Sister Bailey, age 62 Elizabethton, TN Sister Bailey says that teaching or sharing talents with others gives her the opportunity to find joy in life and provides a sense of purpose She is currently teaching Gospel Principles in her ward. She was able to witness the baptism of a convert recently that has been attending her class for the last 14 months. She felt rewarded in being able watch him grow in the gospel as she taught him the lessons. She is also in charge of organizing a day of service opportunities in her community and works with two wards in this effort. She works with the city in planning projects and advertising for this day and then coordinates with the community and ward members to arrange the work force that is provided. Sister Bailey finds joy in life when she is able to do the things that she enjoys such as traveling, visiting museums, reading books, and continuing her education. Sister Porter, age 49 Unicoi, TN Sister Porter says that family is most important in helping her have purpose in life. After raising 5 children and being a stay at home mom she has decided to go back to school to learn a new trade for her future. This has helped her to find joy in her life and given her a purpose to work towards. Her children are now all adults and living in different areas, she is grateful for modern technology like Skype and Facebook to keep connected with them. Being able to stay close with her family through these means has helped her to not feel so lonely. Sister Miller, age 72, TN Sister Miller says that service opportunities and social functions are most important to her when it comes to feeling like she belongs and has purpose. She has always been a big part of the community and has volunteered in the community on various committees. After her husband passed away a few years ago she decided that it was time for her to serve a mission. She has served in the local family history library for years and is currently the region s genealogy specialist. She often hosts the FHE group at her home for those that are empty nesters in the surrounding wards. She has a game room and movie theater in her basement where she likes to host parties. She also attends the lunch bunch group that meets at a restaurant for lunch once a month. The hardest part of aging years was losing her husband and finding joy in the journey as a widowed sister. She has discovered that through service she is able to have joy once again. Sister Christiansen, age 65, Elizabethton TN Sister Christiansen has found that service opportunities and social functions provide her with a sense of purpose. She has served as Relief Society President and found purpose in doing things like compassionate service and dressing those who have passed away. She likes to participate in Days of Service. She is currently the Young Women s President in her ward, which keeps her extremely busy. She recently retired from nursing and has done several humanitarian trips. She will be going on a month long mercy trip this spring as a nurse off of the coast of Africa. Sister V. Davidson, age 70, Chatsworth CA Sister Davidson is a vibrant young 70 yr. old who finds great joy in the journey through faith and total trust in the Lord. She and her family have faced challenges of every kind. She gets through her trials by faith and
knowing that God is fair. It all boils down to trusting the Lord in all things and acknowledging His hand in all things! I know that His judgments of us are fair. He is fair in the trials He gives us, Mosiah 23: 21-22 as well as 2Corinthians 10:13 are proof and evidence of His fairness towards his children. Some of the things that give her health and a different kind of joy in the journey is to take daily walks with her husband, share her gifts and talents (learned from and shared with her mother Hortense) of cake decorating, candy making, chocolate dipping, with the Young Women and Relief Society in her ward and Stake. I couldn t do any of those things on my own, I share what I have learned because it comes from Heavenly Father. She attends the temple regularly, reads scriptures and prays daily; all of these things help her find joy in the journey. She shares her deep and abiding gratitude for all things that Heavenly Father provides and acknowledges that all her gifts, talents and abilities come from God. These are the things she says are key to finding joy in life and opening our eyes to opportunities of sharing the gospel through our gifts and talents. Another thing I love to do is to write in my journal about my daily experiences, I am reminded daily that I can be thankful for all the blessings, joys and even the tests and fears that are put to rest through faith in the Atonement of Jesus Christ and the trust we put in Him. Sister M. Bonilla, 70, Provo UT Sister Bonilla enjoys going visiting teaching and going to the temple. She finds great joy in giving service through her calling as Compassionate Service leader, this calling and her 3 mission calls have been the most amazing sources of joy in her life aside from her children. She finds joy in the scriptures and daily prayer. A few things that give me joy and make me smile and feel good are playing with my dogs, listening to audiobooks, sewing, and (when my hands didn t hurt) I loved to crochet and quilt. I have made quilts and crocheted blankets for my family! Sister Bonilla says the best way to find joy is to give it through faithful and humble service; through sharing the gospel by visit teaching less active sisters, looking for ways to be compassionate and following the Savior. Sister M. Millet, Lehi UT Mary finds joy in quiet service. Each Sunday she looks for any of the older sisters, or single sisters who may be sitting alone and with her amazing smile and baby in tow puts her arms around the sister and stays with her throughout sacrament meeting. These sisters may not have family or grandchildren close by and Mary fills that need perfectly, providing warm company and an ample smile to those who may feel alone. Sister V. age 58 Southern Utah She finds that serving as the Relief Society 2 nd counselor and serving her family help her feel like she belongs and has a sense of purpose. Her children and grandchildren are always #1 and she says they give 100% more than she will ever give them. Spending time with her family brings her the most joy in her life. She finds it important to spend time with her husband alone away from work since they work together. During this phase of her life she finds living away from her children and grandchildren is a challenge. She is trying to stay healthy to avoid illness and to be prepared for what the future may hold.
Sister W. age 68 Southern Utah She feels purpose through her family, other service opportunities and church callings. She loves spending time with her grandsons who are her joy! She enjoys expanding her friendships. She finds joy in reading the scriptures and good books. She loves to run, even at her age and finds joy in striving for good health. She lost her spouse over a year ago and has found some hardships with this challenge. She is still able to do things on her own but has found a lack of desire to cook and clean! She has struggled with feeling a sense of purpose but she tries to find ways to be of service to others around her family and friends! Sister C. age 79 Southern Utah Friendliness from others helps her feel like she belongs and she feels a sense of purpose through fulfilling her church calling as greeter, teaching skills to Relief Society sisters and enjoying time with her family (which she says is the best there is ). Spending as much time as possible with family brings her the most joy! Her lack of mobility and energy are hard for her to deal with at this phase in her life. She finds that cooking, cleaning, etc. are becoming more difficult to do. She says You don t have to feel lonely unless you choose to be. There are plenty of things to do for others. Sister M. age 70 Southern Utah She feels a sense of belonging and purpose through her family, having social functions to attend and teaching and sharing her talents with others. She finds joy through helping others, being with friends & family, knitting and baking. At this stage in her life she finds it hard to live far away from children and grandchildren and dealing with illness. Sister J. age 70 Southern Utah She finds purpose through many service opportunities! She enjoys serving as Relief Society chorister and Sunday school teacher, doing indexing, family history and serving in the temple. She enjoys spending as much time as possible with her 4 sons and 15 grandchildren and with her mother who is 90! She finds there are many social functions to attend which she enjoys. She loves sharing her talents - family history, indexing, crocheting and quilting. She is an artist and author and finds joy in writing and painting! She finds it hard to live far away from her children and grandchildren. She says she has always felt a sense of purpose because of her outlook! Sister J. Southern Utah She feels a sense of purpose through family and friends. She also feels a sense of belonging through service opportunities and teaching and sharing her talents. She finds joy through serving others, visiting with the elderly, pursuing the development of talents and staying in close contact with family. She finds it hard to live far from children and grandchildren and not feeling like she fits in with her ward. It is a great concern to her to be prepared for the future finances and health.
Sister F. Southern Utah At this time in her life she is very busy with living life! She feels a sense of purpose through quilting, being part of a quilting group and taking quilting classes. She loves to read and belongs to a book group as well. She finds joy through her calling as the Relief Society 1 st Counselor which gives her a lot to do. She helps serve many neighbors. She enjoys staying involved with family. Her husband has been retired for 10 years and they enjoy walking, going on trips, sharing books and going to the temple. She also loves to work outside in her flower beds. The hardest part of this time in her life is having her dear lovable husband at home all the time! Sister Facer from Clinton, Utah I will hit the "Big 8-0" in just a few months and have worked hard to earn every single one of those years. My husband and I have been married nearly 62 years and we are so grateful to still enjoy good health with only a few minor aches and pains. We love life! We have been blessed with four wonderful children, 21 grandchildren, and 25 great-grandchildren with 4 more coming this year. Great joy comes to my life whenever one of our posterity comes to visit or we all get together for a big family event. Joy fills my heart when I know each of them is trying to keep God's commandments. They are not all perfect, of course, but they are on the right path and we pray for no 'empty chairs'. I have great faith in the future and have tried to live my life focused on the good and positive things that make us happy. As in every family we have had sorrow and sadness, but we have been richly blessed and I know from whence all good comes. My husband and I are currently in our fifth year as part-time service missionaries taking tours through the Conference Center in Salt Lake. We find great joy in meeting people from all over the world and sharing the beautiful building with them. I would like to share an experience that happened several years ago that taught me a great lesson about listening to the "still, small voice of the Holy Ghost." We were living in Roy, Utah in a split-entry home with the garage and family room underneath the upstairs. It was late at night and all the children were in bed asleep along with my husband. I had been studying to give a lesson in Relief Society. I had a file cabinet that we kept in the garage with some books in it. There was one on Joseph Smith that I knew had some information that I wanted to use in my lesson, but I decided it could wait until morning. I undressed and got ready for bed, but as I was getting under the covers, a voice in my mind said to me, "Go get that book!" I brushed it aside and lay down on the pillow, again the voice said distinctly, "Go get the book". I sat up in bed and once again dismissed it, thinking it was silly to go clear downstairs out in the garage just to get a book I could surely read tomorrow. After all, my lesson was not for two more days. The third time I was told to go get the book, I remember thinking I probably could not sleep anyway, so I put on my robe and went downstairs. When I opened the door leading into the garage, I was engulfed in smoke. The garage was completely filled and I could not see to the other side. I quickly screamed "Fire" and opened the outside garage door. By then my husband had come down and we found that flames were starting up the inside wallboard next to
the house. We quickly put them out and realized what had happened. Our older son had emptied the wood ashes from the family room fireplace, put them in a cardboard box and a few embers had been smoldering for several hours in the box before starting up the wall. I remember crying and crying afterward, not from fear of what could have happened, but because I almost didn't listen. Since that time I have come to realize that if you are prompted more than once to do something, you'd better do it!!! Twelve years ago I was diagnosed with breast cancer. That was a difficult year for us. I had surgery and chemo treatments for nine months, followed by daily visits to the hospital for radiation for six weeks. I remember thinking how long that would be and I needed something to look forward to when it would be over. The Dr. said when I got depressed or sad or worried to think of someplace that was beautiful that I had been. Our daughter lived in Washington State and we had visited there in the spring when the tulip fields were all in bloom in Skagit Valley. I had never seen anything so colorful and beautiful. We loved taking pictures with all the little grandchildren in among the blooms. That is what I would picture in my mind after each chemo injection when I wasn't feeling well. I planted lots of tulip bulbs that year and would say to myself, "Now, when the tulips peek their little heads through the earth in the springtime, the treatments will be over. I cried the day I went outside and found the little green leaves coming up, and I only had two radiation treatments left. There was a favorite scripture that I copied and put on my refrigerator that would give me hope every day. It was found in Doctrine and Covenants 84:88 which states: "And whoso receiveth you, there I will be also, for I will go before your face. I will be on your right hand and on your left, and my spirit shall be in your heart, and mine angels round about you, to bear you up." I do remember a special non-member neighbor that was especially kind to me during this time. The day she found out she came over with a box of homemade fudge and a note that said simply, "Fudge fixes anything"-----and at that moment it did. She would send me an encouragement card every three weeks when she knew I was having treatments. I will always be grateful and remember her for that. A favorite quote my mother used to always say was, "When you come to the end of your rope, just tie a knot and hang on! After 60 years of marriage, we have lots of knots in our rope - but it is now strong and hopefully will weather any storm. We hope that our posterity will realize that marriage is not like the "Front-runner"-- if you miss one, you can catch another, but rather like the oak tree whose roots run deep and steadfast. Sister Ediger, 68, Ferron Utah When I was growing up I always dreamed of having a happy marriage and a home filled with lots of children. So when my husband walked away from me and our two children, ages one and three, I realized my purpose in life was to raise those two wonderful, special children as I knew my Heavenly Father would want me to do. Now they are both returned missionaries, college graduates and successful in their chosen careers. I have five beautiful grandchildren with whom I find a lot of joy and happiness. I find joy in serving, being with and supporting my family. I cheer as I watch soccer games and dance recitals, attend school programs and see projects done by grandchildren and their friends. I find joy in serving others, as a temple worker and in my church callings. I find joy in studying scriptures, prayer, and trying to live my life as I should.
I struggle with health issues. I m going through my third round of cancer. My favorite scripture is Be still and know that I am God. It comforts me and strengthens me and helps me realize Heavenly Father is in charge. I am grateful for that knowledge and testimony.