Magic Beans

Yesterday I went out to our little garden to pick beans for dinner. Our beans this year grow over trellises in a lush, exuberant way, in a way they have never grown before, leaves upon leaves, with vines spilling over and reaching for something else to hold on to. Every time I think I have [...]

Witnessing of God

As a teenager I recited the Young Women theme every week in church. “We are daughters of our Heavenly Father who loves us, and we love Him. We will stand as witnesses of God at all times, and in all things, and in all places…” I thought that the phrase, “stand as witnesses of God,” [...]

Inherit the Word

While reading my ancestor John Solomon Fullmer’s letters last week, I came across this piece of advice, written in a letter to his brother David:

P.S. Inasmuch as your vocation will in future be of a public nature, I will give you this little piece of advice, at which I hope you will not take umbrage [...]

A Different Tithing Story

I love tender mercy tithing stories: people paying their week’s grocery money only to find it returned to them somehow, or perhaps paying tithing with Christmas money and then receiving anonymous gifts. I am always moved by those stories, but this is not one of them.
When I met my husband, his parents were on [...]

Dreams as Spiritual Gifts: An Interview with Barbara Bishop

One of my favorite pieces we’ve ever published is “Dreams as Gifts of the Spirit,” an analysis of dream-related LDS history, doctrine, and practice. I have occasionally experienced powerful dreams myself, and I have always been grateful for the wisdom with which Barbara Bishop, the author (and also my aunt), helps me understand my dreams. [...]

LDS Storymakers, Whitney Awards, Monsters and Mormons

A huge congratulations to all the winners and finalists of the Whitney Awards! I attended the awards dinner this year, and I loved it. I loved the food, I loved the lifetime achievement tributes to Gerald Lund and Dave Wolverton, and I loved finding out who won firsthand. The winners are:
Romance:
Counting the Cost, by [...]

A Dream and Three Ultrasounds

First, the dream, at eight weeks pregnant:
It’s my birthday and there is some kind of crisis–a doctor masked in black trying to kill people, but friends organize a huge line of women knocking on the door bringing me gifts. I wake from the dream with an overwhelming sense of being loved. I don’t understand the [...]

Segullah’s 2009 Whitney Favorites

This year I have had the great pleasure of reading the Whitney finalists with Shelah. We agree about enough of the books to have fun discussing them, and disagree enough to make it interesting. After much emailing and talking, these are the Official Segullah Whitney Award Choices. Ballots are due April 3, and the winners [...]

In the Company of Angels

I’m almost done reading the Whitney finalists! Exclamation point because thirty books is a lot, and while I’ve enjoyed it, it will feel good to be done with the last one. Shelah and I are going to talk more about our favorites in a couple of weeks. You can also visit Shelah’s blog for her [...]

Whitney 2010 Nominees and Almost-Nominees

The finalists for the 2010 Whitney Awards were announced ten days ago. Congratulations to everyone! The Whitney Awards celebrate excellent writing by LDS authors, published both locally and nationally. Shelah and I will be reading and deciding on Segullah’s picks together–we will keep you posted. I have tried to read more fiction by LDS authors [...]

Haiti

Vast tragedy makes me feel numb. I have a good friend who weeps over wars and inhumanity elsewhere. But I feel… numb, unable to wrap my head and heart around so much pain. Or, if I’m not numb, I watch the news and feel like a voyeur. The camera lingers on a woman [...]

The Noodle Angels

“My mother wants to make us Christmas stockings,” my husband told me, that first autumn of our marriage. “For your birthday.”
I bristled. I had plans for our Christmas stockings. I wanted big flannel ones with snowmen and maybe blanket stitching. I had seen them in Target. They were cute. It felt intrusive to me to [...]

Segullah Writing Contest Questions and Answers

It’s that time of year again–time to put the final polish on your essays and poetry for our annual writing contest. In past years when posting about our contest, I have asked if anyone has questions. And… no one ever does. I don’t know if that’s because it’s pretty straightforward, or if people are [...]

Finding the Ease

I stand in warrior one, basic yoga, my back foot flattened, my arms lifted, fingers splayed.
“Engage the hands,” my teacher says. “Deepen the bend in your front knee. See how far down you can come.”
I engage my hands, deepen the bend. “Now hold,” she says. “We’re going to be here for a while.”
So I hold, [...]

Workers of the Ward, Unite!

In my first singles ward, our bishopric held a special retreat to teach new ward members about being an active part of an adult ward. Brother Thompson used an analogy I have never forgotten. “When you’re at a potluck dinner,” he said, “the person who is assigned to bring the roast beef is someone who [...]

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