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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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Tag Cloud
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Columns Archive
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Sunday Morning
Posted on June 4, 2012 | 17 CommentsToday’s guest post was originally published by Marion Jensen on his personal blog: The Open Author. Our gratitude to Marion for letting us share this with our readers and to Jennifer Bunker for allowing me to use the photo. ; This morning I marched […] -
Ride to Church in Huntsville, Texas
Posted on June 3, 2012 | 3 CommentsToday’s Ride to Church comes to us from Karin (sister of Doves and Serpents’ Heather) and her daughter Synneve. [Heather says: I love this post so much because it’s my hometown. And I love seeing the church building and remembering going to […] -
Good Grief
Posted on June 3, 2012 | 10 CommentsBut in that moment, I acknowledge the reality that it's nearly impossible for me to go back, for my faith to be sufficient, for me to KNOW that there is a God and that he knows me. -
Grondahl 21
Posted on June 2, 2012 | 1 CommentFor other cartoons in this series, click here. This cartoon, as always, is posted with the kind permission of The Sunstone Foundation and Calvin Grondahl. -
Teaching Sex: I Apologize
Posted on June 2, 2012 | 8 CommentsI apologize after sex. Yes, I literally say, "I'm sorry." Actually I have come a long way in recent years about uttering the actual phrase. . . -
33 A Mormon in the Cheap Seats: Loving Those Who Choose the Other Road
Posted on May 31, 2012 | 15 CommentsThe real test of love is not if we can love and appreciate people who agree with us. . .but if we can honor and respect people who don't. -
This is Nutters
Posted on May 30, 2012 | 17 Comments[This is me sighing.] I’ve written a few times here about modesty. Some might think I sound like a broken record. There is some truth to that claim. However, in self-defense, I have two daughters (ages 15.5 and 12) and I […] -
Our Favorite Mormons: “We Believe in Equal Rights”
Posted on May 29, 2012 | 10 CommentsThis is a guest post by Mark B (aka, Mark Mighty And Strong) about an early Mormon feminist and her husband, who is the most effective Mormon missionary you’ve never heard of. Their names are Louisa and Addison Pratt. We need to begin by clarifying […] -
32 A Mormon in the Cheap Seats: Wheel of Fortune & Evergreen International, Inc.
Posted on May 28, 2012 | 8 CommentsGroups like Evergreen International only practice science when it's convenient. Like my grandma, when presented with contradictory evidence, they simply turn off the TV, insisting that their answer is better. -
31 A Mormon in the Cheap Seats: Straining at Gnats
Posted on May 24, 2012 | 17 CommentsAah, yes, the "don't sweat the small stuff" argument. It's as familiar as Wonder bread in a sacrament tray. -
Guest Post Invitation: It’s SEX Guest-Post Month
Posted on May 23, 2012 | 9 CommentsIf we approach the question of sex from the perspective that it is our responsibility as parents to teach our kids how TO HAVE sex, how does that change things? -
A Tradition Not Worth Preserving
Posted on May 23, 2012 | 15 CommentsI’m nearly 20 years removed from the dating scene, so it goes without saying that I do not have my finger on the pulse of the dating world these days. I don’t understand how dating/flirting works now that we have Facebook and texting and […] -
Mutual Improvement Associations: Wednesday Nights
Posted on May 21, 2012 | 6 CommentsMy son is a bit of a puppy dog, though more bounding Great Dane than docile lap dog. He is tall with shaggy-ish hair and size nearly-9 feet and a one of kind brain. He sometimes seems both older than he is (when happily discussing […] -
Grondahl 20
Posted on May 19, 2012 | No CommentsGrondahl explains the wing issue. For other cartoons in this series, click here. This cartoon, as always, is posted with the kind permission of The Sunstone Foundation and Calvin Grondahl. -
30 A Mormon in the Cheap Seats: Higher Education?
Posted on May 18, 2012 | 5 CommentsHarvard Business School has its issues, as does any organization. But I believe that its values of openness, tentativeness, intellectual honesty, democratic knowledge, and informed dissent are indeed worthy of praise and emulation. -
Grondahl 19
Posted on May 16, 2012 | No CommentsSorry for the lag in posts. It’s been a lousy few weeks at my house the last month or so. Here’s the cover of Faith Promoting Rumors in all its orange glory. I decided it was worth seeing even with the stain on the left […] -
On immodest angels . . .
Posted on May 16, 2012 | 192 CommentsI’m not a fan of censorship. Don’t even get me started on book banning. So when I saw these two pictures side by side, my censorship flag went up! The image on the left is “The Resurrection” (1873) by Carl Heinrich Bloch. […] -
Our Favorite Mormons: “Man-Who-Takes-Himself-Apart”
Posted on May 15, 2012 | 5 CommentsGenerally, we’ll try to avoid showcasing General Authorities of the LDS Church as a part of this series, not because GAs are not our favorite Mormons, but because we like to celebrate lesser-known LDS figures, the rank and file members, the common Mormon. Today, […] -
To my Children’s Other-Mothers
Posted on May 13, 2012 | 6 CommentsMother’s Day is not my favorite for a number of reasons. Sometimes I wish that Mother’s Day meant I could hole up in my bedroom in my PJs, a couple good books, and a continuous stream of Diet Dr. Peppers all day long. […] -
Staff Stacks
Posted on May 11, 2012 | 7 CommentsWhat we're into now. -
Better Safe than Sorry
Posted on May 9, 2012 | 8 CommentsLast week our little town had a kerfuffle (although some would say it was much more than a kerfuffle). Here’s what I’ve been able to piece together. (Please recall that I’m not an investigative journalist.) Thursday night, Kennedy (our oldest, who is 15) […] -
Sanctus
Posted on May 7, 2012 | 2 CommentsIt's the blessings in life, not in self, that they mean to express. -
Mutual Improvement Associations: Moving Day
Posted on May 7, 2012 | 57 CommentsThis is the first of at least four pieces in a Sanctuary series – Mutual Improvement Associations – wherein I try to describe the bonds that exist between members of the church/a ward. Being a Mormon means lots of things, some positive, some negative, some […] -
Jog to Churches in Vancouver, BC
Posted on May 6, 2012 | 1 CommentIn late April, I went to Vancouver, BC for a work conference. As I was packing, I briefly considered NOT taking my running clothes (because they definitely take up room), but decided if I brought them, I’d be motivated (by guilt) to actually use […] -
29 A Mormon in the Cheap Seats: David Foster Wallace, Cement Mixers, and Mormonism
Posted on May 5, 2012 | 5 CommentsWe get to grapple with our own spiritual ineptness, sling it over our shoulders, cart it home, and store it under our beds. -
Sunday Takes a Mallet to My Head
Posted on May 4, 2012 | 18 CommentsUsually a very confident person, I avoided their eyes, smiled at their foreheads, and slunk behind the piano. The chorister introduced two visitors and announced that we would be singing a welcome song. I didn't hear her, as my thoughts were too focused on my failure. "Sister," she said sweetly, "we're singing a Welcome Song." -
Stuart, Swimming Upstream
Posted on May 2, 2012 | 3 CommentsTwo dumb things happened to Stuart this week. Exhibit A: Stuart and Marin participated in a dance competition in Dallas (3+ hours away). [Brent took the kids because I was out of town for the weekend having a wickedly fun all girls’ weekend. […] -
Our Favorite Mormons: Alice Louise Reynolds, Our Absent-Minded Professor
Posted on May 1, 2012 | 11 CommentsIf you haven’t met her, I’d like to introduce you to Alice Louise Reynolds, a “founder” of The Lord’s University, a beloved BYU professor and one of our favorite Mormons. It is estimated that Reynolds taught over 5,000 students in 20 different literature courses during […] -
Grondahl 18
Posted on May 1, 2012 | 1 CommentFor other cartoons in this series, click here. This cartoon, as always, is posted with the kind permission of The Sunstone Foundation and Calvin Grondahl. -
28 A Mormon in the Cheap Seats: Cognitive Dissonance 101
Posted on April 30, 2012 | 19 CommentsI have remarked more than once that Mormons are often able to juggle contradictory ideas without, apparently, even being aware of the internal tensions. . . . -
Ride to Church in St. Paul, Minnesota
Posted on April 29, 2012 | 3 CommentsWe bought a new (to us) house in March and thus had to pack up all of our belongings. While unpacking, I discovered an old disposable camera and had no memory of when I had used it. I figured one of the kids […] -
No Child Left Untested
Posted on April 25, 2012 | 9 CommentsThis is a pretty tired subject, I realize. I’m a professor in a teacher education program, so we talk about No Child Left Behind and its consequences a good bit. But this week is STAAR week here in Texas and my kids-Stuart especially-are […] -
Last Ride to Church in Paradise, Utah
Posted on April 22, 2012 | 4 CommentsToday’s Ride to Church comes to us from Carole, who documented the last Sunday meetings were held in the LDS chapel in Paradise. The original part of this building was built in 1877. Carole says she heard that it may be the oldest […] -
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. -
Chupacabra
Posted on April 19, 2012 | 5 CommentsSometimes, in our pursuit of service, we are asked to do strange things. Today’s guest post from Terry chronicles one such act of service. One night on my mission, my companion and I received a call from the ward mission leader asking for our […] -
Proof that Society has Jumped the Shark?
Posted on April 18, 2012 | 3 CommentsStealing a line from my high school friend, Jeremy, who posted this video gem on Facebook today, along with this status update: “We’ve officially jumped the shark as a society.” Click here to watch the video (ABC news won’t let me embed it into the […] -
27 A Mormon in the Cheap Seats: The CleanFlix Documentary
Posted on April 18, 2012 | 7 CommentsCLEANFLIX raises provocative questions about censorship and consumer rights as well as Mormon approaches to art and sex. . . . -
Our Favorite Mormons–Ithamar Sprague
Posted on April 17, 2012 | 12 CommentsDoves & Serpents is initiating a new feature we call “Our Favorite Mormons.” Consider it a biographical and uncorrelated version of Mormon.org, where we will tell the stories of Latter-day Saints, past and present, who have inspired us toward greater compassion, wonder or laughter. One […] -
My Own Personal Canon: The Learn’d Astronomer
Posted on April 16, 2012 | 3 CommentsLately, I have been spending a portion of nearly every evening stargazing in my backyard. There is a beautiful quality of light that graces the Texas sky come 8 p.m. Reclining on an old down comforter, I meditate on the movement of the clouds or […] -
Ride to Church in Bowling Green, Ohio
Posted on April 15, 2012 | 2 CommentsToday’s Ride to Church comes to us from Alex in Bowling Green, Ohio. Alex writes: “My Ride to Church is to the Unitarian Universalist church in Bowling Green, Ohio. My husband and I moved here last August from Utah, and started attending the Unitarian […] -
Grondahl 17
Posted on April 15, 2012 | 2 CommentsOne of my (many) favorites: For other cartoons in this series, click here. This cartoon, as always, is posted with the kind permission of The Sunstone Foundation and Calvin Grondahl. -
Unforgettable Images
Posted on April 11, 2012 | 21 CommentsMany Mormons (adults included) don’t watch R-rated movies. The oft-cited rationale is that once you see those images (“those images” = depictions of violence or sexuality), you’ll never get them out of your head. They’re seared into your brain forever. I for one […] -
Return and Report: The Sense of an Ending
Posted on April 10, 2012 | 9 CommentsWhat was the line Adrian used to quote? 'History is that certainty produced at the point where the imperfections of memory meet the inadequacies of documentation.' -
On Being Cut Out of the Program
Posted on April 9, 2012 | 50 CommentsWe had a beautiful Easter weekend that included a blissful day of cousin-ing with two out of my three siblings (we definitely missed our oldest sister and her gang!) and my parents. Everyone got dressed up Sunday morning in new clothes for Easter-new dresses […] -
Grondahl 16
Posted on April 8, 2012 | 5 CommentsFor other cartoons in this series, click here. This cartoon, as always, is posted with the kind permission of The Sunstone Foundation and Calvin Grondahl. -
Ride to Church in Newcastle-under-Lyme (Staffordshire, England)
Posted on April 8, 2012 | 3 CommentsToday’s Ride to Church comes to us from Elissa in Staffordshire, England. Elissa writes: Newcastle-under-Lyme is a market town in Staffordshire, England; about midway between Manchester and Birmingham. It’s part of the area known as “The Potteries,” where Wedgwood and other companies produce their […] -
26 A Mormon in the Cheap Seats: Joanna, Mr. Hancock, and Mormonism Lite
Posted on April 6, 2012 | 49 CommentsAs parents, what do we value more from our four-year-olds? A paint-by-the-numbers portrait identical to what's on the box, or a free-spirited "look, Mom, this is you and Dad in a rocket ship with a cow" masterpiece? -
25 A Mormon in the Cheap Seats: Conference Weekend and Rolexes
Posted on April 5, 2012 | 14 CommentsI'll walk around for a while, mesmerized by scale and luster of it, and then I'll remember that the development-everything, including the fountains, the retractable roof, and $20k Rolexes-are a physical manifestation of my religion. . . . -
Mormon Motherhood: Spiritual Buzzkill
Posted on April 4, 2012 | 48 CommentsI’ve been thinking lately about how interesting it is that Mormon church leaders place such high priority on getting married and having children. I mean, if you’re a Mormon girl, you know from a very young age that your primary mission in life is […] -
Grondahl 15, Conference
Posted on April 1, 2012 | 2 CommentsFor other cartoons in this series, click here. This cartoon, as always, is posted with the kind permission of The Sunstone Foundation and Calvin Grondahl. Sorry about the quality of this image. My copy of this book is pretty yellowed and brittle. -
Sunday Afternoon Drive
Posted on April 1, 2012 | 1 CommentHere’s a twist on our usual Ride to Church. These pictures were taken at a nearby drive-thru animal safari by Rhonda Nasuta Swanson, an amazing photographer. You can see more of her work at her website and here. I saw these pictures on her […] -
The Lovin’ Spoonful
Posted on March 31, 2012 | 3 CommentsI don’t want you to feel “Jealousy,” really, I don’t. Still, you might be a teensy bit covetous when you find out that I’m going to see Spoon in two weeks in Houston, and this during a non-touring, except for this mini-Texas tour, non-new album […] -
Reconsider Reading The Book of Mormon to Your Kids
Posted on March 29, 2012 | 13 CommentsToday’s guest post, written by Angela, is based on “Consider Skipping Hunger Games” by James T. Summerhays. ; As a book of scripture, The Book of Mormon poses some important and persuasive theories concerning the effects of wickedness, secrecy, and greed on any civilization and […] -
On Packing (and unpacking) a Life
Posted on March 28, 2012 | 2 CommentsMy family and I just moved from one house to another in the same town, so I know precisely how much stuff we have. At more than one point during the 9-day stretch during which we packed, cleaned, moved, and unpacked, I asked Brent […] -
It is just a matter of semantics?
Posted on March 25, 2012 | 6 CommentsToday’s guest post comes to us from Andrew. I’ve spent the past several weeks euphemizing, dodging, and altering the narrative of the long out-of-print Book of Mormon Reader as I read to my two young daughters. While the artwork is as vivid and interesting as […] -
Ride to Church in Brazil
Posted on March 25, 2012 | 1 CommentToday’s Ride to Church comes to us all the way from Itatiba, Brazil (which is on the eastern side, outside of Sao Paolo). Huge shout-out to Melissa, who writes: ; I live about 20 kilometers from church, in a very rural area, and church […] -
24 A Mormon in the Cheap Seats: “We know that. . .”
Posted on March 22, 2012 | 51 CommentsI pick it up, open it, and read this sentence on page 3: "We know that gender was set in the premortal world." -
On turning 12
Posted on March 21, 2012 | 15 CommentsI am fifteen years into this whole parenthood project and I am only sort of embarrassed to admit that I have never once wished to turn back the clock. Or pause it. Or even slow it down. I have been content to […] -
23 A Mormon in the Cheap Seats: A Few Questions?
Posted on March 20, 2012 | 55 Comments1) Why is it so hard, when it comes to women, for Mormons to understand that being valuable is not the same as being equal?, 2) If King Benjamin were put in charge of church finances. . . -
Grondahl 14
Posted on March 18, 2012 | No CommentsFor other cartoons in this series, click here. This cartoon, as always, is posted with the kind permission of The Sunstone Foundation and Calvin Grondahl.