How I live my faith

One of the things I value most about my husband--aside from his infectious love of science and basketball--is his absolute, rock-solid commitment to living the Gospel of Jesus Christ. The Church has been a central part of our marriage from the beginning, and it continues to bless our family as we now have children. We try to live our religion every day, even when things get crazy. Before he leaves for work, we have "Scripture Time" and read a few verses with our daughters, then we say a family prayer. My toddler thinks it's great fun to start yelling as soon as we bow our heads--but hopefully the principle of reverence will sink in some day. We pray before meals, I sing my babies Church songs before their naps, we pray before bedtime. My favorite time of day is when the house is quiet and peaceful at night, and my husband and I sink into our couch and read our scriptures. Sometimes I fall asleep out of sheer exhaustion after only a few verses, but however long it lasts, I love the spirit of contemplation and gratitude that fills our home at those times.

Aside from these day-to-day patterns of family life, we both serve in our local congregation. I teach the women of our congregation once a month, and my husband volunteers with the Boy Scout troop affiliated with the Church in our area. We both sing in the choir, and our little toddler joins in enthusiastically (even when the music is over). There are so many blessings that come from a close community of Church members--automatic friends whenever we move someplace new, willing babysitters whenever I need to run to the doctor's office, wonderful examples to learn from and look up to. Being a member of the Church isn't just something that happens on Sunday--it's something that blesses our family's life throughout the whole week.