Many thanks to Pauline Colton for sharing this beautiful watercolor painting with us. Below, she shares some of her thoughts about the painting, and a few of the many scriptures that came to mind as she was working on this piece. We first shared this in 2009 but the image was not accessible. We figured it was a great opportunity to re-share. Please note the image is copyrighted, and shared with permission. More information below.

Alma 37:6 “Now ye may suppose that this is foolishness in me; but behold I say unto you, that by small and simple things are great things brought to pass; and small means in many instances doth confound the wise.”

The greatest of all the gifts of God is His Son. Christ willingly and lovingly makes the blessings, the healing and the power of the atonement available to each of us. Only by small and simple means can I be in a position to partake of the atonement.

As I worked on the drawing and design of this piece, I had many scriptures come to mind. By taking note of each scripture as I recalled it, I ended up with six pages of scriptures. I categorized the scriptures by elements in the painting. Here, I include only one reference for each category:

1. Being partakers – Alma 5:62

2. Fruit – 1 Nephi 8:10-12

3. Tree – Revelation 2:7

4. Oil – D&C 33:16-17

5. Support for the lamp – Isaiah 41:10

6. Drop by drop – Deut 32:2

7. Light of the World – John 8:12

8. Light of Christ given to man – D&C 84:45-46

9. Clay lamp – Isaiah 64:8

10. Being invited – Revelation 3:20

<font=size=”1″>Copyright Pauline Colton. Picture may be reproduced and used for for personal, non-profit use.</font=size=”1″>

The post “Be Partakers” – a watercolor painting about oil in our lamps, the light of Christ, the tree of life, and more appeared first on Women in The Church of Jesus Christ.

~by Sue

Recently, I led a Relief Society discussion at church on the subject of talents. I opened that discussion by sharing my experiences teaching an exceptional group of adolescent girls several years ago. A phrase I heard far too often from these young women, in response to the concept of God-given gifts, was this: “I don’t have any.” Time and time again, these lovely and accomplished young women insisted that they had no special talents at all…or at least, none worth mentioning. “How can that be?” I would challenge. If God is no respecter of persons, if Father in Heaven loves each of us equally, then why would He favor one child over another, especially when it comes to the gifts and attributes that make us who we are…and make possible the person we can become?

Read more….

The post “Neglect Not the Gift that is in Thee” appeared first on Women in The Church of Jesus Christ.

My name is Rebekah, and I am a Mormon Woman.

I have been married for just over a year. I was married to my husband in the Atlanta, Georgia LDS Temple, and we do not, yet, have any children. I was born into a Latter-day Saint family, and was baptized at the age of eight. My mom is a convert; missionaries from the Church taught her family while they were living in Puerto Rico and she was baptized at the age of 16, along with her mother, brother, and sisters. My Dad was born to LDS parents, who were converted and baptized into the church just before he was born.

I am currently a student attending BYU-Idaho, although I grew up in Tennessee. I am majoring in Communications, with minors in Photography and Humanities. In the Church, I am currently serving as a Family Home Evening Group Leader (in our area, young, married couples get together on Monday nights once a month to share a gospel message and get to know each other through games and activities). I am also serving on the Home, Family, and Personal Enrichment Board, helping to put together enriching activities for the women in our Relief Society.

I enjoy the outdoors more than most anything else: I love hiking, camping, rock climbing, repelling, and swimming. Some of my hobbies include writing and photography. I am currently taking piano classes and trying to develop my musical talent and I also love to dance!

When I was in high school, I was one of only a few LDS kids at my school. I was a cheerleader and had a lot of really wonderful friends. However, it was often a struggle for me to have friends and keep my standards at the same time. I didn’t drink or smoke or do much of what was often happening around me. I didn’t want to attend most of the parties, and felt a little alienated from some of my friends because I just didn’t want to participate. I felt different. But, I could feel what my parents and church leaders were teaching me was right, and I held onto it. It wasn’t until after high school that I realized what a blessing these standards were in my life! Although I wasn’t perfect, and made plenty of mistakes, the things that my family and church leaders had taught me kept me clean, healthy, and happy. It also allowed me to have the knowledge of the Atonement of Jesus Christ, so that I could repent and start fresh when I slipped up. I now feel that I have lived wisely and without regret. It is a joyful way of life.

I love the joy that the gospel of Jesus Christ brings. Being a Mormon Woman blesses my marriage and keeps it strong. It gives me guidance as to how to live a happy, healthy, and productive life. Most of all, it teaches me to progress daily and provides a way for me to repent and grow closer to my Savior. Being a Mormon woman teaches me of my identity as a child of God and gives direction as to what this life is all about and what I should be doing here to get back to my Heavenly Father with my family some day.

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For more Portraits of Mormon Women, please click here.

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

How do you create? Did President Uchtdorf’s words inspire you? Please tell us!

We would love to see photos of your creations, too. This could include almost anything: art, photography, sewing, cooking, gardening, writings, crafts, woodworking, clothing, music, etc. Please send photos of your creations, along with a simple explanation of how it was created and why, to mormonwoman at gmail dot com [or mormonwomen at gmail dot com]. We are looking forward to your submissions!

For more Weekly Questions, please click here.

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A few weeks ago for a Relief Society activity, we had Lynda Wilson come speak to us (she is the author of The Innkeeper’s Wife). She shared with us about how for a long time she compared herself to everyone around her — especially the women in her ward [church congregation].

For example, the women around her crocheted, so she wanted to learn how to crochet. She tried making a blanket for her baby that ended up being a trapezoid; her stitches were really tight at first, and then got looser and looser as she learned more. She decided crocheting really wasn’t really for her. She took a quilting class and tried to learn how to quilt. (She showed us the strips of her unfinished quilt as a visual aide.)

On and on she went, trying to find a domestic talent. She always compared herself to others and felt bad that she couldn’t do the things others could.

She had always loved reading and writing. Finally one day she realized that it was okay that writing was her gift. That she could use that talent to bless others, and that it was enough. She talked about how just because someone else can do something well (organize, cook, sew, cut hair, whatever…) doesn’t mean that we need to be able to do those things as well to be validated. Whatever our gifts are, it is enough, and that we can use them to bless others. It was such a wonderful message!

As she went around the room randomly asking people to share what their gifts are, I was scared. I didn’t want her to ask me what my gift was. I was feeling pretty depressed that night, and not feeling gifted at all. I honestly probably would have burst into tears and said that I possessed no gifts, for that was truly how I was feeling. I was racking my brain trying to think of something to say just in case she asked me. As I thought of things, my feelings of inadequacy just got worse. I thought, “I am a pretty patient person, I could say patience,” but I remembered how many times I had raised my voice at my children that day during the stress of trying to get ready for that night. I thought, “I am a good listener,” but then I remembered how I had not done a good job of listening to my husband the other day. I was feeling like there are a lot of things I used to be good at, but I had somehow let them all slip away.

I came home that night and read my scriptures. The next morning I read and prayed. The day after that I read and prayed. I spent a lot of time trying to figure out what my gifts were. I had to have some, right?

Well, after a lot of thought, I came up with a few. I think I am a good listener and I am a patient person. Lack of sleep makes me not as good at those things, but in a normal (whatever that is) time of life, I am good at those things. I am also artistic. I love photography, and I am kind of good at it. I like to sew, and in the past couple of weeks I made a darling skirt and diaper cover for my daughter using only her other clothes as a pattern. It turned out almost exactly as I had imagined it!  (I couldn’t find what I wanted in the stores so I decided to make it.) I also made her a Christmas stocking using my stocking as a pattern. I think these are my gifts, and I think I can use them to bless the lives of those around me. And that is enough.  And that feels good.

Now it’s your turn. What are your gifts?

The post <i>First Person</i>: Gifts appeared first on Women in The Church of Jesus Christ.

One of my goals as a Piano Performance major was to play with the orchestra on the School of Music’s annual Concerto Night. I had dreamed of it since my first year at school, when I attended the concert and exulted in the gorgeous music, the phenomenal talents, and yes, even the applause and adulation given to the student performers. As the years at school went by, and I didn’t win the opportunity in the audition process, I would reassure myself, “Next year is the year. Just keep working.”
Finally came my last opportunity to audition. I had beseeched Heavenly Father to allow me to perform to the best of my ability. The music was deep inside my bones. My fingers were sure. I communicated deep, eternal emotions. When I was done, I knew I had done my best, and it was a powerful best. I walked away from the piano at peace with my offering.

Later that day, I crept through a side door into the top of the recital hall to listen to my dear friend audition with her own concerto. She played beautifully, and in the middle of the performance, the Spirit whispered to me that she, not I, would be performing on the concert. I slipped from the recital hall, hugged and congratulated my friend on her wonderful audition, and went home to wait for the results, hoping against hope that I had misheard the Spirit.

I hadn’t.

My heart — though broken a little — rallied, and my last year of graduate work was successful and happy. Then came the chance to travel to another state to audition with the same concerto for a concert with a community orchestra. I went, again begging Heavenly Father to help me do my best, and again, felt blessed in my performance.

And I placed second.

My six years of college piano study ended, and in two months my husband and I were expecting our first child. Performing as I knew it had ended, and my new life had begun.

Except…

Two years later I found myself in the wings of a concert hall, heart pounding, listening to the welcoming applause, ready to walk on stage to perform a concerto with an orchestra. It wasn’t until a few years later that I realized that performing that night was an answer to all of my earlier prayers, deferred until the Lord’s time.

When I consider the pathways of my life, the many twists and turns, the wide avenues or dead ends, I am drawn to more than a few instances of these types of answers, these gifts, deferred. Largely, I see a bigger plan at work, a loving Heavenly Father wanting to give me the desires of my heart, but knowing when it is best for me to receive them.

Over and over, I am taught that my time is not the Lord’s time. While I recognize that sometimes the answer to a heartfelt prayer is not a “Not yet,” but a “No,” I have discovered that watching Heavenly Father’s plan unfold in my life is filled with many of these gifts.

It takes patience and faith to wait on the Lord, especially when I’m not sure if the Lord’s answer to a heart’s desire is “no,” “yes,” or “yes, but later.” I’m also aware of the dangers of knocking too often at His door with a request that is not according to his will (Martin Harris, anyone?). It’s a fine line to walk, but allowing “Thy will be done” to be part of all my prayers gives me the safety net I need to continue to trust the Lord’s hand in my life.

Recently, I decided, as I have many times in the past twelve years since becoming a mother, that it was time to go back to the piano in earnest. Before, I would begin the process and realize that my time was best spent in other pursuits. This time, something was different. When I prayed about my decision, the spirit poured into me. The door was opened, and I heard, “Rush through. It’s time.”

The post <i>First Person</i>: Times and Seasons appeared first on Women in The Church of Jesus Christ.

But here’s our first “Review, Reflect, and Return” post. We want to share articles, talks, videos, etc. that we have found interesting and meaningful, and invite you to share your thoughts and feelings about them. Simply use the comment form below, or you can email us at ‘mormonwoman’ AT ‘gmail’ DOT ‘com.’ The hope is that we can learn and benefit from each other’s reflections.

This week, we will focus on two talks, actually, both by President Dieter F. Uchtdorf.

The first we think is a fitting message for a new year, especially given all the difficulty we have seen recently with economic struggles, political unrest and conflict worldwide, and many other challenges. President Uchdorf’s message, “The Infinite Power of Hope” reminds us that hope can be an anchor in our lives, even — or especially — in difficult times. We look forward to enjoying your thoughts about this powerful principle.

His second talk, “Happiness, Your Heritage” was directed to women, and was one that touched a lot of people. We would love to hear your thoughts about it. How does this talk help you think about your day-to-day life? Your talents? Making choices about how to spend your time? How do creation and compassion help you find happiness and peace in your life?

Whether you are LDS or not, we hope you take the opportunity to read these articles, and come share your thoughts with us.

If you have an article, talk, video, or other material you think would be good for this feature, please let us know!

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