Hi, I'm Lybi

I live in the Sonoran Desert in Arizona. I am a full-time mom and a part-time piano teacher. I'm very happy to be a Mormon.

About Me

I grew up in a rural area of New Mexico where I milked goats twice a day. I got my BS in Human Development from BYU, which is where I met my husband. Together we have lived in Las Vegas, Ann Arbor, and Arizona. We have 3 active little boys and one darling little girl. I am a stay-at-home mom, but I also teach piano lessons and compose music. Some of my favorite things are chocolate, guacamole, reading, yoga, running, singing, and playing piano. Some of the things I detest include canned tuna, internet trolls, public restrooms, and cleaning the shower. As my children get older I am starting to think about going back to school to get a master's degree, but I'm not quite ready just yet.

Why I am a Mormon

My parents are members of the Church, and they did an excellent job of teaching the gospel to me in a loving way. Because they took the time to explain everything to me, the gospel always made sense and I never had a strong desire to rebel against their teachings. However, as a teenager I began to really question what I knew for sure about God--independent of what anyone else thought. I started studying scriptures--the Bible and the Book of Mormon, mainly, with a renewed interest. My prayers became more meaningful and I started to ask God for answers to questions I had about religious things and life in general. The more questions I had, the more the scriptures seemed to speak to me and teach me. I was 17 years old when I had a powerful experience with prayer that left me with no doubt of the reality of Jesus Christ and his extremely important role in my life. It is not that I saw an angel or heard a voice--but it could not have affected me any more strongly if it had been. It was just a feeling, such a very powerful feeling of love and light in my heart and of the presence of God. I have come to recognize this experience as a witness of the Holy Ghost, who testifies of Jesus Christ and of God the Father. I have felt it many times since then, and every time it confirms my faith that there IS a point to our lives here and that we are all very much loved. There is no such thing as a person who does not matter. I have had wonderful experiences sharing the gospel of Jesus Christ with others. I have seen the light of innocence return to the eyes of what had been a cynical and jaded person. I have seen people have the courage and strength to give up addictions that controlled their lives. I love this gospel and the hope that it brings to people who embrace it.

Personal Stories

How can your talents and gifts bless others?

One of the things that has become increasingly apparent to me as I've lived throughout my life is that not every one has the same likes/dislikes/abilities etc. This is a good thing! We are all different, but if we all work together, we have a lot of power to get things done. I have talents in the areas of music and creative stuff in general. But I TOTALLY struggle to manage details and organization. I love to get to know people who have different strengths from me and get help from them. For example, I trade piano lessons for house cleaning. I love it! I get to share something that I love and that helps someone else and I get invaluable help with what I need. It is such a win-win! In the ward the same thing happens. Some people are great at leadership, some are really good at working with little children, some are good teachers, some have awesome ideas for fun activites etc. The amazing thing is that EVERYONE is good at SOMETHING. And if you find out what your talents are and use them to help others, you get a tremendous feeling of satisfaction. And when you are helped by someone else, you are filled with gratitude, so it paves the way for very fulfilling and mutually beneficial relationships.

How does making right choices help us make more right choices?

Sometimes people who are not of my faith are surprised that I am willing to do go without alcohol, coffee, rated-R movies etc. But the truth is that I have no desire for any of those things. What I really want is to feel close to God--that He is really there, and that he loves me. When I live by the principles I believe in, I feel a peace that comes from being authentic. This makes me happy, and I only desire good things. When we seek God and to follow His teachings, we feel His presence more in our lives, and we lose the desire for less-than-wholesome things. His spirit actually purifies our desires, so that it is not a sacrifice at all to do without things that might poison our bodies or our minds.

How I live my faith

On the public side of my faith, I go to church, where I currently teach young women gospel principles. I go visiting teaching--which just means I go see several other women once a month and visit with them and teach a short lesson. I attend the temple on about a bi-weekly basis. Once a quarter or so I attend meetings for women where chocolate is almost always served at some point (yipee!). And I love to go to the ward parties, like the Christmas party, the Halloween party, etc. My boys who are old enough go to boy scouts at the church once a week, and they really enjoy that. Every Monday night our family tries to spend time together doing something fun or teaching the children about something important. The best thing about the public side of practicing my faith is interacting with all the wonderful people in the ward. Everywhere I have lived, all my life, I have had a strong network of people that care about me, and who I know will help me if I need it. And there are great role models in every ward--women with more experience who I can learn from and families who are strong and healthy.

The private side of my faith includes all those behaviors that no one else knows about except for me. I pray morning and night--thanking God for this beautiful earth and the privilege of being alive and being a mother. I pray before I eat my meals, when I am discouraged or upset, and when I feel extra grateful. I try to care for my body by abstaining from alcohol, tobacco, coffee, tea, and drugs. It has been a HUGE blessing in my life to avoid all the complications these addictive substances can cause. I read or listen to some scriptures every day. I LOVE to read about Jesus' life in the New Testament. I pay tithing, which is 10% of my earnings, and donate to causes through the church. The most important thing I do to live my faith is to try to treat people with kindness and respect and give love to those who need it.

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?

Kara answered...

Women don't hold the priesthood in the church, as this is a teaching that has come from Jesus Christ. However, women have such a significant role to play in the church that personally I have never felt that this is an issue I am concerned with or even think about. My husband and I are equal partners in our family, and the church has such respect and reverence for women and their role in the world. Women in the church also belong to what is called the 'Relief Society' it is one of the largest women's organisation in the world, and fills me with such a desire to serve and do good that when we meet together wherever I am in the world I feel so proud to be apart of it.
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.

Do you really believe there is a prophet like Moses alive today?

Rhodes answered...

I don't know of anyone that compares to Moses in individual character, but I have heard of many men with faith just as Moses's. Take a look at the words of the Prophets that have previously been chief-apostle of this church, their wonderful biographies and their 'good fruits.' These are men with such faith in God that they are willing to fully devote all their time and effort to proclaim His gospel, and to labor as his servants in this work.

God is the same yesterday, today and forever. God loved his children enough in the past to give them a prophet to guide them throughout their journey's. Would God love us less in these days when the journey's are so much more difficult? My answer I really Do believe that God loves us the same today, that there really is a prophet today who receives revelation from God to guide us throughout our struggles. And what a blessing this is!