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.

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I am in my early thirties and loving it. I have three kids and have been married for 9 years. At church, I teach an Adult Sunday School class. I love camping, nature, writing and playing games with my family.

I have been a member of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints, or Mormon church, since I was baptized at age 8 [the minimum age at which children are baptized]. A lot of my happiness stems from that one really good decision to join the church. I was cute, but nerdy, in High School and went on to college where I obtained a Business Degree in Finance. Promptly after graduation, I received a job offer from a prominent bank to work as a Bonds Broker. I was happy to have a job where I could completely support myself. I bought myself a Jeep Grand Cherokee and thought I was hot stuff.

But after months and months of cold calls, I thought, “There must be something more to life than Fund Managers hanging up and swearing at me.” That night I went home and pulled out the yellow pages. I circled every job that I thought I might like or be good at. I found a trend. Either I was supposed to be a teacher or a florist! I started calling private schools, since I didn’t have a teaching degree, and landed a job teaching Math. Can I tell you how happy I was? My smile muscles ached when I got home from work because I found what was just right for me. I have since taught math and quite a lot of science.

Initially, this change was hard. I had prepared to be and do something different in life. But when I started teaching I was happy. Thinking about this experience reminds me about the one thing I appreciate most about the Gospel of Jesus Christ: it allows for change. Through the principle of repentance we can do and become better.

I have friends who think that they are “bad apples” or are too far gone for happiness. This is simply not true! We can all change, and become better and happier. Sincere repentance has a lot to do with changing. With faith in the Lord Jesus Christ, we believe that He has the power to forgive sins and make us clean again.

I am thankful that I have learned about repentance since an early age. Just like changing careers was uncomfortable at first but led to happiness, change through repentance can lead to greater happiness in the future.

I hope you smile so much today that your face muscles ache.

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