This is A Personal Touch, a chance to check in with ordinary people making an extraordinary difference in the world. I’m Rebecca Cressman and today our guest happens to live in Happy Valley, Oregon. Her name is Daryll Jonnson and she is the founder of LDSWA, which is new for many of us because it is Latter-day Saint Woman’s Magazine, but much more than that. Daryll, thank you so much for joining us.
A: Thank you, Rebecca for inviting me.
Q: All right, first of all you truly do live in a location called Happy Valley?
A: I really do.
Q: Now did that inspire you when you decided that you wanted to create LDSWA?
A: You know, I never even thought about that. Most of the time it rains, so I’m not sure how to say that it inspires me.
Q: Anyone who is familiar with the geography of Oregon understands that you appreciate a sunny day when it comes your way. Well, LDSWA is much more than just a magazine. It is also a forum for women and I want to talk a little about you: about what your vision was, what you were envisioning when you launched LDSWA. Where do we begin Daryll?
A: Well, we begin about 3 years ago now, back in 2005. I was working in the corporate world and loved what I was doing, to a degree, but did not really feel any deep passion for it or any connection with it. I was looking for something that I could really feel that I was making a difference in the world. I’m sure we have all said that many times in our life. I had recently returned to the Church. I just love being around the Church and the women and I thought wouldn’t it be wonderful if I had a business that I could work around this sort of person all day, everyday. And as you can hear, I am from England and I have a lot of family and friends overseas. And I thought there has to be a way that we can connect with each other more than we do now, because I know over there we do not hear half of the things about what is going on in the LDS world overseas as we have the opportunity of doing here. So all this was muddling around my mind for quite awhile, trying to obviously ponder, pray about it, “Where I should go with this and what I should do?” And the idea came to me to form the LDSWA, which is the Women’s Alliance, where we can have a place to support each other and connect more across the miles. I think today, particularly for LDS women, we are aware there are a lot more converts coming to the Church. So we tend to come with a lot of maybe what we call today - the baggage - or a past life experience, where we sometimes feel we don’t fit in. I think my biggest goal and vision for this was that I wanted a place where all women regardless or their background, regardless of wherever they had been, wherever they were today, that they too would have the same blessings as anybody else who has been in the Church for their life.
Q: Almost changing the perspective from looking at their baggage to looking at the color that they bring to the hue of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints.
A: Exactly, we all have our unique personalities. We all often share the same challenges and successes in life no matter where we live or what our backgrounds are. And I just really wanted the women out there… Because I know I’ve felt it at times. It’s like, “Where do I fit in? How do I feel on the equal path to many of the others?” There are a lot of single women out there that feel, “How do I fit into a very family-oriented Church? Well you can and it is very easy to do that. And I just wanted a place where we could bring up programs and services that would make everybody feel they really were a part of this true Sisterhood. We are not a Relief Society. Relief Society does an awesome job and I wouldn’t even want to go there. I mean that they do everything we need, but I think a lot of the time we women don’t attend Relief Society because of our callings. We are so busy at Church on a Sunday we really do not connect. And so a week goes by where we go Sunday to Sunday and it is like I don’t know anybody.
Q: Well, and you LDSWA; the “A” standing for Alliance and you’ve turned to technology to help build that, to help make a greater connection with LDS women around the world. And I want to talk a little about that, because as you were building this and you are deciding, “How do we bring everyone together? There is something that has opened up and it is called the Ladies Room.
A: Right. Yes. Well you have heard of My Space and Face Book well no longer. Obviously we have been told that they are not the best places to be, particularly for our youth. But I know there are a lot of women that really do use it. I thought well maybe we should have are own. So we launched our Ladies Room, which has been an incredible success in the short time that it has been launched. We are getting women from all over the world: the Congo, Zambia, Uganda - I mean Brazil and just unbelievable places. China women have joined us that we are getting to know already. Or even having non-members join who feel that it is really exciting to be a part of what we are doing even though they are not a member, which is really exciting.
Q: Well, in terms of as someone visits your website LDSWA.com and of course we have a link to that here off of YourLDSNeighborhood.com, but as they do that, images role across the home page of women of diverse cultural backgrounds, of multi-generations, and obviously it was important for you to feel like you were embracing every woman. When you are embracing the different themes of womanhood who are you going to as contributors? Will this be one that is a ground swell of women around the world who want to contribute or are you looking for individuals on different continents to contribute? Tell us a little bit about that part of your vision.
A: The vision is that we want a voice to be heard. We want women to have their own voice in this; particularly with our magazine Latter-day Woman Magazine. It is not always written by particularly qualified writers, but it is their magazine. So we want them to share their talents and gifts in writing—whether it be poetry, whether it be an article on a certain topic that they have a passion about. It could be a craft, anything. Everything we do through the LDSWA, whatever program it services, it is not about us it is about them and we want them to feel they have a place that they can have a voice and share themselves with everyone else. So our magazine and obviously the Ladies Room, there are a lot of topics that they are talking about. Retreats and events, obviously we are going to be doing things there for them, but again it is to bring anyone from any culture and background to be able to connect with this, so that they feel that they do have a place to have their own voice heard.
Q: The graphics are also very, very compelling, so I applaud you on that and again I have no expertise, but you do. I looked at the very first issue of Latter-Day Woman Magazine and on the cover a beautiful photo and one of the headlines is "Style and Fashion for today’s LDS woman." Your background embraces the modeling industry. How does that influence—that background that you bring from the corporate world from grooming and fashion—how does that influence you as you continue to move LDSWA forward?
A: I think it influences me in such that, obviously from a fashion point of view—I mean, I am a woman, I love a magazine—but really to be honest there are not many magazines out there that uphold our values, particularly, in the area of fashion and dress. And I always believe that just because we are an LDS woman does not mean that we have to be frumpy. There are some beautiful fashions out there that are very modest and sometimes it’s not that we don‘t want to dress that way, it sometimes is because: Where do I find that type of fashion? So our magazine, particularly, we always want to feature the topic of fashion, so that women do learn to know how to dress fashionably: chic, cute, sassy and whatever. And still be able to be an LDS woman in today’s world and look good. And we will be able to bring them tips and ideas and obviously refer them to places where they can find that fashion and that is something that has been very important to me over my time. I think coming from Europe, too, we are very fashion conscience and I just really what to make sure we have that element in there, so that as LDS women we do look different we should it is our…
Q: …We should stand out I guess?
A: Yes. I’m kind of losing the word. We should stand out and it is our duty to make sure we dress nicely and smart so people do look at us to a degree; not because we are dressed in high fashion or expensive clothing, but because it shows that we take care in ourselves and pride of who we are and who we are representing.
Q: I want to go from there now that is the external but there is the Olsen article in your first edition about internally who we are and surviving stress. It is called "Tackling and Surviving Life Stress." Is that bubbling up from the blogs that the conversation that the women are having around the world is that there is a commonality of just feeling overwhelmed?
A: There is. We all feel overwhelmed. I think particularly more so when we are members of the Church, because there are so many different aspects of life we feel that we should be on top of all the time: with our callings, and our home, and our family, and our children. Sometimes we have to work outside of the home; it is not always our choice, but this day and age, unfortunately, that seems to be more and more the common course of what is going on. And we do feel overwhelmed, because there is a feeling of we want to be perfect in everything and we want to Superwoman all the time. And you know what, we just can’t do that. And I think the biggest part of all this is, what I want women to understand is, that I want them to really, really, really, know - KNOW their divine worth and to live the divine worth every single minute of everyday. And together when I think that they understand the challenges and the feelings of overwhelm in the responsibilities we have is something we all experience, then they begin to feel that common bond because it is like OK it is not just me this is normal…
Q: …And you know what you have launched is really anything but normal and with the Personal Touch Interview Series we like to talk about ordinary people doing an extraordinary thing, and what you are building is really quite extraordinary—if I might say—and I’m curious—you are a mother of five children and at the end of the day, who are you envisioning reading this magazine? Is there a woman that you could put your feet up, your children are there, maybe your grandchildren are visiting you—at what point can you turn to them and say, “I did what I wanted to do?”
A: Well, I visit any woman by reading it. We have people who have joined us that are sixteen years old and I think our oldest member right now is eighty-nine years old. We have women who have shared to me that they are totally disabled; they are blind. So I think anyone that has a female body or mind is who I envision reading this: That has a desire to serve the Heavenly Father, but also to serve mankind and their Sisters and just to be able to feel that their worth and to know what they are worth. If I can make or help someone to feel that, just one person, then I think this will have been all worthwhile.
Q: Well Daryll, thank you so much for having the courage to launch something brand new that I’m sure has been long awaited for across the continents. And it is delightful to hear your British background, to hear that in your voice and hear your passion all the way from Happy Valley, Oregon.
Thank you again Daryll for joining us.
Thank you very much Rebecca.
And I’m Rebecca Cressman. We want to thank you for joining us for this week’s edition of A Personal Touch. Be sure to check your email next Saturday, to find out who else like Daryll Jonnson is making a difference in our world with a “Personal Touch.”
End of interview.
