My name is Rebecca. I am 38 years old and have been married for 13 years to my husband Steve. We have three children (ages 11, 9, and 6) and live in Arizona. My hobbies are reading, writing, drawing, and blogging. I went to Brigham Young University (BYU) and have both a BA and a MA in communications from there. I served a mission from 1991-1993 (England London South). I work part-time from home as a marketing research analyst. I have also started writing books.

One of those books is about family scripture study. My interest in the topic grew from feeling dissatisfied with the way my kids reacted and behaved during our family study time. I could tell by their actions and eyes they were not interested, but I really wanted them to be. So I started experimenting with different techniques to hold their attention and get them excited about scripture study time. The result was a book I wrote/illustrated called Adventures with the Word of God. When I have kids asking me when it is time for family scripture study then I know it is successful. I have followed up my first book with another called Home Evening Adventures with the Word of God [“Home Evening” refers to a weekly family night that most Mormons hold on Mondays, where we discuss gospel principles, have fun activities, eat together, and just enjoy each others’ company as a family]. And I am currently working on a third book about temples.

I am grateful for the gospel, and grateful to know that God is there and answers prayers. This past January my kids and I traveled to Denver to visit my younger brother and his family. While there, my brother’s family dog, Daisy, escaped the house and took off. Daisy had a bad track record doing this and then getting herself so lost she was unable to return home on her own. My brother and sister-in-law would have to comb the neighborhood for an hour or two on foot to find her. So the fact she escaped was bad news. An hour or so later they found her, but she escaped again shortly thereafter, sending stress levels up very high. To make a long story short, the kids (my own and my niece and nephews) and I knelt in prayer to ask that Daisy could be found. Shortly thereafter my brother walked in the front door carrying Daisy. I felt strongly this was an answer to prayer.

Being a Mormon Woman means expanded horizons to me. I feel my faith in Christ and His gospel/leaders has provided me with answers to some life questions in a way that helped me to make the best decisions possible. I followed counsel to get an education, which has tremendously blessed my life. I served a mission to London and had incredible opportunities there and continued blessings since. Getting married and having children has brought a rainbow of experiences that I would never give up. Sometimes I wonder what my life would be like if I had not followed His counsel and made these good choices–I don’t think it would be as full. My horizons are broader and greater than they ever would have been otherwise. And I am excited to see what life brings me in the future as I choose to follow Him.

The post Portraits of Mormon Women: Rebecca appeared first on Women in The Church of Jesus Christ.

The Church’s annual Pioneer Day Broadcast will be shown tonight on the internet at 7:00 p.m. Mountain Daylight Time. Other broadcast times, including for international broadcast through satellite and other media, can be found here.

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Today we link to one of the official sites of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, mormon.org that has a wealth of information about Mormonism.  This particular link is a testimony of The Restoration of Truth in which we believe.

“God knows you personally and loves you more than you can comprehend. He wants you to be happy now and always. To accomplish this purpose, Heavenly Father has provided a plan called the gospel of Jesus Christ. Jesus Christ is the Son of God; His teachings are the way to peace in life and joy for eternity…” Read more here.

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Mormon woman in WNBA was recently inducted into its Hall of Fame. She talks a little about pursuing her dream to play basketball, and of her family’s support. “My whole family supported me, saying ‘You know what you want and if that’s what you want to do, you can do.'” She also referred indirectly to Family Home Evening, a beloved program of the Church. We almost always have a family activity on Monday night. A lot of times, we’d go over to church and play basketball. We had a great time.”

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Mormon woman Mariah Nogueria named Female Athlete of the year; will play soccer for Stanford

She also plays softball and volleyball. A fun clip from the article follows:

Nogueira also likes cooking, scrap-booking and playing the ukulele, none of which are all that competitive. Early in the morning, though, Nogueira’s competition is the alarm clock.

She’s a member of the Mormon church, and Nogueira is at seminary at 5:30 a.m. every day. So when does she have to get up?

“Five minutes before I leave,” she said with a laugh.

The post Links We Like: Pioneer Day Commemoration Broadcast; Truth and God’s Love; Mormon Woman in Sports (WNBA’s Hall of Fame, playing for Stanford’s soccer team) appeared first on Women in The Church of Jesus Christ.