Riches to Rags—My Testimony of Relief Society

My husband and I raised our family in downtown Las Vegas, Nevada for several years. During part of that time I served as our ward Relief Society president. Even though I had six young children, I loved my calling! I thrived on the wonderful associations I had with the good sisters in our ward. I loved serving with my counselors and secretary and planning uplifting activities. I enjoyed dressing up every Sunday and conducting Relief Society, attending meetings with the bishopric and other leaders, and serving families in our ward.  I felt very fulfilled and needed outside of my young motherhood responsibilities.

Since we lived downtown, there were quite a few needy families in our area. A significant amount of my time was spent going into homes, visiting with mothers, and filling out food orders.

I often took my children with me as we ministered to mothers who were exhausted, sick, or simply overwhelmed by the cares of life—sisters who needed comfort, both spiritual and physical. Despite my heartfelt good works on their behalf, I always felt grateful that I wasn’t in their situation. I was glad I had a clean house, well-dressed children, and that my own hair was washed and styled!

Then, suddenly, my life changed. My husband accepted a job promotion in a different state. Within a month we had packed up and left our home in sunny Las Vegas for a small rental house in Casper, Wyoming. The weather was 60 degrees when we left Las Vegas, and it felt like only 6 degrees when we pulled into Casper that December evening. The same week that we moved I realized that I was pregnant with our 7^th child. Little did I know that I was actually expecting twins—babies number seven and eight!