71+ | Mormon Women

March 6th, 2013 by admin

The Shining Light of Oakland

Betty Stevenson

Betty Stevenson grew up in an African-American community near San Francisco. After spiraling through abusive relationships, drug dealing and jail, she joined the Church. Betty served for many years as the Relief Society president of the newly formed Oakland Ninth Branch, composed of some of Oakland’s poorest neighborhoods, and she is the founder of an organization that hosts free football camps. In addition, Betty is raising her three great-grandchildren.

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Posted in: 61 - 70 years old, 71+, Conversion Stories, Conversion Stories, English, Lives of Service, Lives of Service, Personal Challenges, Personal Challenges, Single, Uncategorized, United States - Tags: abuse, California, conversion, convert, drugs, LDS woman, mormon abuse, single

October 10th, 2012 by admin

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The Power of A Snowflake

Bonnie Ballif-Spanvill

Bonnie Ballif-Spanvill has dedicated her professional life to the study of peace and how to bring peace to the lives of women around the world. Both as a professor of psychology at Fordham University in New York City for 30 years and as the director of the Women’s Research Institute at BYU for 16 years, Bonnie has demonstrated the power of one to inspire kindness and love coupled with a fierce fight for women’s freedoms.

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Posted in: 71+, English, Lives of Service, Lives of Service, Professional Paths, Professional Pursuits, Uncategorized, United States, Widowed - Tags: BYU, careers, education, graduate school, LDS woman, Mormon professors, Mormon women, Mormon women in academia, New York, Utah

February 22nd, 2012 by admin

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“Just Go For A Year and See”

Janet Hirano

Janet Hirano moved to Japan in her 20s to teach English for one year and ended up staying for 50. She married and raised a family, overcoming obstacles such as learning a new language, initial disapproval from her husband’s family, and her children enduring teasing for being “foreigners.” Janet recounts the importance of the Church in transitioning to her adopted country, how commitment and a sense of humor have helped her navigate the cultural waters, and that in some ways, she’s now more Japanese than American.

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Posted in: 71+, English, Japan, Magnifying Motherhood, Magnifying Motherhood, Married with children, Sisters Abroad, Sisters Abroad, Uncategorized - Tags: conversion, family, Japanese Mormons, LDS woman, motherhood

October 19th, 2011 by admin

6 Comments

The Song of the Heart

Bonnie Winterton

Bonnie Winterton had distinguished careers as a conductor and as a professor at the University of Utah, all while raising six children. She feels God guided her musical and personal paths so that she could serve the church as a musician. Although she is eighty-one years old, she continues to teach twenty students, and her goal is to have at least one student when she is one hundred. More important than her accomplishments is her commitment to serving the Lord and to sharing the gift of music with others.

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Posted in: 71+, Artistic Women, Artistic Women, English, Married with children, Professional Paths, Professional Pursuits, Uncategorized, United States, Widowed - Tags: artist, careers, family, hymns, LDS woman, Mormon pianist, motherhood, music, Utah

May 25th, 2011 by admin

4 Comments

The Satisfaction of Looking Back

Sherry Young

Sherry Young raised five highly educated and successful children (including Hall of Fame football quarterback Steve Young). Now she’s reveling her own opportunities to have a newspaper column and look back on a life full of life lessons. Among other words of wisdom, Sherry reflects on the hard work of marriage, the importance of friends and the realities of parenting a famous child.

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Posted in: 71+, English, Magnifying Motherhood, Magnifying Motherhood, Married with children, United States - Tags: education, family, LDS culture, LDS woman, Mormon women, motherhood, New York, Utah, writing

November 10th, 2010 by admin

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“Listen and Obey”

Teruko Tsuneda Nakayama

Teruko Nakayama was raised in a Japanese family in Hawaii and although her parents practiced Buddhism, she never had any formal religious training. Giving birth to her first child, though, motivated her to seek for truth. Now in her 80s, Teruko and her husband have served three missions for the Church.

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Posted in: 71+, Conversion Stories, Conversion Stories, English, Japan, Lives of Service, Lives of Service, Married with children, Uncategorized, United States - Tags: conversion, convert, Hawaii, Japanese Mormons, mission, missionary work, Mormon women, motherhood, service

June 1st, 2010 by admin

8 Comments

So Much To Do, So Much To Learn

Maralyn Lavenstein

As a young clothing designer selling to Neiman Marcus and Henri Bendel, Maralyn’s clients included Jackie Kennedy Onassis. But because of influential parents and a mission to New Zealand, Maralyn was always grounded in loving others and teaching the gospel. In her interview, Maralyn discusses her ever positive outlook, her life with an inactive husband, and her continual quest for projects that keep her mind and spirit invigorated.

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Posted in: 71+, Artistic Women, English, Married with children, Professional Paths, Professional Pursuits, United States - Tags: artist, careers, education, LDS culture, mission, Mormon women, New York, part-member marriage

May 26th, 2010 by admin

11 Comments

Finding Refuge in the Saints

Saroeun Phin Eav

From 1975 to 1981, Saroeun Eav fought for her life and the lives of her children as she suffered under the rule of the Khmer Rouge in her native country of Cambodia. In this excerpt from her life history, Saroeun tells of death-defying escapes, bearing children in labor camps, and, eventually, her escape to the United States where she joined the Church and raised her children in the gospel.

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Posted in: 61 - 70 years old, 71+, Cambodia, Conversion Stories, Conversion Stories, English, Magnifying Motherhood, Magnifying Motherhood, Married with children, Personal Challenges, Personal Challenges, United States - Tags: Cambodia, conversion, convert, faith, family, Mormon women, pioneers, prayer, refugee

October 19th, 2009 by admin

5 Comments

Beyond This Mortal Coil

Lynn Anderson

Two of Lynn Anderson’s natural born children carried a rare genetic disease — epidermolysis bullosa (EB) — which prevents a child’s skin from growing with their body. After thirty years of nursing her children and grieving their deaths, Lynn founded an organization that raised money for EB research at Stanford University. Lynn now rejoices in a newly-approved treatment that will save the lives of many EB children.

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