplain, and both my sisters are pastors. Female leadership in church settings is very important to my family.

It is to me as well. I think many people become offended when they learn that only men hold the priesthood because they misunderstand it. The priesthood is a tool given to men in order that they might serve others more. It does not in any way give them power or dominion over women. Those people who suppose the priesthood is a way to control others are deeply mistaken.

My husband is a priesthood holder, this means I am too. I have claim on my husband's priesthood power. Even more than he does. If I am sick, discouraged, or in need of help I can call upon my husband to give me a blessing through the priesthood that he holds. I then recieve many blessings because of my husband's worthiness to work in behalf of Christ. My husband is never able to give himself a blessing though. If he is sick or discouraged he must call on other priesthood holders to administer to him. My husband holds the priesthood so that he can bless me and our child - never himself.

The priesthood is the power of Christ on the earth. It allows those who hold it to serve their families in the same way Christ served the Church. Did Christ do any deed for himself during his earthly ministry? No. Christ spent all his energy serving the people. This is what the priesthood does for my husband. It infuses him with Christ's compassion and ability to love, and then my husband is able to use that celestial love in our family.

Why don't women also recieve this special gift then? The simple answer is women don't need it. As women we are innately endowed with compassion, selflessness, and love. Think about the way a mother loves her child. I believe there is nothing more pure and similar to Christ's love for us, than a mother's love for her children. Women naturally have the ability to love as Christ does.

In an ideal situation, which is what God always intended for us, there are two partners in marriage. There is the husband and father, a priesthood leader who can be called upon to administer blessings and serve in Christ's name. And there is also the wife and mother, who is blessed with the ability to love as Christ loves and sacrifice for her family. These are two seperate and divinely appointed roles. Each complementing the other. Both make a complete home.

Women do not hold the priesthood because they do not need it. Women have other God-given powers that raise them up to the task they are called to. A man is appointed to serve his wife and children - it is the power of the priesthood that enables him to do this.

I am grateful to have a husband who is worhty to use the priesthood in my behalf. It has blessed me many times and I know that it is a special gift from God - not only to my husband, but to me as well.