I have always loved birthdays. The parties, the balloons, the cake, the presents, the attention. Birthday’s have always been a big deal in my family and celebrating them is a lot of fun. Yet it wasn’t until my oldest son celebrated his first birthday that it dawned on me that a birthday celebrates a BIRTH.…
My husband is taking a class on Isaiah and the other day he came home excited to share something his teacher had shared in class. In Isaiah 3 it talks about leadership and my husband’s teacher pointed out that it is important in order to have effective leadership in the home, in church, in society…
There is nothing better than having a new baby. Something sacred happened in our house when she was born, and it has made time slow down. There doesn’t seem to be anything more important to do than– love– her. She is beginning to grow into her name. It always feels so strange to give…
There were 9 (at least) amazing women who traveled for over 8 years in the wilderness with Lehi and his family– Sariah, Nephi’s sisters (2 Nephi 5:6 ), Ishmael’s wife, and her five daughters who married Zoram, Laman, Lemuel, Sam and Nephi. Nephi tells us that these women “…suffered all things, save it were death”…
“And the angel said unto me again: Look and behold the condescension of God!” 1 Nephi 11:26 My oldest son was born not long before Christmas. His birth was beautiful and has forever changed my feelings about Christmas. As I stared into his sweet, pure face that first Christmas day my heart was overflowing with gratitude…
Bilhah and Zilpah were the handmaidens (servants) of the patriarch Jacob’s wives, Leah and Rachel. Rachel, who was Jacob’s favorite wife, had not been blessed with children. While Leah, Rachel’s older sister, had given birth to four sons. Genesis 30 records that, “…when Rachel saw that she bare Jacob no children, Rachel envied her sister;…
Friday and Saturday I performed with the modern dance group I dance with. Everything went really well and it was so much fun to be on stage with my little boy. He did great. One of the pieces that the adult company performed (we are all mothers) was entitled “Milk” . It was a beautiful…
“We declare the means by which mortal life is created to be divinely appointed.” – from The Family: A Proclamation to the World Me after the birth of my daughter, little over a year ago. I used to struggle with my body image. For most of my teenage years and early adult life loving and…
This year in Relief Society we are studying the life and teachings of Joseph Fielding Smith, the 10th prophet of the church. As I read through the short biography of him given in the front of the manual I was very touched by a story about him and his second wife, Ethel Reynolds Smith. Joseph…
Image Source Last week would have been the due date of the baby I miscarried in December. I’d heard from other women who’d had miscarriages that passing the lost baby’s due date was hard, but I didn’t realize quite how hard. I thought that because I already had a new little life growing, thriving, and…
So I have happy news to share today! Farrell baby #5, who has been given the womb name of “Baby Otto”, will be joining our family around the end of December! I’ll freely admit that there are days when I think I must be crazy for having another baby, but I can’t…
Has anyone else been a bit ga-ga over the new royal baby? I am a bit embarrassed to say that I have been gobbling up every tidbit I’ve been able to read about William and Kate’s new baby boy. I’m not usually one to fall for celebrity stories or drama but there is just somethings…
I have a confession to make. It has been a long time since I’ve fasted. I actually have a really strong testimony of fasting but over the last three and half years there has been a grand total of two months when I was either not pregnant or not breastfeeding. I know that there are…
“Mary and Baby” by Liz Lemon Swindle Please understand this is my story. It comes from my heart. It isn’t meant to make anyone feel bad or to influence anyone’s decisions. It is just my story, my experience, and how the Lord has softened and changed my heart. I am only sharing this because I…
Our lesson in church today was on the Second Coming of Jesus Christ. As my husband and I were walking home after church we got into a discussion about if the prophet will know when Christ is going to come again. He mentioned the scripture in Mark 13: 32 that says, “But of that day…
Dr. Ellis Shipp and her “sister-wives” Image Source Did you know that the early days of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, midwifery was a spiritual calling? A woman was called to be a midwife by priesthood authority, often after having been nominated by the Relief Society, and set apart by the laying…
Fourteen was a hard age for me, my parents relationship was rocky, my mom was sick, and I constantly struggled with feelings of low self-esteem. There were times when I felt completely alone. Yet, it was in the midst of those trials that I had a great spiritual awakening. It was then I received a…
Amanda sent me her story and I was so touched by it. Her perspective on life and on eternity is beautiful and I love how studying the scriptures has impacted her life is such a profound way. Here is what she wrote: Rebekah’s story is very close to my heart. My husband and I struggled…
This is part 4 of my series “Cultivating a Heart Open to Life”. A version of this post was first posted on The Gift of Giving Life “Then Peter opened his mouth, and said, Of a truth I perceive that God is no respecter of persons” Acts 10:34 Before my youngest son was born my…
Midwives who Saved the Hebrew Babies
My first baby was hard to push out. After an extended length of pushing he was born and we saw that he’d had his elbow up by his head (try reaching your arm to your opposite ear and you’ll have the right position, except he was so flexible his elbow was in line with his…
Jesus answered and said unto him, Verily, verily, I say unto thee, Except a man be born again, he cannot see the kingdom of God. Nicodemus saith unto him, How can a man be born when he is old? can he enter the second time into his mother’s womb, and be born? Jesus answered, Verily, verily,…
One of the things I’ve noticed as I’ve studied the scriptures is that birth is an over arching theme in the stories of the women in the scriptures. A good portion of the stories about women in the scriptures center around women’s ability to bear, or inability to bear, children. Personally, the births of my…
I am not very creative when I am pregnant. I realized this about myself several babies back. I’ve learned that my usual enthusiasm and passion for writing exponentially decreases in proportion to the size of my belly. It isn’t just that I am more tired or busy, though I am sure those things factor…
This is part 2 of my series “Cultivating a Heart Open to Life” The story of Moses is one of my favorites, mostly because his story is filled with incredible women. We are introduced to many of these women at the start of Moses’s life and are shown several wonderful examples of women…
Not long ago I under took a study of the word “vessel” in the scriptures. For sometime I had been impressed by the scripture (which is repeated four times in the standard works) which says, “Depart ye, depart ye, go ye out from thence, touch no unclean thing; go ye out of the midst…
There is one word in the Bible that bothered me for a long time. It was the word unclean, especially when it was used in connection with menstruation, childbirth, sexual intimacy and women’s bodies. For example in Leviticus 15 it says this, “And if a woman have an issue, and her issue in her flesh…
This is part 1 of my series “Cultivating a Heart Open to Life.” The Ancient Egyptians believed that after you died you would be taken before the God Anubis (pictured above with the jackal head) and your heart would be weighed against the feather of truth. If your heart was found to be lighter than…
A week before my first son was born I spent a very special afternoon with my Grandmother. She is famous for making wonderful chocolates, especially carmel turtles. They are the best. It was getting near Christmas and I’d convinced her to let me help her make her Christmas chocolates. I went with the hope that…
Do you remember that part in Gone With the Wind when Scarlet has just had her baby and is upset because Mammy can only get her corset laced up to 21 inches instead of her pre-pregnancy 19 inches ? Mammy tells her, “Honey child, you done had a baby. You ain’t never gun a be…
This Easter thoughts about “the womb” and “the tomb” have been on my mind. I have been thinking a lot about the lesson I learned after Abraham’s birth. In his birth story I wrote: I got in the shower to clean up. As I rubbed soap over my belly I couldn’t help but think how…