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LDS, My Faith

She Teaches Fearlessly

December 18, 2015

3 Comments

If you’ve been around here for any length of time, you know that I am a member of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints (LDS or Mormon). I am very forthcoming about my faith, and I write up a series called LDS Faith and Beliefs in which I try to introduce you to various beliefs, policies etc. of the LDS church. I do this for mainly two reasons. One, to share my testimony and the Gospel with my readers and two, to give explanations and background to the Church, since there are a lot of misconceptions about us. I am NOT trying to convert any readers that might not be LDS, and I hope I don’t come across that way. I’m just simply trying to share. If what I write interests you, and leaves you wanting more information about the Church, that’s great! Please comment or email me and I can help you do that. But I hope you do not feel like I am trying to shove my Church down your throat. If you do, please tell me! And I’ll try to change my approach. However, I won’t stop sharing my faith, because it is such an important part of my life, and I hope you can understand that.

Anyway! All of that is just a big lead-in to what I want to share with you today! Last month I was introduced to a “coming soon” website entitled She Teaches Fearlessly, founded by Kelly Westover. I loved what she was aiming to do, and I emailed her as soon as I could, asking to be a part of the team. And I am thrilled to say that she graciously accepted me, and I am now a part of the team, and a writer for, She Teaches Fearlessly.

So what is She Teaches Fearlessly? In short, we’re a team dedicated to answering President Nelson’s call in the October 2015 General Conference for women who teach fearlessly. In his talk, he said:

“We need women who know how to make important things happen by their faith and who are courageous defenders of morality and families in a sin-sick world. We need women who are devoted to shepherding God’s children along the covenant path toward exaltation; women who know how to receive personal revelation, who understand the power and peace of the temple endowment; women who know how to call upon the powers of heaven to protect and strengthen children and families; women who teach fearlessly.”

I love that. I believe that that is so true. We need to step up and be what the world needs. We are aiming to spread the Gospel through social media. to help defend Christianity, to teach our children, our families, and the world. As a team of LDS women, we will be, of course, utilizing LDS resources and beliefs in our posts, but I think my wonderful Christian (women) readers, no matter what church you attend or what your beliefs are, can agree that we need to spread Christ’s goodness throughout the world right now. Love and joy and hope and faith and peace are all things that need to be taught and spread.

The world can be, and is, a scary place. But when we place our hope and faith in Jesus Christ, we need not be scared. And that’s what I want to share with others. I want others to come to know of our Savior, Jesus Christ. Of what He has done for them, of the gift He has given them. I want others to have that hope and peace, so that they might not be afraid in today’s world. I want them to believe.

I’d love it if you’d stop by, and check out She Teaches Fearlessly. Right now we are posting daily for advent, and you can read my first post here. Thanks for reading, lovelies. I so appreciate it.

Essays, Motherhood, Motherhood and Baby

Why Motherhood is Important

August 11, 2015

Britt Hanson

1 Comments

I have about a billion drafts about various topics on motherhood lurking about my draft folder. Apparently I have a lot to say about that subject 🙂 But the one that has been really at the forefront of my mind is why motherhood is important. Why I feel blessed to be a stay-at-home mom, and why that has always been the goal for our family. A lot of what I feel centers around my religious beliefs, so I hope you’ll understand as I share some quotes and links from the leaders of my church.

First and foremost, I believe that the family is central to God’s plan of happiness for us. If you haven’t read the LDS church’s Proclamation to the Family, I urge you to do so right now. I’ll wait. It boldly outlines what we as members of the Church believe about the family and roles of men and women, and I would guess that a lot of my Christian friends believe in most, if not all, of what it says.
Having grown up in a church that puts so much emphasis and importance on family, I have learned to know and believe that it is true. Kyle feels the same way — that is why he decided to become a marriage and family counselor. Being a spouse and a parent are the most important roles you can have on this earth. This year in our third hour of church (Relief Society and Priesthood — post coming soon about the three hour block! I’m bringing back LDS Faith and Beliefs!) we are studying teachings of the 13th prophet of our church, Ezra Taft Benson. In a recent lesson, which was centered on marriage and family, this quote was shared, and I think it sums up perfectly what I believe:
“Some people as me as a church leader why we place so much emphasis on the home and family when there are such larger problems around us? The answer is, of course, that the larger problems are merely a reflection of individual and family problems.” (read more)
I believe I am called to be a mother. I know that it is the single most important thing I can be and do right now. I love that I am able to stay at home, and raise and nurture my children and home environment. I am grateful that I have a husband who supports me in this, and is able to work so hard to provide for our family, so I can be home.
Rachel Jankovic, a Christian author, wrote a wonderful article over on Desiring God in 2011 entitled Motherhood is a Calling. I highly recommend that article to any mother — but I want to share a quote pulled from that article. You may have heard it before:

“Motherhood is not a hobby, it is a calling. You do not collect children because you find them cuter than stamps. It is not something to do if you can squeeze the time in. It is what God gave you time for.”

Basically all I can say to that is AMEN.
So have I answered the why questions from the beginning of this post? Perhaps not. So here they are: Motherhood is important to me because it is literally preparing the next generation. If children are not taught to have a moral compass, if they are not taught the principles of kindness, courage, love and forgiveness, what hope do we have for the future? Who else will teach them right from wrong? Who else will teach them to love God and their fellowmen? I feel so blessed, so humbled to be able to (along with my husband, of course) be the one to teach them. Can it be overwhelming? Heavens, yes. But it is, and will be, so SO rewarding. By being a stay-at-home mom, I am better able and more available to teach my children, to make every moment a teaching moment. Again, I am so thankful that I am in a position to do that.
Being a mother has always been my dream. And while I am in no way a perfect mother, I am trying, I am striving, and I am succeeding — at least most days 🙂
I do not write this to belittle anyone who does not want to be a mother, nor do I write this to offend those who do want to be mothers but can’t due to circumstance (or to cause contention with any on that falls in between). I simply wanted to write about my thoughts and beliefs. It’s ok if you don’t agree with them.

Book Reviews, Family Christian

On Becoming Myself

February 27, 2015

Britt Hanson

Please note, there will be no LDS Faith and Beliefs post today. Check back next Friday! 🙂
Becoming Myself.
What does that me to you, exactly? And what does it mean to me?
Becoming myself. Becoming myself. I have to say it over and over, to let it sink in and really think about what it means. I recently read the book Becoming Myself and in it the author, Stasi, tells us that (and I’m summarizing in this sentence) as we surrender ourselves to God, He restores us and we become our true selves. We NEED NOT change who we are, for God made us that way, we must merely let Him work in us to unveil our true nature, our true selves. We need to ask His help again and again and again. Change is not easy, it wasn’t meant to be. But it’s worth it.

So, how do we change? For me, personally, this change comes about by spending time reading and pondering the scriptures, and then putting into action the things that I have learned by serving those around me. It comes by praying and conversing with my Heavenly Father, and asking for His blessing and His help in seeing that I am loved and worthy and cared for. In comes by reaching out to a friend in need, by making dinner for my family, by writing in my journal. It’s stretching and growing and yes, there are growing pains, but in the end, we will emerge, glorious and perfected.
I honestly don’t know what else to add to this post. Becoming is such a sacred and personal journey. It’s full of heartache and joy and tears and laughter. As no two people are the same, no two journeys are the same. But I urge you to start your journey now. Reach out to your Father in Heaven and ask for His help and He will work a mighty change in you. (One of my favorite passages of scripture about this process is found here — it’s long, but worth it. Even if you do not believe the Book of Mormon to be the word of God, I’d still urge you read it and just view it as coming from a Christian author.)
I was lucky enough to receive both a copy of the book Becoming Myself and the 8-session DVD study to review. While I enjoyed the message this book has to share, it is so similar to its sister-book Free to Be Me, which I recently finished. Becoming Myself is the adult version, and Free to Be Me is the tween/teenager version — both are wonderful, but they share very similar ideals and chapters and content. I would recommend both books, but you won’t need both in the same household. The DVD was wonderful. It was great to see Stasi present in person, and interact with the women around her. If you’re a part of a small women group in your church or neighborhood, I highly recommend picking this up and doing the course.
I received free product from Family Christian in exchange for an honest review. All opinions are my own.