Segullah

Mormon women blogging about the peculiar and the treasured

Alms

The Relief Society President held up a small, stuffed animal with button eyes. “We will be making these for an orphanage in Honduras,” she said with a little too much delight. The sisters gathered together with ready sewing machines and willing hands. My friend’s heart sank with those words. It plummeted further as she realized [...]

Fat Girl

the first of a two-part series If you want to see me come undone, just make fun of the chubby kid. BYU. 1989. Religion 324: Doctrine & Covenants Manual pg. 382. My aged instructor read Question A out loud: “Why did God give me a body that is fat and ugly? I’ll never get a [...]

Dark Glass, Energy of Heart

The little boy who sits next to my first grader daughter has been bugging her. “He calls me a baby,” she said. “He says I’m just a little cry-baby. In the lunch line, every day.” “People who make fun of other people are usually insecure themselves,” I said. A little too intensely, and it came [...]

How do I judge thee? Let me count the ways…

Bishop Brown stood in the common, legs crouched, hands held ready. As the disk sailed across the clear blue sky, he leapt and caught it with a loud, “Yes!” His wife, Peggy, laughed as he held it above his head like a trophy, then readied herself for her own catch. Soon, they settled into an [...]

a different sort of happily-ever-after

“I don’t’ think there has ever been a premarital couple who is closer than Beau and I are. We’re one of the rare lucky ones whose union far exceeds the sum of it’s parts…one plus one equals a billion. I have a feeling the best thing I’m going to have in this life is my [...]

Dating, Courtship, Marriage, WORK

Attention all Segullah readers: The deadline (August 15th) is quickly approaching for our 5th anniversary issue on Dating, Courtship and Marriage. We hope to make this an extended issue examining every aspect of bliss and heartbreak, but we need your contributions.  Writing tips can be found here and submission information is here. Be sure to [...]

Burying our Weapons of War

The newest installment in July’s “Up Close” series on Inactivity and Faith struggles is Kim, a mother of four daughters and seven granddaughters. To balance things out her husband has been involved in Boy Scouts for 20 of their 36 years of marriage…so they have many wonderful young men in their lives. Now that all [...]

“All Things Must Fail”

I try hard to minimize the amount of medication I take, but I have a pretty major sleep disorder, and drugs have been a heavensend in managing it. When my sleep meds stopped working last winter, life got really hard. My health problems (undiagnosed chronic issues) predictably worsen when my sleep isn’t good. I felt [...]

Putting Away Childish Things

Last Thursday, I buried my mother. My dad offered the family prayer while I stood by her coffin, patting her shoulder and running my fingers through her hair. She clearly wasn’t in her broken body anymore, but it was sacred to me, and I loved touching her hands and face and running my fingers over [...]

the essence

My mom is dying. Just three weeks ago, I was moving my graceful bleeding hearts from pots into the shady side garden. My little Mary wore her stiff pink garden gloves and chatted with me as I dug deep holes over by the rose arch, “What’s this called? Is that a weed? Why are you [...]

Next to Godliness

Becky’s house is immaculate. Not just clean, but a place of wonder. There is no junk, no clutter; dust and crumbs are whisked away before they hit the floor or an unsuspecting tabletop. Her four children are all well-trained to hang up backpacks, jackets, towels; to stow away shoes and dirty laundry; to eat without [...]

All the World’s a Critic

Have you heard the three rules of human relationships? First, don’t criticize. Second, don’t criticize. Hmm, and what’s the third one again?

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?

Seeing Past the Smile

Quiet, unassuming, steady. She is the woman who is always there, always dutiful. She serves in the Primary, is a leader to one of my children. I can’t express the kind of love and appreciation I have about her service. She teaches in fun, meaningful, participative ways. It’s clear she puts a lot into her [...]

the place in between

Nothing gets those hands flying in Relief Society like a question about apostasy. Our instructor is a lovely woman but she couldn’t control the poisonous labels flung toward the chalkboard– Prideful! Materialistic. Angry. Bitter. Dark. Adulterous. Unfaithful! I twisted anxiously in my seat, staunching the temptation to scan the faces around me, because who knew–who [...]

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