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Recent Posts
- 61 Psaltery & Lyre: Kay Porter, “Mother Mold”
- Ride to Church in Hyderabad, India
- 60 Psaltery & Lyre: Jeremy Windham, “Goliath in Love”
- Flooding the Book of Mormon with the Book of Mormon
- Battle Hymn of My Mormon Mother
- A Celebration of Motherhood
- Motherhood Is Not the Essense of my Personhood
- 3 Little Gurus
- 59 Psaltery & Lyre: James A. Clark, “Elegy for a Stranger”
- [Mormon] Mother’s Prayer for Its Child
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Latest Headlines
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Election Week Musings
If we are supposed to be a Christian nation, as so many claim, let us behave today as Christ would. We are only as strong as our weakest link. Let... -
Though Hard to you, this Journey may Appear….
Today’s guest post is written by Marilyn Mehr. One year ago today, I stood on the steps of the Bronx County Courthouse with my spouse, Betty Walker, celebrating our marriage.... -
23 Psaltery & Lyre: Bennett Durkan, Two Poems
“You hope these ghosts / know how to respect your privacy.” -
Single Experiences: A Little House Just For Me
We’ve all heard of stories where the husband is asked whether or not the wife could hold a calling or would be interested in doing xyz. -
Lena Dunham’s Sex Joke: A Missed Opportunity
Dunham’s points about women’s issues are worthy of serious discussion and consideration. But she undermines her credibility in the way she presents them. We still have a long... -
22 Psaltery & Lyre: Kris Bluth, “Pumpkin”
“If we had carved / that jack o’lantern, / it would have been / pudding . . .” -
My Own Personal Canon: Desdemona’s Honeymoon from Hell
There are a few things I know really well in this world. I know how to make a delicious marinara sauce, I know the second soprano part of “Boogie Woogie... -
What to Do with Regret
I believe that as we spend quality time with love ones, stretch ourselves to live up to our potential, and allow ourselves to be happier, we may not have zero... -
Grondahl Restored
For other cartoons in this series, click here. This cartoon, as always, is posted with the kind permission of The Sunstone Foundation and Calvin Grondahl. -
Our Favorite Mormons: Helmuth Huebener and The Hamburg Three
[A guest post from our friend Mark B]: This week we mark the anniversary of the death of Helmuth Gunther Huebener, a Latter-day Saint young man who was executed by... -
21 Psaltery & Lyre: Cheryl L. Bruno, “Severed Savior”
“his love slashing / a cross-hatch in my / heart . . .” -
A Review of Half the Sky: Turning Oppression into Opportunity Worldwide
Today’s guest post comes to us from Andy Richardson. I count myself among the minority of viewers who walked away more troubled than inspired by Half the Sky. This may... -
Why This Mormon Woman is Voting for Barack Obama
Today’s guest post comes to us from Karin Olson of Huntsville, Texas. Yesterday I cast my vote for Barack Obama for president on the first day of early voting in... -
I Am An Outsider
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. -
Single Experiences: Cost-Benefit Analysis from a Single Gay Mormon
Of course, there is a third way, which is to stay single and celibate forever. Here again, I’m fulfilling my need to stay in the lines drawn by the church,... -
Ride to our Sign Party
Disclaimer: This series of photos did not take place on a Sunday and they were not part of any type of official religious institution or spiritual observance. And yet, this... -
Grondahl Restored 41
Deer hunting season in Utah. Do you know why you should always take at least two Mormons with you when you go deer hunting? Because if you take only... -
20 Psaltery & Lyre: Joshua Lyons, Two Poems
“I lay down in my bed, nobody / beside me tonight because / I have the boy.” -
Another Look at the YM/YW Manuals
Unfortunately, this side-by-side comparison similarly shows that there are differences in the way we speak to both YM and YW and their teachers, and those differences appear to be deliberately... -
43 A Mormon in the Cheap Seats: Why the Church Changed the Missionary Age
It would be nice, of course, if the church would provide a measure of organizational size that more accurately reflected real growth (e.g. the number of full tithe payers or... -
42 A Mormon in the Cheap Seats: The Only Thing I Know
The faith that had once seemed so unshakable in my youth had dissipated. Instead of warmth and hope, I felt hollow. -
Ride to a Corn Maze
Today’s stunning Ride to Church (=corn maze) comes to us from Nicole in New Brunswick: I’ve been looking forward to sharing my pretty neck of the woods in all its... -
Single Experiences: I Just Want to Date Myself
[Note: This is one of a series of posts about being single in the Mormon church. Here's a link to the guest post invitation Here's a link to the archive for this series.]... -
Grondahl Restored 40
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Why Language Matters: A Side-by-Side Look at a Lesson from the New YW/YM Manuals
Text in pink is only in the YW version; text in blue is only in the YM version. It’s more than just taking one lesson and adding/subtracting priesthood to it.... -
Single Experiences: More Welcome as Half
My husband was upset but understood. When his affair came to light later on, I was thankful that I stood my ground. -
I’ve Let Go . . .
It’s not that I’m immature or captive to black-and-white thinking. I see the complexity; I see the nuance. But I do not find it compelling. -
19 Psaltery & Lyre: Tyler Chadwick, “Upon Hearing Elder B—— Bear Witness that ‘Satan is Real’ to a Mormon Congregation the Second Sunday of 2011″
” . . . I imagined [God's pew] empty, imagined him out fishing the Snake, waves lapping at his waders like a dog left alone all day . . . “ -
41 A Mormon in the Cheap Seats: Progress?
Recently, men have served at 19, women at 21. No one claimed there was anything magical about these numbers. No eternal principle was at stake. It was... -
First Lady Cookie Bake-Off
Some people have Superbowl parties. Others have March Madness parties. We have a presidential election party. We love politics. We love to talk about debates, polls, and pollsters. We roll... -
Single Experiences: We Can Do Better
In a culture where women are given the most power in roles defined by who they are attached to, mother and wife, single women are virtually powerless. -
Mutual Improvement Associations: Singing Together
One week ago, I had just sat down on the piano bench in the Primary room and started to play some wiggle songs while the junior primary children galloped in,... -
Christ Within
Today’s guest post comes to us from Bill. On a recent business trip to San Francisco, while on a walk with some coworkers to find food, out of the corner... -
Grondahl Restored 39
For other cartoons in this series, click here. This cartoon, as always, is posted with the kind permission of The Sunstone Foundation and Calvin Grondahl. -
The Golden Question
I do not get to travel as much as I would like. My work doesn’t require much travel, which I know is a blessing, but seeing new and interesting places... -
Happy Birthday, Doves and Serpents
To celebrate, here are the Top 24 posts from our first two years (one for every month, by page views): -
18 Psaltery & Lyre: Aaron Michael Kline, “Texas Bamboo Summer”
“I’d thought bamboo / was a symbol of peace, but my young / cousins proved me wrong . . .” -
Tired of the Mormon Moment?
The year I turned eight and was baptized a member of the LDS church, I began fasting on the first Sunday of each month. I still remember the first time... -
Babies and Grad School
Today’s guest post is written by Caitlin. My first week of grad school ended in an emotional break-down, not unlike one of an adolescent who came to a new school... -
Objects of Faith and Desire: Tears in a Bottle
Poets like to sing about things in bottles. Jim Croce pined after time in a bottle, Audra Mae claimed a recipe for lightning in a bottle and Sting sent an SOS... -
Iraq, Integrity, and Anti-malarials
This guest post comes to us today from Nik Rasheta. In January 2003 I was deployed to the Middle East for Operation Iraqi Freedom. I was going to war. One... -
Grondahl Restored 38
For other cartoons in this series, click here. This cartoon, as always, is posted with the kind permission of The Sunstone Foundation and Calvin Grondahl. -
Leaving The Paved Road
I have a seemingly insignificant memory from my early teenage years of walking through the grocery store and spying the front cover of TEEN magazine with Lindsay Lohan on the... -
17 Psaltery & Lyre: Sarah Dunster, “Recovery”
“You’ve kissed a / wolf before; his black lips curled . . .” -
I’m Hanging On . . .
A high school friend recently messaged me to say that—after reading my Facebook posts and my blog posts (as well as other Doves and Serpents posts)—she wondered why I stay... -
Mutual Improvement Associations: Pinewood Derby
Here is an example of just how swell my post-divorce home teachers were. During one Sunday afternoon visit, they asked for and each ate a large bowl of spaghetti and... -
Grondahl Restored 37
For other cartoons in this series, click here. This cartoon, as always, is posted with the kind permission of The Sunstone Foundation and Calvin Grondahl. -
Diversify your Spiritual Identity Portfolio
Today’s guest post comes to us from Nik Rasheta: About a year ago I read a book that helped me gain some needed insight in order to survive my career... -
16 Psaltery & Lyre: M. Brett Gaffney, “Communion”
M. Brett Gaffney graduated with a BA in English from Stephen F. Austin University and is currently pursuing an MFA in poetry at Southern Illinois University Carbondale. -
Don’t You Want Muffins?
I was born with a seemingly infinite number of machine parts in my head – springs and sprockets and gears and levers and wires and nuts and bolts. They were...
