Hi, I'm Tana

My father died of leukemia when I was 10 yrs. old. I ran my first marathon when I was 55 yrs. old. I'm a Mormon.

About Me

Our life experiences contribute to the individuals we become. My Father's death at an early age, I believe has contributed to my tendency to work hard and look mostly to myself to problem solve. Those are good things. However, I believe that it has also made me slower to invest myself in close relationships for fear of losing someone I love. It's a life-long work to overcome that fear, intellectually knowing that it's the "ride" that makes life rich.

Even though I am currently living in the same small Arizona town in which I was born, I was away for over 40 years. I have lived in the states of Arkansas, Pennsylvania, New York, California, and Utah; lived in the countries of Taiwan, Thailand, England, and Israel; and travelled extensively both in the United States and abroad. But, there is no place like "home".

I am a daughter, sister, wife of over 40 years, mother, grandmother and friend. My education is in Fine Arts. I very much enjoy discovering my ancestors and collecting stories of their lives. It helps me understand who I am.

At the advanced age of 55, I discovered a love of long-distance running and ran my first marathon in that year. Favorite Marathons in which I have participated are: Athens (because of the history) and Boston (because of the rigor to participate).

Why I am a Mormon

I am convinced that life began before I was born to my parents and that it will continue after my body is laid to rest. This could only be true if there is a Divine Power (God) with a divine and eternal Plan. To be divine that Plan must surely be orderly, logical, unwavering and available to EVERY individual who has lived or will live on Earth. The Plan as explained by tenets of the Mormon Church makes sense to me in my head and in my heart. Jesus Christ is the head and center of the Church. He is the Savior for each individual.

All who come to Earth are here for an important purpose, not just to pass the time. Those who anciently lived on Earth (as read about in the Old and New Testaments) were loved and Divinely instructed. Surely we who live on Earth today are equally loved and Divinely instructed for the challenges and problems we face.

I love my family - those who have gone on, those who are here, and those yet to come. I cannot imagine a heaven without an association with those precious souls, and that's why I'm a Mormon.

Personal Stories

Which of the Savior’s teachings have influenced you in your life?

"Love one another, as I have loved you." I believe that every good thing (the creation of the Earth, our creation, God's eternal Plan for us . . . ) stems from Godly and Christ-like love. It's a daily effort to seek to have that kind of love toward our fellow man, a daily struggle, but it is worth the effort because look at what it can do.

How I live my faith

An important part of my faith is being of service to other people. I belong to one of the oldest and largest Women's Organization on the world. Our tasks center around helping one another and others outside the organization both physically, emotionally and spiritually. It's amazing how happy one feels when helping someone else. It is the right thing to do if the result is win/win.

I set aside Sunday as a special day, separate from any other day of the week. This day is for demonstrating my love for and gratitude to God and Jesus Christ by learning and thinking about Them and rededicating myself to trying to do the things they would do. On this day I work at providing the service discussed in the above paragraph and getting additional rest from a week of hard work. This is a day of renewal.

One Sunday a month our family fasts (skips eating and drinking anything) for 24 hours. The amount of money we save during this time, or more if we can spare more, is given to those who do not have enough money to buy food for their families. We also give 10% of our income to charity.

What do Mormons believe about “eternal life?”

Tana answered...

Mormons believe that each individual existed in spirit form before he/she was born on Earth. After the body dies the spirit lives on and will eventually be reunited with a physical form, like our current bodies, except the "new" body will be perfected and not die again.

The thoughts, actions and feelings of our spirits before coming to earth has an affect on our earthly existence and responsibilities and our thoughts, actions and feelings here on earth impacts our state after this life.
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