My name is Amanda and I am an LDS woman. I have been married to Bryan for ten years and we have three children – a boy who is 8, a girl who is 6, and another boy who is 4. I was born and raised in The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. My mother is an active member of the Church and showed her testimony and faith to us by taking five children to church meetings each week by herself.  Her doing this showed me how important the church is to her. My father is a baptized member of the church but doesn’t attend church. He always supported my mother in bringing us to church and would help to get us ready, but he never attended with us. It would have been much easier for my mother, I suspect, to stay home and not bother. I am so grateful to her that she didn’t take the easy road.

I was raised in Utah, where almost everyone (then) was a member of the LDS church. We went to church with our friends and neighbors. I loved being with so many people that shared my beliefs and standards. It was a safe place for me. When Bryan and I had been married for eight years, we moved from Utah to Oregon. Here, we are not surrounded by members, and that has been a hard adjustment for me. I miss going to church with my neighbors, but I have enjoyed branching out and meeting people from all walks of life. It has given me the chance to really show people what is important to us as well.

When I find myself with down time, I love to read and watch movies. I get nightmares easily though so nothing too scary! I spend time reading every single day. I also play volleyball in a league with other women each week. I love the physical activity and it gives me a breather from my regular life that I need. I am a crafty person, so I do some quilting and scrapbooking. I am not a perfectionist though so my quilts are always far from perfect. And that’s okay with me.

I am a stay-at-home mother – a homemaker. I enjoy it. Sometimes I find myself wishing that we had more money and I consider trying to find an outside job. I am a trained hairstylist and I miss regularly doing other people’s hair. I find that I when I am considering finding a job, the Lord reminds me why it is important for me to be in the home with my children. I enjoy taking care of them and being there for them. It is good for me, and I find that I am constantly learning new things about my “job.”

In church, my calling right now is Provident Living [preparedness] Specialist. I am new at the calling and I am not really yet sure what it means. I hope to help the women in my ward to build a three-month supply, [see this article as well], to learn to garden and be self-reliant, to use food storage, and to know how to budget and be responsible with money. We’ll also focus on exercise, nutrition and emotional and social health. I am also on the RS meeting [formerly Enrichment] committee, which is where a group of us plan midweek activities for the benefit of the ward Relief Society sisters.

In a former calling a few years ago, I was serving in the Young Women organization of the ward I was in. Our stake president [who oversees about 10 local congregations (wards/branches) issued a challenge for the youth to read the entire Book of Mormon over a summer. It meant reading a lot of pages each week to finish in the amount of time presented. I didn’t feel like I could issue a challenge to the young women in my group and not do this myself. Before this time I had not read the Book of Mormon from cover to cover, because when I study scriptures, I tend to research a specific topic that I want to know more about. Over the course of the summer, I was able to develop the discipline that I needed to read the book in such a short amount of time. I was able to have a greater understanding of verses that beforehand I would have found confusing. I was also able to feel the truth of the book – I now know without a doubt that the Book of Mormon is scripture; another account of the Savior, a companion to the Bible. And I know this to my core.

I love being a LDS woman because I love knowing that I am part of a worldwide sisterhood. I love knowing that there are many people out there that believe what I believe, that understand and can help me. I love that I know that I can be with my family forever if I make the right choices here. I love going to church and feeling that spiritual uplift that encourages me through another week. I know the reason I am on earth, and I know where I am going when my life is done. I know that the Lord loves me.
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The things I enjoy most include: people, history, traveling, hiking, exploring, discovery, science, reading, backpacking, and basically anything outdoorsy. My major in college and my career go along with my interests — I hike through the wilderness conducting environmental surveys. I am a proud archaeologist!

I love the Gospel of Jesus Christ, but my belief in it didn’t just come at one time. It has been gradually building. I notice that the times my testimony takes the biggest step is when I’m outside. At one time, I was digging out on the Arizona Strip (just north of the Grand Canyon) and every day before work I would stand on a ledge and look at the world around me. I would think about the beauty that I am surrounded by and the fact that it is here because of God’s grace. It is here for me, it is here for me to love, enjoy, and protect. He created this gorgeous world for us because he loves us.

Recently, I was recently hiking in Arches National Park (Moab, UT) and I went on a night hike to Delicate Arch. It was a full moon and as I came over the rise, and saw that majestic arch standing still in the moon light, I had the same thought come to me: God loves me. I knew I couldn’t  look at something like that and not think that there was a higher power out there.

I love being a Mormon Woman because I know I can still be myself and believe in the restored gospel. I believe that the church has given me stability, hope, and self-worth. When my life is spinning out of control I know that there is one constant that I can hold onto. I believe and know that I am a child of God. How can I not have self worth if I believe that? As long as I know that I am a child of God then there is nothing that can bring me down!

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Elect Lady

Elect Lady and Daughter of God
Yours are the hands that hold to the rod.
You care for the sick and ease their pain
Wipe away tears–no, it’s not in vain.

You lift up the lonely and faint of heart
Easing their burdens, gently doing your part.
You’re always there in time of need
Bringing love and cheer and whatever’s decreed.

You set the example–you pave the way
Doing kind acts of service ev’ry day.
Elect Lady and Daughter of God
We think you’re wonderful and you we applaud.

~Gloria Carter

*A Relief Society President is a woman who is called to serve the other women in her congregation by leading them spiritually and overseeing their temporal needs as well. This “calling” (an assignment in the local congregation) takes hours and hours of service weekly. Women in the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Satins learn to love and appreciate Relief Society presidents for their tireless service in their behalf. The calling to be a Relief Society President typically lasts 2 to 5 years and brings with it a spirit of humility and love for the sisters of the congregation.

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