The last couple of days have been so good. I am so grateful Joanna has given me courage to say the tender feelings of my heart. Thanks Jo for sharing your courage.

As I have been bearing my testimony, it has become stronger.

This morning as I was writing my email to the family, I felt such a good feeling. I felt like I was giving them the yummiest piece of Shepherds pie, with some yummy potatoe, with yummy green beans and hamburger in it. I felt like I was saying, 'Here, try this yummy word of God. It is delicious to the soul, and sweet above all that is sweet. It will fill you.'

Of course, the Holy Ghost gave those words to me. I know I wouldn't have been able to write that email on my own because I have had times when I was asked to give a talk in Sacrament meeting and there was nothing inside of me to say.

As for myself, I am nothing, but in Christ Jesus I can do all things.... It is true. I just wanted to say it again..

In other news, Vanessa is upstairs right now playing the violin. She is playing Book of Mormon Stories... And now she is playing Jesus Wants Me For a Sunbeam. Something has happened to her the last week since I started requiring her to practice for an hour a day. I am loving it!

Q. How would you describe your life in only 8 words?
A. Finding and standing on the Lords side.
Q. What is your motto or maxim?
A. Choosing Christ, even if...
Q. How would you describe perfect happiness?
A. Free from guilt. (I agree here with you Jo)
Q. What’s your greatest fear?
A. A hard heart.
Q. If you could be anywhere in the world right now, where would you choose to be?
A. Home.
Q. With whom in history do you most identify?
A. Other God fearing people.
Q. Which living person do you most admire?
A. Jeffrey R. Holland.
Q. What are your most overused words or phrases?
A. ?. Sorry ?? (this is a tough one)
Q. What do you regret most?
A. Waiting for others to believe in Christ too before I committed myself to Him.
Q. If you could acquire any talent, what would it be?
A. Be slow to anger.
Q. What is your greatest achievement?
A. My marriage.
Q. What’s your greatest flaw?
A. Keeping a spotless house.
Q. What’s your best quality?
A. Giving people second chances.
Q. If you could be any person or thing, who or what would it be?
A. Me. (I liked your answer Jo too)
Q. What trait is most noticeable about you?
A. Sobriety.
Q. If you could meet any historical character, who would it be and what would you say to him or her?
A. Right now, I'd like to meet Alma the Younger and tell him how much I admire his change of heart.
Q. What is your biggest pet peeve?
A. People who don't try to understand others.
Q. What is your favorite occupation, when you’re not writing?
A. Being a stay at home mom. (Same here)
Q. What 3 personal qualities are most important to you?
A. Charity, Understanding, Forgiveness
Q. If you could eat only one thing for the rest of your days, what would it be?
A. Fish and rice
Q. What are your 5 favorite songs?
A. I Know That My Redeemer Lives, Perfect Love, Blue Train (Linda Ronstadt), Abide With Me, I Need Thee Every Hour

The last little while my mind has returned to a General Conference talk from May 2004 called 'But If Not..." by Dennis E. Simmons. In the talk, he says,


'Centuries ago, Daniel and his young associates were suddenly thrust from security into the world—a world foreign and intimidating. When Shadrach, Meshach, and Abed-nego refused to bow down and worship a golden image set up by the king, a furious Nebuchadnezzar told them that if they would not worship as commanded, they would immediately be cast into a burning fiery furnace. “And who is that God that shall deliver you out of my hands?” 2

The three young men quickly and confidently responded, “If it be so [if you cast us into the furnace], our God whom we serve is able to deliver us from the burning fiery furnace, and he will deliver us out of thine hand.”

... But then they demonstrated that they fully understood what faith is. They continued, “But if not, … we will not serve thy gods, nor worship the golden image which thou hast set up.” 3 That is a statement of true faith.

They knew that they could trust God—even if things didn’t turn out the way they hoped. 4 They knew that faith is more than mental assent, more than an acknowledgment that God lives. Faith is total trust in Him.'




The thoughts on my mind echo this talk. No matter what the world does to me, I will put my faith and trust in Christ.

Simmons goes on to say,

'Our God will deliver us from ridicule and persecution, but if not. … Our God will deliver us from sickness and disease, but if not … . He will deliver us from loneliness, depression, or fear, but if not. … Our God will deliver us from threats, accusations, and insecurity, but if not. … He will deliver us from death or impairment of loved ones, but if not, … we will trust in the Lord.


'Our God will see that we receive justice and fairness, but if not. … He will make sure that we are loved and recognized, but if not. … We will receive a perfect companion and righteous and obedient children, but if not, … we will have faith in the Lord Jesus Christ, knowing that if we do all we can do, we will, in His time and in His way, be delivered and receive all that He has.'

To whom else can I go? To whom else can I worship? Or follow? For Christ has the words of eternal life!

Being a follower of Christ means having high standards. It means I follow a path of overcoming temptations of all kinds. The path is straight and it is narrow. The path is full of repentance and correction. It is full of love and grace. As to my own strength, I am nothing, but in Jesus Christ I can do all things.

The light of Christ shows all things as they really were, really are, and really will be.

The Light of Christ and the gift of the Holy Ghost are the light that light my footsteps. They truly are a lamp unto my feet.

Joanna's recent journey to find peace in Christ is inspiring. It has really made me re-evaluate my own standing with God again. Am I living as He would have me live?

The year I turned 27 was a year of deep reflection for me. I was questioning the way I was raised and wanted to find peace with some of the incorrect traditions in our family. Not to mention I wanted to find peace in my marriage. At this time, I didn't know what was wrong or why I didn't feel at peace, but I was determined to find out. So, one day as I was leaving church, I looked up toward heaven and said in my mind, "Take me, Heavenly Father, I'm ready." By this I meant, I'm ready for You to show me how to have peace.

The next 2 months were torture for me. Every day I would wake up and I would have a thought come into my head of someone I had wronged or offended. It went like this: "Sarah, you lied to Jenny." I would think in my head of the situation where I'd lied. Then I would think, "Oh, I did do that. That was wrong." Then I would get on the internet and search to find Jenny so that I could apologize. I wrote a letter to her with an apology because I could only find her parent's home address.

This went on for 2 months. "Sarah you did this. Sarah you did that." I admitted to God that He was right and that I had done all the things the Holy Ghost was bringing into my mind, and I admitted that I was so sorry. Then one morning, as usual, the thought came into my mind of something I had done that I wasn't ready to reconcile yet. I was still in an attitude of excusing myself when it came to this specific offense. Every time the Holy Ghost would remind me of this horrible thing I had done, I would say in my mind, "Yeah, but, I couldn't be perfect. I was going through so much." For 2 weeks I fought with God with this offense. And then one day after I finally said in my mind, "You're right Heavenly Father, what I did was wrong, and I knew it was wrong, and I shouldn't have done it," it was at that moment that I remember God speaking in my mind that I was forgiven and that He loved me.

Cleaning up 27 years of accumulated sins was rough. But, I was beginning to feel God's love for me in a way I hadn't felt ever before. I continued to study the scriptures and have a soft heart. I started to stand up for things I believed were wrong, but I was wimpy about it. My attempts were really pathetic, in hindsight.

As I keep onward in fighting sin, I find continued peace. My relationship with God is always on my mind. My relationship with my husband is moving in the right direction. Satan's lies are powerful and deceiving. It amazes me how many of his lies I have believed.

2 Nephi 28:

21 And others will he pacify, and lull them away into carnal security, that they will say: All is well in Zion; yea, Zion prospereth, all is well—and thus the devil cheateth their souls, and leadeth them away carefully down to hell.

22 And behold, others he flattereth away, and telleth them there is no hell; and he saith unto them: I am no devil, for there is none—and thus he whispereth in their ears, until he grasps them with his awful chains, from whence there is no deliverance.

24 Therefore, wo be unto him that is at ease in Zion!

25 Wo be unto him that crieth: All is well!



The Book of Mormon is my saving grace. It speaks the truth in a world filled with the precepts of men. I love Christ. His words are a song to my heart.

The boys went hunting with their dad and loved it!

Little Bruce at 1 month old

Jared and I have known each other for 18 years today. We went on our first date to the Kyoto in Salt Lake. It is a Japanese restaurant on 1100 East and 1300 South. It was Homecoming Dance 1991.

We were set up. Jared's friends knew me, but Jared and I didn't know each other at all. One of his friends wanted him to go to the dance with them, but Jared didn't have a date. He'd tried to ask 2 other girls, but they'd already been asked. So, in order to get a date for Jared with a girl he didn't know, his friends decided they had to trick him. So, they told him he was asking a girl by the name of Sarah Leymaster. So, after he drops off his treats on our doorstep, he runs out to the bushes where his friends who were with him are waiting for him. He gets behind the bushes, and his friends are laughing their heads off. Jared asks what is so funny. His friend says, "Dude, you just asked Sarah Taylor, not Sarah Leymaster!" Jared said, "Who the heck is Sarah Taylor." So, Jared goes home to find my Sophomore picture in the yearbook. He says he doesn't know me. He decides to not call me and rescind the invitation to the dance because he knows Paul, who was in his body conditioning class, and he says, "At least she's not ugly."

As for me? When I got the invitation and it said Jared Bott, I went to the yearbook to look him up. I had never seen him before. Paul was sitting right there and said he thought he knew him from body conditioning. So, after some persuasion from my siblings, I decided to say yes.

The date was uncomfortable. Jared was super nervous and didn't talk much. He had just gotten his drivers license and was insecure about his driving. But, the look in his eyes was sweet.

18 years and 5 kids later brings a life of ups and downs. We rejoice in the good times, and struggle together through the bad times. I am grateful every day for second chances to show love, committment, repentance, and gratitude for one another.

Do they look like brothers? The first picture is of Bruce, and the second is of Rex at 4 weeks old.

We loved Conference this weekend. Our little family is fighting off a cold, so sitting in front of the TV for long hours was easier than usual.

I just wanted to tell a little story about Joseph before I forget it. There are times when we go off to bed and we blow kisses to each other when saying goodnight. We are in the habit of saying goodnight to each other like 5 times before we actually are in bed with the lights out. This one particular night Joseph blew me a kiss. He kissed his hand and then started to blow really hard on his hand. Then he said to me, "That one was really hard to get off." It took me a second to understand what he meant. When I realized it, I was laughing my head off. He didn' know what was so funny, as it was perfectly reasonable that a kiss would get stuck on his hand. Joseph is adorable and creative like no other.