By Anna del C. Dye
I was born in Chile, and my mother died when I was only six. So my siblings and I grew up with our father and servants. By the time I was a teen my grandmother moved in with us, but I still longed for a mother.

At nineteen years of age I met the Mormons and soon was baptized. I prayed to the Lord to know who my eternal companion would be. The answer I received was that the young man was one of the missionaries serving in my town. I didn’t like him.

On top of that he was a “gringo.” Oh, he was nice enough but; that was the problem: but. To make a long story short after his mission, he told me that he, too, had received a prompting about me. He had never mentioned it because his mission was too important to him; nevertheless, some thirty years ago I married that missionary and I still love him dearly.

From the first moment I arrived in the U.S., everything went well. My fiancé’s entire family was there and greeted me warmly. My future mother-in-law, Daveen, loved me and accepted me unconditionally.
Where I had known only rough treatment at home, my mother-in-law found ways to praise me continually and helped me in every new endeavor.

Daveen planned my wedding, since weddings in Chile were very different and I didn’t know what was expected. Two weeks later we were married in the Salt Lake Temple. It was a beautiful wedding.

During the next several months Daveen taught me how to quilt and together we made a beautiful cover for our first son’s crib. She drove me to all my doctor’s appointments and was there when the baby was born. She showed me how to bathe and care for my little one, something I had never done before.

One day as I sat at her piano and tried to make sense of it, she came and showed me the beginner’s piano book. Then she showed me how to use the book to learn the piano. That evening my secret wish had come true.

My mother-in-law was the ward Relief Society President for eight years, and she was released to be called as the Stake Relief Society President. During all this time, she was kept busy, with her missionary sons going out every two years or so, and little ones still at home. Yet, somehow she still found time to teach me everything about service, planting and growing a vegetable garden, and canning, which we did together. She also showed me how to make many craft items that decorate our home to this day.

She served as a temple worker for a few years until her health declined. Now, in this stage of my life thanks to her example I, too, am an ordinance worker in the Jordan River Temple.

She has supported me throughout the different stages of growth I have experienced in my adult life with patience and love. She is less physically active now, yet she still keeps herself busy with many interests like camping, reading and scrap booking. She has also come to enjoy proofing the fantasy books I write before publication and calls me on the carpet if she thinks I am too hard on my heroines.
This from a woman who prefers LDS books and doesn’t like High Fantasy.

Like many women in the church, she has many hats and she wears them every day graciously and with much talent. She is the epitome of womanhood and I am very blessed that she is not only my friend, but also my Mom.