Hi, I'm Elaine.

I'm a homeschooling, adoptive mother of 5. I'm a Mormon.

About Me

I am 36 years old and have been attending the LDS church since I was 5 years old, when my parents were converted. I have been married to my husband, Sean, for 16 years and we have 4 daughters and 1 son. Our first 4 children came to us through the blessing of adoption, and adoption is one of my passions. I love parenting, photography, reading, writing, all-things-outdoors, and learning new things. We are a very active family and we spend much of our free time camping, running, swimming, biking - yes, I am a newbie triathlete - hiking, mountain biking and anything else involving a little bit of exertion. I homeschool my three oldest daughters, and chase the 2 younger ones around.

Why I am a Mormon

My parents were converted when I was 5. They taught me gospel principles and led with an example that I wanted to follow. When I was baptized at the age of 8, I felt God teaching me about His Truth. That experience has brought me through difficulties and I have spent my life searching for more truth as I understand it. I have studied the Book of Mormon, along with other religious books, and have come to know, for myself, that Joseph Smith was a true prophet of God, that there are living prophets on the earth today, and that we can draw closer to God through obedience to His laws. The Mormon religion contains the truth I need to return to live with my Father in Heaven.

Personal Stories

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

Everything in my life has meaning because of the knowledge I have of the Plan of Happiness. Each trial, each failure, each success, each joy is deepened and has great purpose because I believe that a loving God in heaven knows me best and knows what I personally need for growth. I know who I am, where I came from, and why I was sent here. I know what happens next in the grand scheme of things, and that brings me a lot of peace.

How has The Book of Mormon helped you understand the purpose of life?

There is power in the Book of Mormon. From it I've found answers to many questions.

During one of the most trying times of my life I turned to the Book of Mormon seeking help. I read Mosiah 24: 13-15 "And it came to pass that the voice of the Lord came to them in their afflictions, saying: Lift up your heads and be of good comfort, for I know of the covenant which ye have made unto me; and I will covenant with my people and deliver them out of bondage...I will also ease the burdens which are put upon your shoulders, that even you cannot feel them upon your backs, even while ye are in bondage; and this will I do that ye may stand as witnesses for me hereafter, and that ye may know of a surety that I, the Lord God, do visit my people in their afflictions. And now it came to pass that the burdens which were laid upon Alma and his brethren were made light; yea, the Lord did strengthen them that they could bear up their burdens with ease, and they did submit cheerfully to all the will of the Lord."

From that scripture came feelings of comfort and hope. I knew that God loved me, and I believed what He said - that He would either deliver me or make me strong enough to bear the burdens that I was struggling under. I know that our lives were not meant to be easy, in fact, we are meant to struggle. Mosiah 28:18 teaches us that there is a purpose in sorrow. It says, "...it [sorrow] gave them much knowledge, in the which they did rejoice."

Without adversity, we could not fully appreciate the joys of life. Without sorrow, we could not know happiness. Opposition is necessary (2 Nephi 2:11).

3 Nephi 11:14 is Christ speaking to the Nephite people. He says, "Yea, verily I say unto you, if ye will come unto me ye shall have eternal life. Behold, mine arm of mercy is extended towards you, and whosever will come, him will I receive; and blessed are those who come unto me."

The purpose of life is to experience opposition, and then choose God. If do this, we will be blessed.

How I live my faith

I wake up every day seeking to be the best person I can be. I am far from who I hope to become, but I am trying hard and working diligently on being more like my Savior, Jesus Christ. I love serving my family, friends and my ward congregation. I'm especially passionate about teaching and learning from the youth and children of my community. I teach the 8 to 11 year old girls and the women of my congregation and I am involved in a small local homeschooling group where every parent teaches and adds to the success of the group. I do all of these things because I believe I have something great to offer and that I can make a difference for good in this little part of the world.

What do Mormons believe about family?

Elaine. answered...

Mormons believe that families can be together forever. "The family is central to the Creator's plan for the eternal destiny of His children" is one sentence in The Family: A Proclamation to the World. The main purpose of our mortal existence is to create families, and then learn to live in harmony with each other by building upon the teachings of Jesus Christ. Our familial relationships, which, ultimately, extend to all mankind, give us opportunities to become like our Father in Heaven. This is hard, and so we depend on our Savior, and the gift of repentance, to help us as we make changes in our lives and try to overcome our weaknesses.
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Bradley. answered...

The family is a key component to support us in God's plan for gaining immortality and eternal life. All of God's children (all the inhabitants that lived, are living, and will live on Earth) are inseperably connected to each other, both (physically) by our Earthly families and (spiritually) by our Heavenly Father.

Families help us to understand our divine heritage. In this, life takes on purpose and meaning. Our immortal spirits were created by our Heavenly Father before Earthly existance, and we are directly connected to Him in this way. As a spiritual family, our collective purpose on Earth is to follow the commandments of God that lead us to live in heaven with Him again.

Our spirits need to progress, learn, and grow. In order to achieve that, Earthly existance was created as our test. Our Heavenly Father knew that being exposed to opposing forces on Earth was the only way for us to gain knowledge and wisdom.

However, we will not always choose righteousness, and so our Savior, Jesus Christ, is that great mediator to pay the debt of our mistakes. He is the only way by which we can be saved from our sins and transgressions. He is the ultimate example by which direction we need to live our lives. With the support of our earthly kin, we can learn from each other, serve each other, and strengthen our mortal weaknesses by being disciples of Christ. Our families are a gift from God, and we can be together forever.

What is The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints' attitude regarding homosexuality and same sex marriage?

Ryan answered...

To have feelings of attraction for members of the same sex is not a sin. Acting upon those inclinations is. We all are tempted with things that will draw us away from God's plan of happiness if we act upon them. The choice is ours whether to act upon those inclinations or not.

God's plan for us involves the family unit as the primary building block of our interactions with our fellow human beings. Anything that disrupts the healthy creation of those building blocks will frustrate our happiness in this life and in the life to come.