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Hi I'm Peggy
About Me
I am a 44-year-old mother of five kids. My children came to my husband and I very fast and now they are leaving us very quickly. My oldest daughter just married in August, my second daughter is in her freshman year of college and the third daughter is completing her senior year of high school. Next year I will only have my last two children at home--a daughter who is 14 and a son who is 12. Change has been a constant in our lives since my husband and I have married. We have moved about every two years of our married life, up until this last decade. We have lived in upstate New York, rural Nevada and many places in Utah. Amidst the changes I have had one worthwhile constant--a belief in God and a knowledge that I am where He needs me to be and that I am fulfilling His plan for me.
Why I am a Mormon
I come from a family of nine kids and I am the youngest. I have always been a people watcher. Seeing my older siblings grow up and make choices, I saw direct consequences for those choices. I decided at the age of 12 that I could make my own decisions and that I should find out for myself if the things my parents taught me were true. In this way, I could base my own choices on proven principles that would help me to succeed in life. That is when I read the Book of Mormon by myself for the first time. When I was done reading, I knelt beside my bed and asked my Father in Heaven if it was true. My answer didn't come as a single answer. It came as an overwhelming feeling of warmth that I recognized as a feeling I had felt the whole time I had read the book. I knew the Book of Mormon was true. And, because I knew the Book of Mormon was true, I knew that Joseph Smith was a prophet.
Personal Stories
How has the Holy Ghost helped you?
The Holy Ghost helps me every single day. I pray for its presence in my life with every prayer I utter. I know that if I have the companionship of the Holy Ghost it is like having a burst of sunshine and the best GPS I can have. In raising my children it is important to me to know that I can have answers a whisper away as my children seek guidance from me and as I offer them advice. It is a good feeling to know that I am important enough to my Heavenly Father not to be left alone - that I can have His Spirit to be with me. What a blessing this is! I hope I never underestimate this power I have in my life.
Why do Mormons do family history or genealogy work?
At the end of the New Testament, in Malachi, a scripture inspires us as Latter-day Saints. It is that "the hearts of the children will turn to their fathers." I have always had a strong sense of family. As the youngest of nine children, my identity has always been linked not just to my awesome siblings, but to 21 aunts and uncles, to grandparents who gave us a rich heritage and to pioneers who settled the West. Most of my ancestors who immigrated to the United States came from Denmark. My grandmother knew Danish well and spoke it in the home. My aunt served a mission in Denmark and took pictures of the places from which our ancestors immigrated. She researched their birth places and important dates. These people are real to me. We all have a story that is unique and amazing. Because of my love of storytelling, I want to connect myself to these interesting personalities and find out more, not just about them, but in turn, about each of their lives. I want to try to understand myself better. These are the people who have created me. I want to see myself in them and connect myself to them in meaningful ways. We all go back to Adam and Eve, to Noah, to Abraham. What about the missing people in those chains? I want to fill in the blanks and know that I am just as divine and full of possibilities as they were. All of us come from a loving God who has revealed that the family links we enjoy in this life can continue in the next life. To me that is a very beautiful thing which I hope to do my part in making a future reality. I know that a God who so intricately created this beautiful earth and everything on it desires His children, his greatest creations, to have joy and can make families eternal. Joy comes to greatest fruition within the family unit and can continue into the eternities. Since my father's death on April 19, 1995 and my mother's death on December 18, 2011, there is nothing more beautiful than that thought to me.
How I live my faith
I live my faith by serving my family and community and by continuing to learn. I especially enjoy helping others to learn through my talents. I have a journalism degree and will soon be returning to college for a master's degree in English Literature. My hope is to teach at the high school level and then to continue teaching at a junior college. At present, I am a correspondent for my local city newspaper, covering city council meetings. I work as a substitute teacher in the area schools. I also serve as secretary for our local library's Friends of the Library group. I write a monthly newsletter for the women of our local congregation and I enjoy taking care of the 18 month old to three-year-old kids in the nursery on Sundays while their parents attend their Sunday School and Auxiliary meetings. I love serving the Lord while using the talents He has blessed me with. He has blessed me with so much. Who am I not to share His love?
