Hi, I'm Elizabeth

I'm a writer, a student, a wife, a mommy and, I'm a Mormon.

About Me

I have been a stay-at-home mom for 18 years. I love my job! I also love to learn. That is why I have been studying Organizational Leadership. I have my BA from Penn State University. It "only" took me 7 years to get it. Now, I am working on a Masters Degree. My oldest daughter, who just left for college, will probably get her MS before I get mine!

My husband and I met playing huband and wife in a play. We fell in love, got married, and had 9 - yes, 9 - children. We love being parents, but we also love being sweethearts. We absolutely have to go on weekly dates! It is our favorite thing to do.

When I'm not going out with my husband, going to class, or attending to mommy duties, I love to write. I have several pretty popular blogs (popular being a relative term). I, also, have had a few articles published. Writing is how I keep my sanity.

I run to stay sane, too. And do yoga. And crochet. And sew. Being the youngest child in my family, I am pretty spoiled and greedy about "me" time. I can always squeeze in a good hobby. I guess that is why I don't see parenthood as being as hard as people think. If you put money in your own "bank", then you have something to give out when other people make "withdrawls".

Why I am a Mormon

When my husband and I were first married I worked at a day care center. A couple of missionaries from the Church volunteered there. They found out my husband was a member (who didn't go to church) and asked to come visit us. I agreed.

They started visiting, but because I had a lot of "hell fire and damnation" moments as a child, I did not want to talk religion. So they didn't. They visited for a long time.

When we were about to move, they invited me to church. I went. And ran into a lot of friends from my childhood. People I really respected!

The next week, my sister-in-law heard I went to church the week before and took the opportunity to invite me to her ward. I went. Even though she was the only person I knew there, I had the same good feeling.

In our new home, I decided that the best way to get to know people was to go to church. Since I had just attended the Mormon church twice, I decided to try it again. I took my daughter with me. And I knew I needed to be there.

I started meeting with the missionaries. What they told me felt right. I began to learn that the things that they were teaching me were true principles by the power of the Holy Ghost. It testified to me, in no small way, that the teachings of this Church are true.

I asked to be baptized. The missionaries were more than willing to accomodate!

Personal Stories

Why/How do you share the gospel with your friends?

The Gospel of Jesus Christ is central to my life and everything that I am and do. It is very important to me and very personal to me, too. It can be scary to talk to other people about it because having my beliefs attacked or disregarded would be painful and sad - especially if the attack or lack of regard came by someone I care about. At the same time, if I did not share the gospel, I would be hiding nearly 100% of what makes me who I am. And that is impossible. I think that is why many members of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints come across as either tense and having something to hide or pushy. We either hold back or let loose. When I let loose, it is because I love someone so much that I want to share with them the source of my greatest joys in life. Recently I realized that if I love my Savior - which means I am filled with charity - I will want all of His children to hear about Him and have His word. That realization has enabled me to be more open with sharing what I know with others. I always keep a prayer in my heart to help me know what to share and when. I, also, have learned not to hide key aspects of my life that might help someone to see what I believe. I have come to realize that those who criticize the gospel the most have little to no experience with it. Slowly, as the concepts become more familiar to them, they become receptive to listening and learning. And I try to be respectful of their beliefs and values, too. This encourages respect for one another, builds upon things we have in common, and breaks down barriers. That does not mean that they will accept what I am telling them or that I will agree 100% with what they tell me, but it forges bridges of acceptance and understanding for one another.

How I live my faith

My testimony leads me to live my religion every day. Every choice I make is done with prayer and faith. I read my scriptures for 30 minutes every day. I pray by myself and with my family. I teach my children the things the Lord wants and needs them to know. We set aside time each day to read the scriptures together, and we set aside time each week to be together to learn the gospel and spend time as a family. We, also, go to church together. We keep the Sabbath day (Sunday) sacred by making it a special day to do the Lord's work. We try to be good citizens of our country, help our fellow man, and strengthen our family and the families in our communities. We try to show, through our words and actions, that we believe in Jesus Christ. We always want to walk in His ways.

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?

Elizabeth answered...

Women in The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints do not hold the priesthood because that is how the Lord established His church. We are all children of Our Father in Heaven. He loves us all. And we are all different - with different roles and duties to perform. Just like the roles of mother and father are unique and different - though one is no more important than the other - likewise, the variety of ways that we can serve in the kingdom of God are very different. We do not seek callings in the Lord's kingdom. Rather, we live righteously and then, if the Lord sees fit, we are given a job to do. Men are ordained to the priesthood if they are worthy, and serve in diverse callings related thereto. Women serve in any number of ways in the Church. Their role is seen as divine. In addition to the important roles of wife and mother, many women in the Church serve in the largest women's organization in the world - the Relief Society - to which all women in the Church belong. Other women serve the children and youth in a variety of roles ranging from teachers at the local level to leaders that travel and serve and instruct other members throughout the world. Wherever we serve, and no matter in what capacity, we find joy in knowing that the Lord has chosen us to do His work. He is at the helm.
Madelyn answered...

I feel that men and women both have different but equally important roles in getting us back to God. In God's eternal plan we were spirits in His presence before this life. To progress we needed to get bodies on this earth, then perform specific ordinances (eg baptism, marriage) to return to God after this life. Women were given the godly power to bring spirits into this world and give them bodies, then nurture and raise these children with God's inspiration and guidance. The men were assigned the responsibility (through the God's Priesthood power) to serve others and administer the ordinances that will bring God's children back to His presence after this life. Both roles are necessary and equally important to God's plan for us.
I don't think women need the Priesthood to be powerful influences and to do God's work in their homes and in the church. I see men grow spiritually, and their characters become more godly when they act in God's name through using the Priesthood.
I have never felt the need to hold the Priesthood myself. I can still receive all the blessings offered by the Priesthood, my prayers can be just as powerful, and I still have access to the inspiration of God in my life.

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

Michael answered...

Sure I do. People have been deceived into believing that there are no prophets throughout biblical history. The first thing the adversary does when there is a prophet on the earth is to try to convince you that there are no such things or that the time has passed.

Think about it...when Noah preached to the people and prophesied that the flood was coming, they laughed at him. Even amongst the Jews, they disregarded and/or imprisoned Isaiah and Jeremiah because they prophesied that Israel would be carried away captive into Babylon.

I believe that the thing that one must overcome in order to believe that there are prophets alive today is get over the mindset that tells you that prophets have to be splitting the Red Sea or calling down fire from heaven in order to be considered as such. For every great miracle wrought by a biblical prophet there are many more who simply preached about the coming Messiah. Think of the prophets like Joel, Amos, Hosea and Habbakuk. These were prophets sent by God, but they were "boring" because they weren't performing miracles or commanding armies. The people disregarded their counsels at their spiritual peril.

Let us not repeat their error by not believing that prophets can't exist today. Let's instead get on our knees and receive our own personal revelation about the ones here amongst us.