Segullah

LDS women blogging about the peculiar and the treasured

Touching the stove to see if it’s really hot

I. A few years ago I was visiting my children’s elementary school, catching up with a friend of mine who teaches there. She asked about my older children who used to attend there and I told her they were mostly doing well, but recounted a difficult experience (now long forgotten) we’d been through with one [...]

Tales of three women

Some time ago I read about a Relief Society presidency that actually had to debate over whether or not to take food in to a sister in their ward—a sister under their stewardship—who was recovering from surgery. Why the big to-do? Because her surgery had been “elective.”
Today I express my gratitude to three very [...]

Trying to become a woman who knows

I don’t take kindly to housework. There are aspects of it, such as dusting and scrubbing toilets (do not get me started on ironing), that I feel are beneath me. I find it frustrating to spend time and energy on chores that so quickly and easily become undone.
Simply put, there are other things I’d [...]

Let’s hear it for the boys

I am a feminist. I used to be afraid to say that aloud for fear people would think I was that kind of feminist. But the truth is I am a feminist and I have known it since the day I called out my dad for not letting the Laurels go deep sea fishing when [...]

…a book by its cover (part II of II)

This post has been rolling around my head for a couple of years now, but I’m glad it was the long, lanky and lovely Michelle L. who laid down the genes card first.
In her post last week, Michelle asked several questions. I’d like to respond to a couple of them from my perspective.
Do you see [...]

All the single ladies

I still remember when, shortly after moving into our ward, my good friend Melody was approached by a sister in the ward regarding some enrichment activity. Apparently the woman had mistaken her for another single sister who lived a few houses down the street. As Melody kindly straightened her out the woman abruptly said, “Oh. [...]

Icebreaker

When we were first married my husband used to laugh at me every time we’d drive past a quaint little farm in some charmingly rural area nowhere close to somewhere and I would get this dreamy look in my eyes and say, “Let’s buy it! I want to live here!”
He knows me too well.

A gathering of saints

Last night I was reminded in a literal way what I find beautiful about gathering together with my sisters in Zion.

A stone’s throw Part II

Obviously this (see Part I if you haven’t already) resonates with people in a very personal and painful way.
So why do you think we–I dare say especially as women–continue to do the very same thing to others?

A stone’s throw

As I sat down with my family on the back row of the chapel I forced back unwanted tears and tried to ignore the bitter sting of what had just transpired. Someone–a good person whom I knew was well-intentioned–had just taken me to task based on something they had overheard my 13-year-old daughter say in [...]

The perfect testimony?

Over the past few years, since they’ve really been emphasizing that you should only be bearing brief testimonies about the five key points of the gospel, I have more or less stopped bearing my testimony. I’m not sure who would want to hear me go up to the pulpit and recite a list of [...]

Top this…

Back when my kids weren’t grown up and my school-teacher husband held down two jobs and was busy working on a master’s degree, things were a little crazy at our house. (Who am I kidding? They’re still crazy.) I remember one day that was particularly difficult.

True confessions: What is your shrimp salad?

One of my favorite books is The Ladies Auxiliary by Tova Mirvis. When discussing Mormon lit on Segullah–well, anywhere really–I often say I will know we have finally arrived when I read the Mormon equivalent of The Ladies Auxiliary. I love many aspects of this story about discovering true faith, finding meaning in your obedience [...]

How do we put the “society” in Relief Society (or society in general)?

I still remember how excited I was when we moved out of the dark basement apartment in my single cousin’s bachelor pad and into our first home. It was a hole (a tiny one at that). But it was in a nice neighborhood, close to my husband’s school, and it was ours.
Our new ward [...]

Too late to start over?

The global economy is in the toilet. A close relative of mine is looking at being laid off just before the holidays. My friends whose husbands are contractors were turning work away just six months ago. Now their work–and thus their livelihoods–have slowed to a trickle. I’m sure this Segullah reader isn’t the only one [...]

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