Hi, I'm Jane

I'm simple. I'm happy. I'm a Mormon.

About Me

I thought I wanted to be a storekeeper when I was eight. The thought of bubblegum and candy any time sounded like the best job in the world. Then I decided I wanted to be a schoolteacher so I could go to school every day for the rest of my life. Only briefly did I consider being a lawyer. The idea of arguing a point I believed in and getting paid for it sounded much easier than being one of ten children trying to get my voice heard at the dinner table.

But the job I ultimately chose was that of being a wife, mom, and homemaker. My children and husband mean the world to me, and I love making a home that feels good. Most of my talents and interests lie in that field. My husband and I grow a large garden and raise chickens, and I enjoy making and baking things to make our home comfortable. I also enjoy walking, swimming, reading biographies, and eating popcorn. But the thing I like best is spending time and doing activities (hiking, biking, traveling, visiting, working) with my family.

Why I am a Mormon

Because it makes me happy. Because it brings me peace. Because it helps me to make sense of things. Because it helps me understand truth.

I was raised as a Mormon, but I still had to become converted on my own to be able to continue to live its teachings. I remember when I was about fourteen years old. I wanted to know for myself if the teachings I'd been raised with were true. I began to read the scriptures on a daily basis hoping I would learn more. I was surprised how that simple little habit could give me such a lift for an entire day. Through reading the scriptures, the doors were opened and by adding prayer, I could learn for myself what was true. I came to know that Jesus Christ is our Savior and the Son of God. I quickly learned that the Lord has always spoken to prophets and continues that method of guiding us today. I learned that The Book of Mormon is scripture and that I was lucky to have its teachings while I was a teenager. I also came to know that Joseph Smith is a prophet of God that restored the Gospel to the earth.

One day my faith was challenged. Deeply. I remember praying and asking our Father in Heaven to help me make sense of things. One day while at church, I was singing a song with a group of young women. The song talked about Joseph Smith. As I sang the lines to the song, this question came to my mind, "Jane, do you believe Joseph saw what he said he saw?" I silently answered, "Yes, I do. I know he saw what he said he saw" and the response was, "Then go back to that basic truth and hang on to it until the rest of things make sense."

That quiet prompting from the Holy Ghost not only sustained me through that difficult time (and yes, things eventually made sense), but has also sustained me many times. Because I have a testimony that Jesus Christ lives and that the prophets and scriptures will lead us to Him, and that our Father in Heaven and Jesus Christ appeared to Joseph Smith and caused the Gospel to be restored in these latter days, I have something strong and sure to hang onto when things aren't perfectly clear in life.

Personal Stories

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

This summer while our son, who serves in the army, was deployed overseas, our daughter-in-law came to live with us. They were excitedly expecting their first child, our first grandchild. Soon after our son left, an ultra-sound revealed that their little expected baby had serious problems and was not expected to live long. When our son heard the news, this is what he wrote:

"I was crushed when I heard the news about Clara. It broke my heart to know that she won't be the perfect little girl we had hoped for. I cry every time I think that we aren't going to get to hold our little girl more than a day or two. I'm never going to see her mother rock and sing her to sleep. It hurts so much to know that she's never going to grow up and play with dolls. She's never going to go to school. She's never going to play any sports. She's never going to go on a date. She's never going to do hair and makeup with her mom. It kills me to think of all the things my little girl is never going to get to do. I hate that we don't get to plan for things like clothes to buy, toys to buy, how to paint her room, taking her outside to play...instead we have to plan on where to bury our baby, what kind of casket to get, what type of headstone. This was not at all what we had hoped and dreamed for. Last night I broke down and bawled for 15 minutes when I thought of everything we couldn't do with Clara and all the things we were going to have to do instead. These past few days have been the worst days of my life. However, I have learned a lot in the past few days. Heavenly Father has also done a lot to comfort me. Although I'm immeasurably saddened by this, I've felt peace throughout it. I know that we will have the opportunity to someday raise Clara. She'll have a perfect body and won't have any problems. I can't wait to see my wife hold our little girl without all the heartache of letting her go. I know that the resurrection is real. Last night . . . I was pleading with Heavenly Father because I hurt so much. I know that through the Atonement, Christ has made it possible for us to all be together again. I'm so grateful that he suffered so much pain and anguish to be able to comfort us and ease our pain. I'm grateful that we were sealed in the temple and that Clara will always be ours. I don't know how I'd make it through this if I thought she was gone forever. I've felt at peace throughout all this that everything is happening exactly as the Lord planned it. I'm grateful that we received such a special girl. This has been a hard experience, but I wouldn't trade it and I wouldn't trade Clara for any other baby. I know that Heavenly Father loves us and is mindful of us."

Clara lived for only fifty minutes. As our daughter-in-law saw her struggling for breath, she quietly whispered to her, “Go Clara. You did what you needed to do. Everything is okay. You can go now.” Clara quietly slipped away. For the next several hours we marveled at the miracle we had just been a part of. Not only was it the miracle of life, not only was it the miracle of Clara breathing with very little developed lung tissue, but it was the miracle of death, and the miracle of angels in attendance to minister to the needs of the living as well as the passing. It was a sacred event.

Our knowledge that our Father in Heaven has a plan of happiness, a plan where there is life before this earth and life after this earth, has brought us immeasurable peace and hope. Knowing that earth life is but a piece of a larger plan helps us want to choose wisely while on this earth.

How I live my faith

Every school day my job is to teach teenagers about the gospel of Jesus Christ. One year we study the Old Testament and Christ's dealings anciently. Another year we study the New Testament and about His earthly birth and ministry. Another year we study The Book of Mormon which is another testament of Jesus Christ and His dealings with the people of the American continent. Finally, one year we study about the Restoration of the Gospel to the earth in these days and when our Heavenly Father and Jesus Christ appeared to Joseph Smith.

The thing I love most about my job is seeing how the truth of the restored Gospel applied in the lives of my students help them live happy and successful lives.

How can we increase our faith in Jesus Christ?

Jane answered...

Our daughter had such incredible faith as a child: when her turtle wandered away and was lost she knew if we prayed it would be found, when she lost an heirloom ring she knew the Lord would help her find it. And, He always did. I wanted to be like her. I wanted that kind of faith. I wanted to know that the Lord was mindful of me and would help me to solve problems and succeed. But, up to that point in my life it seemed that my faith grew most when it was tested. I wasn't crazy about purposely asking for more challenges in life just so that my faith could grow. I was afraid that one day my faith might fail me and not carry me through the test.

One day I was reading in the bible dictionary of the LDS edition of the scriptures and it said that faith can grow through obedience. I found such encouragement and hope through that statement. I knew deep down in that it was true, I had simply overlooked the simpleness of that truth thinking faith was so much more complex. I was relieved to know that faith can be strengthened by purely following the Savior. I didn't have to wait for tragedy or opposition to build my faith, I could build it every day of my life by following the Savior's example: by reading the scriptures, praying, serving my fellowman, being a good wife and mother. Then, when the trials, tragedies, successes, and joys of life came, my faith would sustain me through them.
Brian answered...

Faith in Jesus Christ doesn't just happen. You have to work for it. I discovered my faith increasing when I decided to study the scriptures for a minimum of 30 minutes a day. Doing so has allowed me to understand the doctrines of the gospel on a deeper level. Scripture study coupled with daily personal prayer where I really try to converse with my Father in heaven, and seek to know His will concerning me, rather than give him a list of my wants and needs and ask him to grant them as if he was my personal butler. The best way I have found is to seek to do as Jesus did. Be friendly with everyone I meet. Go the extra mile and help people beyond what is expected. Avoid judging people and try to find the good in people, rather than dwell on their weaknesses. I've found that seeking to do God's will and striving to live like Jesus Christ taught us to live, has not deprived me of anything, rather by doing things Heavenly Father's way has freed me and brought me more happiness than trying to do it my own way.

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.