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Recent Posts
- Psaltery & Lyre’s New Site
- 123 Psaltery & Lyre: “Agricola Dreams of Flying” by J. Rose Lara
- 122 Psaltery & Lyre: “Communion: a love poem (a villanelle)” by Rachel Bollinger
- Book Review: Philip Metres’s Sand Opera
- 121 Psaltery & Lyre: Rachael Matthews, “Horsehead Nebula”
- Book Review: Monica Ong’s Silent Anatomies
- 120 Psaltery & Lyre: Rachael Matthews, “Return, pt. III” and “Gaia”
- Book Review: Claudia Rankine’s Don’t Let Me Be Lonely
- Book Review: Matthea Harvey, If the Tabloids Are True What Are You?
- Book Review: LoterÃa Cards and Fortune Poems: A Book of Lives
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Dear Jack Archive
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17 Dear Jack: The Gospel is True, but the People Aren’t
Posted on April 21, 2012 | 12 CommentsThere are ideals that can point us toward a more enlightened way of being and behaving, but there is no gospel that exists in perfect form outside our lived experience. -
16 Dear Jack: McLDS
Posted on March 13, 2012 | 5 CommentsDear Jack, What, exactly, is The Handbook? Is it scripture? Is it not scripture? Is it revelation? Is it not revelation? How can we say we believe in teaching correct principles and letting individuals govern themselves if we have a 400+ page handbook? I’m sure […] -
15 Dear Jack: It’s All True
Posted on March 5, 2012 | 5 Comments"There is no one thing that's true. It's all true." -
14 Dear Jack: Self-Love
Posted on February 18, 2012 | 11 CommentsWe can and should make ethical and moral choices about our sexual behavior, but attaching that morality to perfectly healthy and normal biological responses or our fugitive thoughts is a mistake. -
13 Dear Jack: Don’t Lose Heart
Posted on February 3, 2012 | 12 Comments; Dear Jack, My shifting faith away from Mormonism hasn’t created a problem with my parenting decisions – until now as my kids hit their teen years. My 16-year old son hangs out with other kids who seem like nice, reasonable and fun teenagers. Often […] -
12 Dear Jack: The Good Daughter
Posted on January 14, 2012 | 2 Comments; Dear Jack, I don’t have a great relationship with my father. He and my mother divorced when I was six, and he became engaged to my stepmother two years later. That relationship is also fraught–throughout my childhood and teenage years, she was emotionally manipulative […] -
11 Dear Jack: Make It Work
Posted on January 7, 2012 | 2 CommentsDear Jack, Our ward is changing meeting times next year, and we’ll meet right in the middle of kids’ nap and lunch times. Do we make everyone go to church for three hours and spend the rest of the day crabby, cranky, hungry and […] -
10 Dear Jack: Abundance
Posted on December 23, 2011 | 1 CommentIn the new year I'll be back to answering your questions about life and Mormonism, but I wanted to do something a little different with today's column, my tenth, and send a letter myself. -
09 Dear Jack: Sternly Part of It
Posted on December 16, 2011 | 7 CommentsHello Jack, I just found out about this site. Is it really for people who have left the church? If so, how can it co-exist with those who are sternly still part of it? I have found another site but it’s very anti-Mormon, mostly 20, […] -
08 Dear Jack: Nourishing the Delusion
Posted on December 9, 2011 | 3 CommentsDear Jack, I believe that one of the greatest gifts God has given us is our capacity to think for ourselves. If I do my best to understand a particular issue, and then honestly and openly seek His inspiration, and I reach a conclusion that […] -
07 Dear Jack: The Eternal Flame
Posted on November 27, 2011 | 6 CommentsDear Jack, When I think about my testimony of the truth claims of the LDS church, I imagine a candle in my soul flickering. That inner candle used to burn brightly, but over the last few years as I’ve learned more and struggled with faith […] -
06 Dear Jack: The Weight of the World
Posted on November 19, 2011 | 6 CommentsDear Jack, Our ward primary program is coming up and my six-year-old daughter wants to wear her favorite “fluffy” dress to this special occasion. The dress is white and red with ribbons and tulle … and it’s also sleeveless. I’ve gotten weird looks before when […] -
05 Dear Jack: What the Hookah?
Posted on November 11, 2011 | 21 CommentsDear Jack, My husband and I are DNA Mormons, 5-7 generations on all lines. We have two young adult sons, neither of whom believe in LDS church teachings. My husband has not been a believer since his mission, but attended somewhat regularly until the oldest […] -
04 Dear Jack: The Girl Who Talks to Animals
Posted on November 4, 2011 | 3 CommentsDear Jack, My husband and I both grew up in the Mormon Church. He is still a more literal believer while I am a friendly agnostic. We have a good relationship and we respect each other’s beliefs, although it took time and effort to get […] -
03 Dear Jack: Should I Stay or Should I Go?
Posted on October 28, 2011 | 14 CommentsDear Jack, I’ve been struggling with my Mormon-ness for about five years, but have been attending weekly and fully participating. I just got released from a calling that I love. It was truly the only thing keeping me attached to the church. Now that I […] -
02 Dear Jack: How Much Coffee?
Posted on October 21, 2011 | 13 CommentsDear Jack, How much coffee is too much? How much alcohol is too much? Those sound like lead-ins to a joke, but I am asking in earnest. I don’t drink coffee or alcohol at all, but I grant there is nothing particularly unwise about sharing […] -
01 Dear Jack
Posted on October 14, 2011 | 2 CommentsBeing Mormon is more than just BEING MORMON, you know.