Hi, I'm Emily

I grew up in the mid-west. I love being outdoors, running, baking, art, and being a mom.

About Me

I'm a wife and a mother. I love finding and creating beauty in the world around me--from a family hike enjoying nature to cooking a wonderful meal for loved ones.

Why I am a Mormon

I am Mormon because as a teenager I prayed and received a personal witness of the gospel. In my everyday life there are small tender mercies showing the Lord's hand in my life--renewing that faith and testimony.

Personal Stories

Please share your feelings/testimony of Joseph Smith.

As a teenager I was trying to learn for myself if the Mormon church was true. I had read the Book of Mormon and received an answer to my prayer that it was indeed true. However I also sought for a separate witness of the reality and divinity of Joseph Smith as a true prophet. I was on a trip with some of friends to visit Carthage Jail in Illinois. The very place where Joseph Smith was martyred. When I went into that historic building, I felt something beyond just history. Later as a missionary testified of the Joseph Smith I was overcome with the Spirit. My countless prayers were at that moment being answered with an overwhelming witness that indeed Joseph Smith was a prophet of God who restored The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints to the Earth for our day.

How has your knowledge of the Plan of Happiness changed/benefited your life?

The Plan of Happiness gives me so much peace, especially at times in my life when I've had to make major decisions--work, college, moving, marriage, children, etc. To know that there is a plan for me to personally make it back to live with my God is amazing. That perspective helps me make sound decisions that keep me on the path back to my heavenly home. Also, it allows me to take a choice to Him in prayer and know that He will guide me on the right path.

What are you doing to help strengthen your family and make it successful?

We pray together daily. We study the scriptures each night. Also once a week we have Family Home Evening. Tonight we just had our Family Home Evening--every Monday we gather together, sing songs, pray, and as parents teach a lesson on living as Christ would have us live to our children. Tonight we sang a song about families, kneeled in prayer (even the 1 year old!). Then we had a short a lesson on why we have rules (like "look both ways before you cross the street") and why Heavenly Father has given us commandments. My husband taught that rules and commandments are there because your parents/God love you and want you to be happy and safe. Then we made a Halloween gingerbread house together and decorated it with candy. These regular opportunities allow us as parents to really raise our two girls with the standards and values they will need to be truly happy in this life and the next.

How I live my faith

I am very active with our ward community as the leader of the women's organization. It's amazing how I can feel the Lord's love for each of these amazing women as I try to serve them as He would.

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?

Emily answered...

As a women, we don't need to! Women have an innate spirituality already divinely bestowed upon them. They follow the Spirit in their lives as they serve in the church. Women lead in the women's organization, over the children's classes, and teenage girl classes and activities. They also play a critical and active role in the regular councils with local church leaders. Activities, meals, funerals, speaking assignments, service projects, etc are all organized and carried out by women.
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Cynthia answered...

Family is very important in the church for more reasons than can be explained here. Holding the priesthood is just one of these reasons. Husbands act and bless their family with their priesthood, but wives benefit and honor the priesthood through their husbands. It is a symbiotic relationship. As I have participated in the church in various activities I have come to understand my importance as a woman in the church. There cannot be one without the other.

Are there restrictions based on race or color concerning who can join The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints and have the priesthood?

Craig answered...

There are no restrictions. Any such practices have been done away with and all the blessings of the gospel are available to any individual who chooses to follow Christ. This is something I have studied and prayed as I have wanted to know for certain that equality is taught in this church. I have come to know for myself that it is. There is a rich history in the church of black and African membership and there are efforts to celebrate this and other cultural diversity.