Hi, I'm Mary

I'm a convert to the church, a wife, a mother, a swimmer, a book nerd, and I'm a mormon.

About Me

After 6 years of being unable to concieve my husband and I decided to start the adoption process. A year later we were chosen by a wonderful birthmother and here we are now a happy family of three hoping to adopt again. I'm pretty much obessed with reading! I don't know if reading too much is considered a bad habit and if it is then I have it. Right now I can't see to get my hands on enough parenting and adoption books. Not to mention my love for reading classics and another very bad habit of buying book after book to add to our family collection. It may be my love of learning mixed with some ADHD but I'm constantly moving from one hobby to the next. I play several intruments, learned to sew, do geneology, have list after list of "goals", I love to swim, and am trying to perfect my cooking skills, not to mention that I have no green thumb and I'm fearsly wish I could take a gardening class. For the last couple of years I have be lucky enough to be a photographer and work with many local photographers in the wedding industry. I've recently learned about Montessori practices and have been getting my hands on to as many books as I can and have been doing a lot of house changes to accomidate those meathods. My dream is to own a large peice of land where I have my own orchard and large garden with chickens and maybe even a cow? It's my way of making my own little coutnry life in the city I live.

Why I am a Mormon

I joined The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints when I was 13 years old. Prior to that my religious background consisted of irregular visits to church with my aunt. When I was in 6th grade a met a girl who was the complete opposite of me and somehow we became friends. She was a mormon and I wasn't really sure what that was until she started inviting me to church with her. It was here that I met the missionaries and started learning about the church. It was on their third visit that I was asked to read some chapters in the Book of Mormon and to pray about them and to find out for myself if The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints was true. That night I read every chapter they asked of me and the next morning walked to a near by dock to pray. I sat there not really sure what to do and then I had a thought to ask if I should join this church. As I pondered this thought in my mind I heard a clear distinct voice (the spirit) tell me I must join this church and I felt this warm feeling inside me - often referred to as a burning in one's busom and I knew from that moment on that I was to join the church. I had been to "church" before - I had seen the laying on of hands and had participated in it - but this was the first time that I had truly felt something and the first time I had a clear understanding of where I should be. I have now been a member for 15 years and I thank God that I have been so blessed to know that my life has a purpose and where I will go once this life is over. It has given me direction and peace in a world full of termiol. Through the principles of the church I have truley come to know my Savior and have felt Him in my life when I seek Him out and live His teachings.

Personal Stories

In what ways have your prayers been answered?

When my husband and I were going through the adoption process there were many nights I would plead with God to bless us with a child as soon as possible. I really struggled with finding peace because I worried so much about being contacted by a birth mother. It wasn't until I had a friendly yet harsh email from our caseworker telling me I needed to move on with my life and stop worrying. At that moment I decided she was right and I told God that I was turning over all my worries to Him and I was going to start doing things now instead of waiting to do them when the baby came. It was the first time I truly understood what it meant to turn my burden over to God and where I had completely let go. I kid you not - an hour later I got an email from an expectant mother and now we are blessed with a beautiful little boy! God answers prayers, but sometimes we have to learn something first before he can answer them - for me I learned to put all my trust in Him and His plan for me.

How I live my faith

I realize that I need revelation for myself every single day! Especially now that I have children through the blessing of adoption. I realized that I have to teach my children about their adoption story and I have to trust that God will help me do this because he knows my children better then I do and I need to rely on His counsel to me so I can help teach them and raise them as they go through life and it's challenges. In order to hear God's words to me I must be seeking them out through the scriptures and praying for His help to see what it is He would have me do. I am also learning that service is an essential aspect of God that I need to implement in my life. I have tried to reach out to my neighbors by inviting them over for games and dinner as well as making dinner for people who are moving or having children. Recently I've decided to write letters to thank others for their service to me and striving to be more grateful for what I have instead of focusing on what is lacking.

What is the Mormon lifestyle like? How do Mormons live?

Mary answered...

I am often told I'm being "sheltered" by living a Mormon life style, but I've lived a life outside of the church and I can plainly see and feel how much happier I am when I live according to God's laws and ways instead of my own and the worlds. We are commanded to become like Christ and the best way I've seen that is by striving to learn and live His ways through reading the scriptures, praying for help, serving others, and following the counselor of our church leaders. When we keep our minds and bodies free from the things that would hinder us in becoming like Him we can feel closer to Him. I know that when I am living close to the Lord is when I'm happiest in my life.
Serge answered...

Family is everything to us. Our family spends lots of our free time together because we like each other. Life gets crazy with teenagers, dance practice, after school academic decathlon, usually with a toddler in tow, but no matter what, every Monday night is Family Night.

The kids know that every Monday we spend time together and nothing gets in the way of it. It's our commitment to each other. We bake cookies, have lessons about the Savior, work on personal goals, go to the park, go geocaching, play board games or just go out for ice cream.

We do lots of things together. The point is that at least once a week we spend an hour or two together, just for the sake of being together, just because we love being together as a family. It's not as perfect as it may sound, with all the poking and "she's in my spot," and all the other crazy things family members do to each other when scrambling for a spot in the living room, but we try real hard. It takes effort to make sure we don't miss, but it's worth it.

I'm not sure the kids will remember all the games we played, the places we went or what we did, but I hope they always remember that we loved each other enough to dedicate one night a week to be with each other. And that we spent every Monday night together for as many Mondays as they can remember because family is everything to us, and every member of our family is important.

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?

Todd answered...

No. There have never been any race-related restrictions on who joins the church. People of all races and colors have been baptized from the beginning.

However, for a period of time priesthood ordinations in the Church were restricted - This policy was officially changed in 1978 when Official Declaration declared that “every faithful, worthy man in the Church may receive the holy priesthood, with power to exercise its divine authority, and enjoy with his loved ones every blessing that flows therefrom, including the blessings of the temple. Accordingly, all worthy male members of the Church may be ordained to the priesthood without regard for race or color.”