Hope is the guiding force in singer's life

One thing Joy Gardner firmly believes is this: There is hope.

It's a philosophy that has guided her life — through the turmoils of adolescence, through tragedies, through experiences of stage and screen, through the explorations of new motherhood.

"Hope is very important to me," she says. And so when it came time for the singer/actress to record her first CD, "that was the message I wanted to convey."

"We touch on a lot of topics, but they all culminate in the idea of hope — in the idea that you don't have to carry all your burdens, you can take them to the Savior and let him carry them. You don't have to do it all by yourself."

"There Is Hope," produced by Greg Hansen and released by Inspirational Music Showcase/Sounds of Zion, has three songs that Gardner wrote or co-wrote as well as other songs that fit well with her theme. She says they not only reflect her life experiences but are also a testament of the power of music to help and heal.

Music has been a part of Gardner's life for as long as she can remember — or longer, actually. Her mother tells her that she started to sing as soon as she could talk. "My older brother used to beg Mother to make me stop."

She wrote her first song — and performed it in a sacrament meeting — at age 10. "I knew at a young age I wanted to continue with music, particularly with sacred music."

Gardner will be familiar to many people because of her theatrical work. She has appeared in numerous stage and film productions, including playing the role of Laneah in "The Testaments: Of One Fold and One Shepherd," and as the Virgin Mary in the LDS Church production of "Savior of the World." She also now teaches voice at BYU.

Looking back, she says, she sees a lot of little things that add up to where she is now. She grew up in Gainesville, Fla., where from age 12 to 18 she was in a stake youth choir. "That not only gave me an opportunity to sing but also showed me how much I enjoyed sacred music. I loved the feeling I had when I sang this king of music."

But it also helped her through some tough adolescent experiences. "The music of Hilary Week and Kenneth Cope got me through some trying times. It saved my life in a way." It's not easy, she says, to try to live unique standards in high school when all your friends are pulling you in other directions. "I had to let go of friendships in order to be true to myself. It meant a lot of loneliness. But I turned to the music, and there were such messages of hope and light. Looking back, I'm proud of the decisions I made."