Attention Adult Mormon Singles (and by adult, we mean, basically, anyone over 18):
The beliefs and practices of the Mormon church are infused with the concepts of eternal marriage and eternal families. The lifestyle encouraged and supported by the church is one of relationship. Relationship to a spouse, to children, to a community of families working together.
Yet, the church claims universality in its relevance and potential for positive application in the lives of every individual on the planet. This has left us at Doves and Serpents asking, “What about the single Mormons? How do they fit into this intricate Mormon puzzle of community built on the backbone of families?”
The Huffington Post recently ran an article under the headline “The Mormon Marriage Crisis” that highlighted the church’s “singles” problem. As this article suggests, we suspect that all is not well in the land of the single churchgoer.
We want to hear your personal stories and perspectives. Has single life caused you to question or reevaluate your faith? Do you feel at home in your wards? Have you given up on the idea of marriage and children? How do you cope, survive, and thrive? Are you secretly (or not-so-secretly) relieved to have dodged the perils of marriage and family? How has single life in Mormondom helped or hindered your life? We don’t know (although we have a few ideas). We’re betting that you, our readers, have a few insights, and a few stories to tell. Please send us your experiences.
At Doves & Serpents, for the next 7 weeks (through Friday, October 19, 2012), we want you to share your single adult experiences with us about “fit” (or the lack thereof) between your spiritual needs and the larger Mormon church and/or church culture.
Selected submissions will be published on Doves & Serpents and may, at the end of the theme, be professionally edited and published in a small book (with ISBN) that will be available for purchase through Amazon.com (and other sites). Please see our guest post guide for copyright notices and other information.
Here is a list of themes and archived posts:
–Single Experiences (Invitation, Archive)
–Unexpected Spiritual Exerpiences (Invitation, Archive)
–Teaching Sex (Invitation, Archive)
–Unexpected Spiritual Exerpiences (Invitation, Archive)
–Teaching Sex (Invitation, Archive)
Submissions should be sent to guest guestposts@dovesandserpents.org (please see our guest post guide). The submission deadline for this theme is Friday, October 19, 2012.
Please email us if you have any additional questions: brent@dovesandserpents.org, heather@dovesandserpents.org, erin@dovesandserpents.org, or laurie@dovesandserpents.org.
I know this discussion is for singles, but I’d like to say I think there are plenty of members who have questioned their faith because of their marriages.
What is the deadline for this? I’m fairly new around here, so I’m not quite sure how guest posting works. I’m a never-married 34-year-old LDS woman, and I have lots of thoughts on this topic!
Great, Laura! The deadline is October 17, I think. Please submit something – we’d love to hear from you!