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It’s a week long homage to Bossypants by Tina Fey this week, for the backstory, check out Heidi’s explanation. Alongside her witty talk of feminism, work and spirituality, Fey coins...
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How do I worship in Exile?
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For a time, the work of my spiritual life was about separating and letting go of the things I didn’t believe. Now, I face a different work.
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It’s the blessings in life, not in self, that they mean to express.
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As a Mormon, my “one-true” nightclubbing years were spent as a newly wed trying to prove I was much older and more mature than my years let on, dutifully planning...
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“Unspeakable” is an interesting way for me to label this crime, especially considering statistics show an American is sexually assaulted every 2.5 minutes. Yet as much as I teach my...
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“Families are Forever” reads the plaque, its vinyl modern font letters set against an artful antique finish. It’s the catch-phrase of modern Mormonism, a way of life for the most...
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She’s the most powerful woman in the LDS hierarchy, and now General Relief Society President Julie Beck is offering to answer questions from the editors of Mormon Mommy Blogs this...
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Second only to Halloween, New Year’s is a favorite of mine. The ritual self-assessing gets me literally giddy as I look ahead at a new year with a clean slate...
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This year, I’ve been having a difficult time getting into the Christmas spirit this season. Heck, I’ve had difficulty even defining what “is” the Christmas spirit. For my kids, the...
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I reminisced about the lunches with other moms and days spent at museums and pumpkin patches without quite remembering the soul-crushing isolation felt when there was no adult conversation several...
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Dear body, We have a pretty big day coming up tomorrow. It’s been a long time since we talked, old friend. I hope you still consider me your friend. I’ve...
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When my oldest son was about 18 months old, he used the term “thank you” for “give me.” With his cute little baby accent, he could get almost anything he...
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I had only been a member a few months, but was reticent to share my new beliefs with my parents when I met them for vacation. But there was no...
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Halloween is a high holy holiday at my house. There’s something about planning a great costume, from the brainstorm of potentials to the final touches of makeup on Halloween night,...
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I’d like to welcome Shellie as a contributor to the Wayfarer. Shellie’s travelogue is full of humor and heart, and I can’t wait to share her journey. A couple of...
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It hurts to think we can do so much good as a church, yet be looked upon so badly. It’s painful to know we have so much in common –...
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[My parents] have taught me to be aware of the world and to care about what’s going on even if it doesn’t impact your life. They have taught me to...
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When I was 27 I met my first orphan. She lived in Brazil. She was in a bare room with dank yellow walls. She was in a yellow crib. She...
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A very wise woman told me recently that part of loving someone was giving them the room to be disappointed in my decisions. I’m still trying to wrap my head...
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by Randy B “[S]eek, and ye shall find; knock, and it shall be opened unto you.” Matthew 7:7 A few years ago, I had become all but convinced that nobody...
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To me, these white clothing traditions are cultural in nature and are just part of being a Mormon, but to some they represent yet one more way to cast judgments...
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Glenn Beck: How many warnings do you think you’re going to get, and how many warnings do you deserve? This hurricane that is coming thorough the East Coast, for anyone...
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Dear Kennedy, Today is your first day as a high school freshman. This is madness. When we dropped you off today, I remembered taking you to kindergarten and feeling nervous...
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My fondest childhood memories are on a boat. Nearly every summer time was spent at a lake or reservoir swimming, skiing or just driving around. The feeling of warm air...
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“10% of yoga is the outfit, 10% are the poses” the teacher joked at the beginning of class, then followed up more seriously with “80% is just showing up.” She...
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Those who weren’t too busy, too judgmental, too self absorbed and too self-important to drop everything to help someone else are worthy of reenactment and emulation.
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It’s really cheating for me to write anything for The Wayfarer because I’m a big fan of my comfort zone and try not to leave it too much. And my...
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Becoming a citizen was a long, expensive process for my husband. I can’t imagine how difficult it was for those people from Burkina Faso, Serbia, Jamaica, Colombia, Cambodia that...
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Stopped at a light one Saturday morning, I met some teenage girls and their mothers with buckets requesting money to send the girls to basketball championships. My first reaction was...
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When I became a mother I was certain my children would grow up enlightened. And for me enlightenment meant my children would not ascribe to any traditional gender stereotypes or...
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I am terrified right now. In fact, I literally just sent a text to a friend that read, “I am terrified.” You see, this week, I set off for a...
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They say 3 moves purges as much stuff as a fire. I’m testing that theory this summer. I moved last summer to what I knew would be temporary housing, grateful...
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When we are weary and in need of strength We remember them When we are lost and sick at heart We remember them When we have joy we crave to share We...
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It’s summer buzz time at our house. The last week of school marks the time that hair standards are drastically relaxed, we’ve got teen and tween girls are picking the...
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As we approached the wide junction of Avinguda Diagonal and the street on which our hotel was located, I saw the spires of Sagrada Familia for the first time. The four...
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When my children had outgrown their need for a nap, but I had not yet outgrown my need to have them nap, we instituted “quiet time” where they could play...
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Last Sunday I was in New Orleans for a conference. As much as I love the volunteer work I do every Sunday as the primary chorister (children’s music leader, for...
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“Does anyone smell smoke?” Not exactly the words you want to hear at 36,000 feet in the air halfway through a cross-country flight. Shortly after the flight attendant asked us...
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The flickering of the candles drew me in as if they were the wish at end of a birthday celebration. . . when I found out that money was tied...
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And mostly I felt sadness that it takes people completely outside of my faith to see where the power of Mormonism lies.
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In the spirit of wayfaring, Ashley joins us today with the kind of travelogue I’d love to hear in testimony meeting. I’m the one with my mouth open wide and...
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We can blame it all on Ben Franklin. Starting the trend for using artistic satire to editorialize, his “Join, or Die” cartoon was the first of its kind to be...
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“A Mormon Mother” was the way I was described as my Prop 8 video was linked around the internet. I can’t blame them, I am the one who introduces the...
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“To sin by silence when they should protest makes cowards of men.” Abraham Lincoln On New Year’s Eve, I ceremoniously drew my approval whore, thanked and then released her: I...
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Legend has it that one of the roots of Valentine’s Day stem from a third century ban on marriage passed by Roman emperor Claudius II who thought married men made...
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You may have been watching the Packers and Steelers last night, but since I don’t care for pro football and typically pick a favorite based on the fashion statement the...
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One of the most profound ideas from my big Christmas trip was how it affected my relationship with my wallet. Taking a family of 6 that far for that long...
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“You gain strength, courage and confidence by every experience by which you really stop to look fear in the face. . . . You must do the thing you think...
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In the End, we will remember not the words of our enemies, but the silence of our friends. Martin Luther King, Jr. I grew up in Salt Lake City, Utah...
