I was born in San Diego, California in 1963. Through the course of my life I have always had a deep love of the written word, particularly the scriptures. A promise in my patriarchal blessing states:
“Because of your taking advantage of every opportunity you have in the Church to gain experience and to learn the lessons of life, and because you have filled your mind with knowledge from the Standard Works of the Church, you will be ready with an answer for those who are honest in heart.“
We have been cautioned to not allow anyone but family members to read our patriarchal blessings as they are deeply sacred and personal in nature. But I feel comfortable sharing this one paragraph because it helps to illustrate my point.
I am a daughter of God. You are a son or daughter of God. Nothing we say or do will ever change that. But we are intended to return to our Father in Heaven in glory, not in shame. To this end, I have devoted my life to learning more about the gospel from every reliable source I could find. I have studied the words of ancient and modern prophets and apostles. I read and prayed about the words of trusted theologians. I have tried to serve my fellow man and live a more Christlike life. And through it all, my testimony has grown so strong that I am as certain as anyone can be that we have a loving Heavenly Father who has given us every necessary tool to return to him.My interest in writing began when I was eleven. So I took every class I could, took private instruction from writers who would teach, majored in Creative Writing in college . . . everything I could do to develop my skills as a writer. And yet, it was years of pondering and prayer before I truly understood my mission in life.
You see, our Heavenly Father sent each one of us to this earth with a purpose and specific missions to accomplish. It took a number of years before I understood mine. Once I did, I endeavored to do all I could to accomplish that mission. As I have done so, others have been revealed to me. And so I continue on, every day, attempting to live my life in such a fashion that I am able serve Him as He intends.
My parents did such a fantastic job of raising me. With eleven other children, it wasn’t always the easiest thing for them. And yet there was never a doubt in my mind that their testimonies of Jesus Christ and His gospel were strong and unassailable. They taught us the gospel with every action and every night as we read the scriptures. My mother has a huge library which was a constant source of knowledge growing up. No matter why I called her, she had the answer or she found it within minutes. My parents are a large part of why I am who I am today.
My sweet husband has been a constant and loving companion. He makes me want to be a better person because of the kind of person he is. Together we continue our study of the gospel, attend church weekly and pray often. We date, we love, we support, we encourage each other to be the best we can be.
I am . I want to be so much better than I am. The happiness I find in my heart and spirit is the knowledge of who I am as a daughter of God. I attempt to balance my life properly so that I am the best servant of the Lord I can possibly be . . . and this is what I ask you —
Are you becoming who you are meant to be?
