I reached up not only to God within my heart; I reflected on the faith of those who have gone before, a faith that strengthens my own.

Sometimes I will look at the photos of noble ancestors on my wall in times like this. But on this night, there were no faces in mind, just the whole of all the pioneer stories wrapped together. In remembering them, I felt could keep moving, keep walking, keep keeping the faith.

I have realized as I reflect on the lives and sacrifices of the Mormon pioneers that the specifics of our journeys don’t really matter — not because the details of our personal pain and triumphs are insignificant, but simply because we all have our trails to blaze, we all have our trials to face. Our stories may differ, but the principles that can help us all are the same.

I so often find myself hoping I can be as firm in my faith and as willing to endure well life’s difficulties as the early Mormon pioneers were. I feel a connection with them because their testimony in God is my testimony. Their knowledge of God’s plan, the foundation that kept them going, is what keeps me going. Their trust in the Savior’s Atonement, the source of their hope, is also why I fight the despair that sometimes seeps into my heart in hard times.

Even as the Mormon pioneers have long since passed on, their examples shine bright to me and help me keep moving forward in faith — faith in my Father and in His Son, Jesus Christ.

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This week, we will be celebrating the upcoming Mormon Pioneer Day (July 24) by reflecting on both early and modern-day people who have left (or are leaving!) a legacy of faith for others to follow.

The post Faith of Our Fathers, Faith in Our Father appeared first on Women in The Church of Jesus Christ.

Amanda writes:

“I love to use old jeans and flannel to make “rag” quilts.  They are perfect for camping, picnics and laying in the grass and reading a book on.  The good thing about this type of quilt is that I don’t have to be really precise, as you do in piecing a quilt.  It doesn’t matter if my lines are crooked, or don’t match up evenly because the clipped fringe hides any mistakes.  I also enjoy making these because they are fast, and warm.  I always feel a great boost to my self-esteem when I have created something with my two hands.  It brings me pride and happiness.”

Pauline says this about her quilt, entitled “Waiting to Hear”

“My husband was in the process of searching for a job. He had applied to many different locations, and I was very anxious to have news of where we would end up moving. To help pass the time, to keep busy while we waited, I created this quilt. I designed the pattern myself after learning about paper piecing.”

Wendy created the following two quilts decades ago…one with pictures drawn by grandchildren for their grandma (Wendy’s parents):

And this one created for her in-laws, including pictures of their deceased parents — a family history quilt:

Michelle had an idea to pull together multiple photos from her husband’s travels. She says this about her creation:

“It’s not your typical quilt. It’s made mostly out of jersey fabric (not a good choice, but I had purchased some on sale and wanted to use it). I also used old jeans (denim) to frame the pictures. Not being a quilter, I didn’t really know what I was doing; I sort of made it up as I went. It was a lot of work! But my husband loves the quilt and it did capture his  wanderlust. Note that I even included a playbill from a Broadway play and a plane ticket! ”

Mary created these quilts for her grandchildren one year for Christmas. This picture only includes three, but she made nineteen of them!

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*How do you create? Share your creations with us! Send us a photo with an explanation to ‘mormonwoman’ (or ‘mormonwomen’) at ‘gmail’ dot ‘com’. We’d love more pictures of Mormon life as well for future Glimpses photo essays.

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