Mormon Women: Who We Are was created to allow members of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints (“Mormons“) to share their thoughts and feelings about their beliefs — through the written word and through other creative expressions of faith. We hope both those who are LDS and those who are not will find this site both inspiring and informational.
While we especially encourage the participation of women and the exploration of topics relevant to women, we welcome our male contributors and readers as well. Much of our content is very general in nature.
If you would like to contribute to the site, there are essentially two ways to do it.
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What can you share? We welcome thoughts on any gospel topic (a list of possible topics can be found here). Share your conversion story. Consider sharing a quote or scripture that has inspired you (be sure to tell us why or how it has impacted you). (See what others have shared in Words that Inspire Us.) For other possible things to share, consider some of Elder Ballard’s ideas. (You can find links to talks he has given about sharing the gospel on the internet here and here.)
We also welcome creative expressions of faith. You don’t need to be a professional — we just welcome your desire to share your faith in whatever way works for you. Enjoy others’ creative expressions of faith (shared here and elsewhere) below.
First Person Essays
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We invite you to browse our library for other uplifting content and links (library includes a topical index to content).
You can also read more about our basic beliefs by browsing our basic doctrines posts.
Here are a few of my favorite quotes that I just love:
Plato:
“When men speak ill of thee, live so that nobody will believe them.”
Another one I love is by Marjorie Pay Hinckley:
“The trouble with the world and the trouble with you and me is that we don’t love each other enough. And if we do, we don’t bother to show it, or we don’t bother to say it. If the world is to know love, it has to begin at home. It has to be in your heart and in mine. And the place to begin is home.”
And this one is also by Sister Hinckley:
“You either have to laugh or cry. I prefer to laugh. Crying gives me a headache.”
I am a member of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints and have a firm testimony of the greatness and worthiness of this church. For those of you who are searching or do not have knowledge of this gospel please do get in contact with our missionaries! They are everyday searching for people to share this wonderful gospel with! We cherish moral values and have a firm foundation with family! To the women that are in the church please do not be afraid to share with others this gospel that it might be known to every person and that the Holy Ghost can bare witness to them of its truth!
Lovely site! So glad I have found you.
One of the great quotes that profoundly influenced my life was from President Ezra Taft Benson’s historic ‘condemnation’ talk in October Conference 1986. It is entitled “The Keystone of our Religion”. I remember exactly where I was when I heard these powerful words:
“It is not just that the Book of Mormon teaches us truth, though it indeed does that. It is not just that the Book of Mormon bears testimony of Christ, though it indeed does that, too. But there is something more. There is a power in the book which will begin to flow into your lives the moment you begin a serious study of the book. You will find greater power to resist temptation. You will find the power to avoid deception. You will find the power to stay on the strait and narrow path. The scriptures are called “the words of life” (D&C 84:85), and nowhere is that more true than it is of the Book of Mormon. When you begin to hunger and thirst after those words, you will find life in greater and greater abundance. I implore you with all my heart that you consider with great solemnity the importance of the Book of Mormon to you personally and to the Church collectively. Let us not remain under condemnation, with its scourge and judgment, by treating lightly this great and marvelous gift the Lord has given to us. (See D&C 84:54–58.) Rather, let us win the promises associated with treasuring it up in our hearts.”
A prophet of the Lord declared that we were under condemnation as individuals and as a church for not reading the Book of Mormon – however he also detailed the promised blessings we could receive if we repented and studied it faithfully. From that day forward, this has been the Keystone of my religious study. We have tried to make it a daily part of our family time. I can testify that the power and promises that President Benson prophesied of are real. None of us can afford to live without this “divine gift”.
In the area we live there are many Latino church members that come from all over the world. Today a woman who speaks only spanish was asked to share her feelings about the gospel. She is there every week, sitting on the back row with her husband and children, trying to peacefully get through the meeting just as I do. I smile and sometimes say ‘hola’ but language is a barrier.
When she went up to speak I was standing in the back rocking the baby to sleep and listening, not able to use the headphones for translation. Listening to her carefully I was able to understand a few things she said. Some of what I heard her say: spanish spanish spanish “Jesus vive” spanish spanish spanish. (That’s what it sounded like to me anyway)
It touched me, to know that although there is much we don’t share, including something as basic as language, we do share that most important faith that ‘Jesus lives’.
As she walked back to sit with her family I hugged her and kissed her cheek (a Latino gesture I love) and whispered in her ear, “Gracias hermana”. She is my sister and I am thankful for her testimony today.
I keep a Spiritual Journal where I gather quotes and talks that speak to me. One of my favorite quotes is by Spencer W. Kimball. “The Lord will not force himself upon people; and if they do not believe, they will receive no visitation. If they are content to depend upon their own limited calculations and interpretations, then, of course, the Lord will leave them to their chosen fate… Remember: If there be eyes to see, there will be visions to inspire. If there be ears to hear, there will be revelations to experience. If there be hearts which can understand, know this: that the exalting truths of Christ’s gospel will no longer be hidden and mysterious, and all earnest seekers may know God and his program.”
Quote by President Joseph F. Smith: “When I [w]as a boy … I would frequently go out and ask the Lord to show me some marvelous thing, in order that I might receive a testimony. But the Lord withheld marvels from me, and showed me the truth, line upon line, precept upon precept, here a little and there a little, until he made me to know the truth from the crown of my head to the soles of my feet, and until doubt and fear had been absolutely purged from me. He did not have to send an angel from the heavens to do this, nor did he have to speak with the trump of an archangel. By the whisperings of the still small voice of the Spirit of the living God, he gave to me the testimony I possess.”
I’ve learned (sort of) to be patient with my growing testimony. I know I can’t know it all right now. What’s important is the process of learning. We don’t learn to read philosophy in kindergarten or calculas in first grade. We must first have a foundation of learning to be able to understand harder concepts like philosophy and calculus. It is even more important when it comes to learning about God the Father and the teachings of the gospel. We need a strong foundation, one of faith in order to learn the harder concepts of the gospel. I’m grateful for my ambition to keep studying and learning line upon line.
I know that I am a daughter of my Father in heaven. When I was 9 years old I was singing to myself the Primary song, “I am a Child of God”, and I paused and actually absorbed the words. I then went and asked my mother if it was true that Heavenly Father was really my father, and she said, yes. I remember the joy that overcame me at that thought, and I excitedly went into the other room to tell my sister and her friend the news that we really were daughters of God. Since then I have had the distinct pleasure more than once of informing people who truly did not know that they are children of God, and have seen the looks on their faces and (etc) as they considered the truth or the possibility. I have prayed to my Father, asking him that this knowledge be strong in me, that I am his daughter, and I have continued to have witnesses and the gift of that knowledge, and it is the foundation for all else that I believe and all else that I do.
On a recent Sunday I posted these thoughts on my blog-
As often happens on the Sabbath, words from the hymns echo through my mind long after the melody is silent.
“..all things he meekly bore…”
This hymn was to prepare us for the sacrament and it fulfilled the purpose for me, opening my heart and mind. This line reminded me of the Savior’s example in bearing pain, disappointment, and every trial with meekness. Meekness seems a slippery trait to master, somewhat like humility. How do I meet my life as a strong daughter of God while maintaining that meekness needed to be a true disciple of Christ? The closing hymn answered that question-
“..be faithful and fearless, onward press onward…”
The type of strength we want is not bravado, it’s not even the ability to lift a car. It is the strength to bear all things, it is the strength to go onward with faith and without fear. It is the strength so difficult to master and describe yet perfectly exemplified in our Savior Jesus Christ. My eyes may not have beheld his actions but through my own intimate relationship with Him, including daily prayer and scripture study, I can line upon line be taught those things He mastered.
I always was sure that Jesus Christ was our brother and that heavenly Father was a loving God. I also knew most Bible Stories. But I knew nothing of callings and the importance of motherhood, but I’ve had a calling as a teacher in RELIEF SOCIETY. And while I’ll never give my husband a child now I know that we can have children in the next life. And that makes me very happy. I write these things in Jesus’ name. Amen
Thoughts on the Temple
The temple, to me, is the pinacle of our experience in the gospel and in this life. We talk about the atonement but few realize that serving in the temple is the atonement in action. Elder Jeffrey R. Holland of the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles spoke at a fireside for Boston Temple workers and explained this point. Every time we attend the temple, we need to forgive someone of something. Even if it is forgiving ourselves, we need to partake of the atonement in this way. When you think about that, we usually equate the atonement with repentance and being saved from our sinful, mortal lives. What better way for us to show our gratitude than by serving in the temple and doing for others what the Saviour has done for us. We are literally saving those who have gone on before us and doing for them what they cannot do for themselves.
We talk of Service. We know from the scriptures that if we don’t have Charity, we have nothing. The greatest service we can render is to serve in the temple.
We talk of finding peace and being in the world but not of the world. When we enter the temple, we leave the world behind us. We enter the REAL world. If we could draw back the veil, we would see that we are not alone in the temples. Not only are those people there who are getting their work done but there are countless people and prophets from ages past. The temple is like an open conduit to heaven and if we prepare ourselves and enter in the right frame of mind, we will get the revelations and inspirations we are searching for.
I know and have experienced the sweet peace the temple brings. I know that as we serve in the temple on a regular basis, our lives will be better, our businesses will be more successful, we will perform better at work, our family relationships will be better, our marriages will be better, our children will fight less, we will fight less, we will find more time in our day to do those things that will make the biggest difference in our eternal salvation. I have seen this in action too many times to doubt. There is nothing in our life that cannot be made better by attending the temple on a regular basis.
I know people who went through for themselves and then never came back. It saddens me to know they have missed the whole point. The temple is about service. Service to the Lord, to others and to ourselves. It is the atonement. It is becoming something greater than ourselves and the only way that can happen is if we unselfishly lift others with us.
I am grateful for the conviction and testimony I have of the temple. I am grateful for the peace, serenity and comfort being within its walls offers in such an unsettling world. I am grateful for the opportunity to serve the Lord and others, showing my love and gratitude for the many blessings given to me. I am grateful for the opportunity to serve my family and my ancestors. Mostly, I am grateful for a safe haven in which to commune with my saviour.
The more I learn – the more I also want to shout out and make sure that not only other LDS women really understand who they are, but also other women in the world!
The organizing of the LDS Women’s Relief Society by Joseph Smith was part of the restoration of all things! That’s big!
The Relief Society is the companion organization to the Priesthood quorums of the LDS Church, which assist women to be prepared to make and keep sacred covenants.
Again, thank you for what you are doing here. Isn’t it wonderful to speak such truth and majesty about the LDS women?
tDMg
LdsNana-AskMormon
Kathryn Skaggs