Barbara will be one of the speakers at the Women's Devotional on July 11, at 7:00 p.m. at the Stake
I was born of goodly parents quite a while ago – and though aging has some downsides, I am mostly grateful for a life full of lessons and good people and excellent experiences that enrich my days.
I was born and raised in the church and really can’t imagine life any other way, but I try to anyway. I do because it is important to see the world the way it is – not the way it has been for me. If I expect to share the truths that I know, I need to know the truths that others live by.
I am the third of twelve children, born and raised in Southern California – with a few years spent in Provo, Salt Lake City, and Centerville, Utah. I met my husband Harry at BYU and we’ve been happily married for 53+ years. We have 6 children – 4 girls and 2 boys – and 23 grandchildren. Just last month we welcomed out first great grandchild – and we haven’t met him yet, but he has already added a dimension to our lives. Posterity is a great blessing.
I taught middle school for 20 years – I was a Special Education Resource teacher – and it was a good experience. I feel like I have been able to help others outside the classroom because of my experiences and the knowledge I have gained. It is a great blessing to feel that you have something to give to others, ways to help them. During this pandemic, I have been able to in-person and virtually interact with and assist my children and grandchildren with their school work and daily lives. I have felt a great satisfaction – a feeling of worth and purpose – that is a significant blessing in my daily life.
Of course, the greatest gift we have to give to others is the gift of the gospel. To other members and to those not of our faith, we can share the truths that guide and define our lives. I try to do that daily, and it can be a challenge. But it is a challenge I ask the Lord for assistance with each day.
REMARKS
At the beginning of the Restoration, the work of the translation of the Book of Mormon was going well,
but by May of 1829 the situation in Harmony, Pennsylvania had become more difficult for Joseph,
Emma, and Oliver Cowdery. There was hostility from neighbors and Emma’s family was losing their
initial enthusiasm. Oliver reached out to his friend David Whitmer, who was living with his parents in
Fayette, New York. The Whitmer family willingly opened their doors to them.
We read from an interview with David Whitmer, conducted by Orson Pratt and Joseph F. Smith, in 1878
, “Once Joseph, Emma, and Oliver moved to Fayette, David’s mother had her hands full. Mary
Whitmer and her husband Peter, already had eight children between the ages of 15 and 30, and the
few who did not still live at home resided nearby. Tending to their needs filled Mary’s days with
work, and the three houseguests added more labor. Mary had faith in Joseph’s calling and did not
complain, but she was getting tired.”
It was a hot summer and “Mary had little time to relax herself, and the added work and the strain
placed on her were hard to bear. One day, while she was out by the barn where the cows were milked,
she saw a gray-haired man with a knapsack slung across his shoulder. His sudden appearance frightened
her, but as he approached, he spoke to her in a kind voice that set her at ease.”
“My name is Moroni,” he said. “You have become pretty tired with all the extra work you have to do.”
He swung the knapsack off his shoulder, and Mary watched as he started to untie it. “You have been
very faithful and diligent in your labors,” he continued. “It is proper, therefore, that you should receive
a witness that your faith may be strengthened.”
Moroni opened his knapsack and removed the gold plates. He held them in front of her and turned their
pages so she could see the writing on them. After he turned the last page, he urged her to be patient and
faithful as she carried the extra burden a little longer. He promised she would be blessed for it.
The old man vanished a moment later, leaving Mary alone. She still had work to do, but that no longer
troubled her. I cannot think of a more profound testimony that one is indeed going about her Father’s
business than the visit of Moroni to Mary Whitmer. Even when we don’t get a concrete explanation or
action, we can know and feel reassured that we are following the right path.
As women of the Restoration today, we may not be sure just what is required of us. We know that
we have a “divine errand from the Lord” And President Spencer W. Kimball said, “To be a righteous
woman during the winding up scenes on this earth, before the second coming of our Savior, is an
especially noble calling. The righteous woman’s strength and influence today can be ten-fold what
it might be in more tranquil times.” These words indicate that we have specific tasks that need
doing – and if we stay on the path, pray, study and seek – we will know what those tasks are.
Moroni might not come and reassure us – but we can be reassured.
During the early years of the Restoration, strong, faithful women worked hard, exercised faith, and
moved the work forward. Young girls too knew the importance of their efforts. We have only to read
the account of Mary Rollins Lightner’s rescue of the pages of the Doctrine and Covenants during the
mob attacks in Jackson County, Missouri to see that the will and desire to serve and lead was present
in their young lives. I have recently had occasion to be with some of my teenage and young adult
granddaughters, and I am impressed with their courage and conviction and willingness to follow
the gospel path. They are young women of the Restoration.
Maybe my favorite “Restoration Woman” is Minerva Teichert – her father, Frederick John Kohlepp,
was a railroad worker and a rancher – the son of wealthy German-immigrant Jewish parents from
Boston, Massachusetts. He came west for the adventure of it all – and joined the church after he met
Mary Ella Hickman. She was well-educated and was a suffragette and a pamphleteer. She encouraged
Minerva’s artistic interests and supported her as she traveled east to study art. Ultimately Minerva
returned to Utah to marry Herman Teichert – who promptly left to serve in World War I. She had five
children, and spent most of her life in Cokeville, Wyoming as a rancher’s wife – but she always
painted – and is well-known for her temple murals and series of murals about the Book of Mormon.
Her paintings of the Savior and the pioneers are inspiring and have influenced many since her death.
Much of her work was not as well known when she was alive. She indeed left an enduring legacy
of the Restoration with her life and her art.
We are not limited to church history accounts however. In our own lives, we can see that women of
the Restoration are among us now – and they are not just those of Mormon pioneer stock.
My grandmother was raised in the hillbilly area of Breathitt County Kentucky – her family joined
the church at the turn of the century. Her mother sent her and her sister to Utah to find a Mormon
husband. Neither of them did – my grandmother married a non-member who also had a strong dislike
for members of the church. And though she did not remain active, and did not promote the church
with her children, she did live in Salt Lake City and neighbors invited her children to church. My
mother’s nanny was the granddaughter of Orrin Porter Rockwell, who had been Brigham Young’s
personal bodyguard – and my mother often said, “Sister Rockwell taught me to pray.” This was a
legacy that shaped my mother’s life.
Her father said she could not be baptized until she was 18. At age 16, however, as the family was
planning to move to Southern California, my grandmother took the trolley with my mom to the
Tabernacle in Salt Lake City where she was baptized. My grandmother later took her to the Bishop’s
house where she was confirmed. Once in Los Angeles, my mother continued to attend church and
remained a strong, lifelong member. My mother was an example of faith and testimony to all who
crossed her path – a true disciple of the Restoration.
Many years later, my grandfather died of lung cancer, the result of a life-long smoking habit.
My grandma Stevens was devastated. She lived in a mobile home park in Torrance, and her visiting
teacher – over the years they had continued to contact my grandmother – a testimony to the efforts
of many women of the Restoration who have maintained relationships even when there is no interest
in church activity – a truly Christ-like focus on the worth of souls – invited my grandma to Relief
Society. Re-activation followed, and at her death 15 years later she was a temple worker in the
Los Angeles Temple – and was with me when I received my endowment – a memory that is very
precious.
My paternal grandmother died when my dad was 17, and his first step-mother was a good woman
who had two children with my grandfather – an aunt and uncle who are close to my age and remain
close to all of us – but that marriage did not last long. His third wife was a woman of great strength
and perseverance who welcomed us – who were no blood kin at all – into her heart. She was a good
influence and loved us unconditionally. She also set a great example of living faithfully to the end.
She had a debilitating stroke that might have felled a lesser woman – but insisted on working her
way back. She would call me at night and say, in her difficult to understand halting language,
“Barbara I need to practice talking so that I can talk again. And no one wants to listen to me
– they want to finish my sentences for me. Will you listen while I talk?” That example has never
left me – and I think of it often when I face a daunting task – none of which has ever been quite as
difficult as the one she faced then.
My younger sister has lived all over the world with her husband and children as he has worked for
the State Department. They have mostly been countries where the church is not well-established.
Assignments were usually 3 years long. She would study about the area, take language classes,
serve in many callings in the church – truly living the whole notion of the Restoration in her daily life.
When we visited them in Bolivia 13 years ago, Dale was in the Bishopric and Alice was the Relief
Society President. Her Spanish was pretty elementary but the fabric of the gospel put everyone on
the same page – I felt the spirit there and knew that she was reaching these good sisters and they
were impacting her life also. It was a true sharing of the gospel.
We have 4 daughters who are truly women of the Restoration. Bonny seems to live in areas where
the membership is small. She and Bruce are always in the forefront, serving in busy callings – happily
and willingly – and strengthening the “stakes of Zion” as they go. Phoebe and Eliza both served as
Primary presidents at about the same time and when I would visit, I loved visiting Primary and
watching their devotion and dedication to the young children of the church. Hannah is in Paris now,
and I am impressed at her efforts to master the language to the point that she can give her Relief
Society lessons in French.
I know that all of you could recount similar stories about your families. The women of this stake
have a long, important tradition of service and graciousness and goodness – and even with high
turnover, the tradition remains. President Nelson has said, “I plead with my sisters of the church –
to step forward! Take your rightful and needful place in your home, in your community, and in the
Kingdom of God – more than you ever have before.”
I hesitate to name names, because I fear leaving someone out – or leaving someone thinking they
are somehow lesser. But I think of our beloved Margaret Finlay – who has definitely shown us how
to be a meaningful part of the community. I served with Margaret at Girls’ Camp for several years. I
know that the young women who went to camp under her jurisdiction learned a lot about leading and
serving and helping others – about being women of the Restoration. I served with other leaders too
and they also showed the young women the great qualities of leadership and service that we hope these
young women take out into the world with them.
Joseph Smith taught the importance of knowing that the path we are pursuing in this lifetime is
approved of God. Without that knowledge of the true path, we “will grow weary in our minds,
and faint.” I also think of many women I have encountered in my lifetime – women who have
been active, then less-active, then active again – and I am impressed at their courage and focus.
It is a hard job to fall away somewhat – and then to return – it takes personal integrity and sometimes
just grit. I hope that if you are in that category, you will give yourself a pat on the back – because
you deserve it!
My focus here is on our roles as women of the Restoration. President Nelson exhorted the
women of the church “I plead with you to increase your spiritual capacity to receive revelation.”
This is the way we can serve and share. I hesitate and hope that divisiveness will have no place here.
The whole issue of feminism, the idea of singling out women, can be divisive – except when we
acknowledge that we are all children of a Heavenly Father and Mother, who love us all equally.
We should all have the opportunity to follow the path that will lead us home to our heavenly parents.
That is why we share the gospel.
I testify that as women of the Restoration we have a calling and a challenge. We can know that the
gospel is true and we can share and participate in the Restoration of the gospel.
In the name of Jesus Christ amen.
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