Mormon Women: Who We Are

Answer: By Janelle**

OK, well let’s start this answer with a confession. I’m a total Trekkie. My favorite Star Trek series were Next Generation and Deep Space Nine. I dream in Sci-Fi; I love to imagine being transported from one part of the globe to another in an instant or take a Caribbean vacation on a holo-deck.

But, do Mormons believe that aliens from other planets visit the earth in spaceships traveling far distances to aid or hinder life on earth? No.

Do we believe there are other worlds out there? Yes, God created them.

In a book of scripture we use, called The Pearl of Great Price, God proclaims: Read more…

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Filed under: Ask a Mormon Woman

There is a verse in the Doctrine and Covenants (one of the books of scripture of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints) which reads: “If ye are prepared, ye shall not fear.” This story, In Chile: The Lord’s Earthquake Warning, is a powerful example of how a group of missionaries was able to be prepared for the earthquake because of spiritual impressions that had come to the Mormon woman responsible (alongside her husband, the mission president) for 171 missionaries. (Couples are given responsibility to preside over 150-200 missionaries in 340 (as of Feb. 13, 2010) different geographical locations all over the world.)

(For ideas on emergency preparedness, see the Church’s information here. Also, this website, compiled by two Mormon women, has a lot of helpful information.)

Read about one missionary’s experience helping near the epicenter in Chile.

Read about LDS relief efforts in Chile here.

Elder Jeffrey R. Holland, a member of the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles, who served for several years on assignment in Chile, shares his thoughts after hearing about the earthquake. He reminds us that, “Even for those who have sustained terrible loss the Spirit can bring peace, tranquility, a hope for the future.”

Please remember to pray for those in Chile, Haiti, and Taiwan…as well as in other places where trial and tragedy abound.

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Read several stories and see photo essays of Mormon Church members helping in Haiti here.

Read the thoughts of former mission presidents and their wives on life in Haiti before the earthquake here.

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The recent tragedy of Marie Osmond’s son committing suicide may raise question in some people’s minds about LDS views on this difficult topic.

First of all, we want to encourage those who may feel they or someone they know is in danger of hurting themselves to get help. There are numerous crisis lines and online resources available if you search “suicide hotline” or other similar topics.

Following are some resources about Mormon beliefs regarding suicide:

“What do Mormons believe about suicide?” Two-part series, part 1 and part 2 here at Mormon Women: Who We Are.

Articles on suicide from the LDS Family Services section of the LDS Church’s website, Provident Living

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Filed under: Links We Like

~by Julie

I was recently making a loaf of simple sandwich bread for our lunches. Often, I mix the bread in a bread maker, and then shape and bake the loaf in the oven. I just like it better that way.  As I put the pan into the bread maker, I went over all the ingredients in my head to make sure I had everything: water, honey, brown sugar, salt, flour, and…yeast! I had forgotten the yeast!

Without yeast, a loaf of bread bakes up into a hard brick and is unedible.  It never rises, it doesn’t get soft and tender, and it belongs nowhere but the trash. I’ve forgotten to add yeast a few times to my bread, and was always frustrated and disappointed that I wasted my time and the good ingredients on something that no one would enjoy.

As I rushed to the fridge to pull out and measure the yeast, I realized a parallel. It’s the same with prayer.  Prayer is the yeast of my day.  It is good to pray over meals, it is wonderful to pray in the evening to take time and express thanks to God for the blessings of that day.  But it is essential to start my day with prayer.  Without it, I feel off.  I wonder how many opportunities I might be missing because I didn’t take a few minutes to ask for guidance through prayer in the morning.  I wonder how many of my good ingredients — my willingness to serve, my talents, my hope to be better — might go unused or less used because I didn’t tell the Lord in the morning how willing I was to help Him that specific day.  I know that when I begin my day taking some time to have a good conversation with my Heavenly Father, my day has the ability to rise in a way it doesn’t when I don’t pray.

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Filed under: First Person, How We Live, Mormon Multimedia, What We Believe

~by Michelle B.

The temple, to me, is the pinnacle of our experience in the gospel and in this life. We talk about the Atonement. Serving in the temple is the Atonement in action. I once heard someone explain this point: Every time we attend the temple, we need to forgive someone of something. Even if it is forgiving ourselves, we need to partake of the Atonement in this way.

When I think about that, I usually equate the Atonement with repentance and being saved from our sinful, mortal lives. What better way to show our gratitude than by serving in the temple and doing for others what the Saviour has done for us. We are providing ordinances of salvation to those who have gone on before us and doing for them what they cannot do for themselves. Read more…

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Filed under: Our Thoughts, What We Believe

~by Jen H.

Not long ago, I sat in our Sunday meetings at church and listened to a very well thought out, well prepared and inspired lesson on the remarkable Prophet Joseph Smith.  A few things really struck me as listened to the moving lesson. Most profound is that, I knew Joseph Smith was a true prophet of God, and that was re-confirmed to me with 100% certainty. Read more…

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Filed under: We Believe