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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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Latest Headlines
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First Lady Cookie Bake-Off
Some people have Superbowl parties. Others have March Madness parties. We have a presidential election party. We... -
Single Experiences: We Can Do Better
In a culture where women are given the most power in roles defined by who they are attached to,... -
Mutual Improvement Associations: Singing Together
One week ago, I had just sat down on the piano bench in the Primary room and started to play... -
Christ Within
Today’s guest post comes to us from Bill. On a recent business trip to San Francisco, while on a walk... -
Grondahl Restored 39
For other cartoons in this series, click here. This cartoon, as always, is posted with the kind permission of The... -
The Golden Question
I do not get to travel as much as I would like. My work doesn’t require much travel, which I... -
Happy Birthday, Doves and Serpents
To celebrate, here are the Top 24 posts from our first two years (one for every month, by page views): -
18 Psaltery & Lyre: Aaron Michael Kline, “Texas Bamboo Summer”
“I’d thought bamboo / was a symbol of peace, but my young / cousins proved me wrong . . .” -
Tired of the Mormon Moment?
The year I turned eight and was baptized a member of the LDS church, I began fasting on the first... -
Babies and Grad School
Today’s guest post is written by Caitlin. My first week of grad school ended in an emotional break-down, not unlike... -
Objects of Faith and Desire: Tears in a Bottle
Poets like to sing about things in bottles. Jim Croce pined after time in a bottle, Audra Mae claimed a... -
Iraq, Integrity, and Anti-malarials
This guest post comes to us today from Nik Rasheta. In January 2003 I was deployed to the Middle East... -
Grondahl Restored 38
; For other cartoons in this series, click here. This cartoon, as always, is posted with the kind permission of... -
Leaving The Paved Road
I have a seemingly insignificant memory from my early teenage years of walking through the grocery store and spying the... -
17 Psaltery & Lyre: Sarah Dunster, “Recovery”
“You’ve kissed a / wolf before; his black lips curled . . .” -
I’m Hanging On . . .
A high school friend recently messaged me to say that-after reading my Facebook posts and my blog posts (as well... -
Mutual Improvement Associations: Pinewood Derby
Here is an example of just how swell my post-divorce home teachers were. During one Sunday afternoon visit, they asked... -
Grondahl Restored 37
For other cartoons in this series, click here. This cartoon, as always, is posted with the kind permission of The... -
Diversify your Spiritual Identity Portfolio
Today’s guest post comes to us from Nik Rasheta: About a year ago I read a book that helped me... -
16 Psaltery & Lyre: M. Brett Gaffney, “Communion”
M. Brett Gaffney graduated with a BA in English from Stephen F. Austin University and is currently pursuing an MFA... -
Don’t You Want Muffins?
I was born with a seemingly infinite number of machine parts in my head — springs and sprockets and gears... -
Driver’s Ed
Our oldest daughter is approaching the magical age of 16. When I was her age, I took a semester-long... -
40 A Mormon in the Cheap Seats: “A Public Meeting, or Feast”
Brigham Young later removed this passage. A combined wedding and sealing, apparently, had certain operational advantages when it came to... -
Choosing Faith in the Face of Doubt
The truth is that some things will hurt and be difficult. The truth is that some questions will never... -
Ride to Holy Places in Sarnath and Varnasi, India
Today’s amazing Ride to Church comes to us from Angela Clayton and Ken Clayton (who took the stunning pictures). ... -
Richard Dawkins, you’re an ass. Brandon Flowers, you don’t know what the hell you’re talking about.
When we hear that a belief is ridiculous, the first thing we should ask ourselves is: ridiculous to whom? -
Grondahl Restored 36
For other cartoons in this series, click here. This cartoon, as always, is posted with the kind permission of The... -
15 Psaltery & Lyre: Christine Butterworth-McDermott, “Holding Anna”
Christine Butterworth-McDermott is an associate professor of English at Stephen F. Austin State University, where she teaches creative writing, fairy... -
Unyielding: It’s How We Operate
During my ex-boyfriend’s honeymoon, I sent him a dozen red roses, along with three singing telegrams, which I had delivered... -
A Record Keeping People
For me, writing both requires that I feel centered within myself as well as helps me to get to that... -
Shielding Children from our Emotions
I’ve read some really sad things lately and have been experiencing some of my own sad moments (hey, I’m 39,... -
Walk to the World Trade Center Memorial Site
Today’s installment of our Ride to Church feature that we usually run on Sundays is a Walk to the World... -
Powerful
Where does your head go when you want to channel some power? -
Guest Post Invitation: Single Experiences
We want to hear your personal stories about why there is less than a perfect fit between your spiritual needs... -
Ride to Church in Silver Gate, Montana
Today’s Ride to Church comes to us from Carole (who has also graciously shared her Rides to Church in Avon... -
“Check Yourself Before You Wreck Yourself!”
I learned this saying a number of years ago after I’d burned bridges with half of my family, lost a... -
Grondahl Restored 33
For other cartoons in this series, click here. This cartoon, as always, is posted with the kind permission of The... -
The Pillars of Love, Part 1: Authenticity
To be pure, love must be authentic. This is much more than saying that love must be authentically felt.... -
Confronting the “Fine Tuning” Argument
Given a pragmatic view of science, fine tuning ceases to be a problem. Scientific models are remarkable, but human, efforts... -
14 Psaltery & Lyre: Christine Butterworth-McDermott, “Wedding Cake”
Christine Butterworth-McDermott is an associate professor of English at Stephen F. Austin State University, where she teaches creative writing, fairy... -
Hankerin’ for a Spankerin’
I would like to preface this story with the statement that I love both my parents deeply. In my home... -
To Read or Not to Read (Your Teenager’s Private Business)
When I was a teenager, I kept a journal. I wrote in it a lot. I sometimes worried... -
A Whole Lot of Craziness
It’s funny how one story can take on different meanings, reveal different themes, and speak to us in new ways... -
Grondahl Restored 32
For other cartoons in this series, click here. This cartoon, as always, is posted with the kind permission of The... -
Unexpected Spiritual Experiences: Lost and Found
When I showed up the next week (closer to 10:10 a.m. this time), the little old lady said, “You came... -
Unexpected Spiritual Experiences: Light and Shadow
“I don’t know much,” I think to myself, “but I know there is truth in their steady breathing, and in... -
13 Psaltery & Lyre: Dayna Patterson, “I Wear Pants to Church”
For women, this isn’t allowed. If I were my brother, no one would notice. I’m breaking the rules -
You Don’t Know How It Feels
Instead of spinning narratives that minimize our old beliefs, make us feel superior, and make nodding rubes out of the... -
Restoring America?
Politics is like blood sport at our house. We love it. I have a picture of Kennedy as... -
39 A Mormon in the Cheap Seats: Please Don’t Tell Me I Don’t Understand the Gospel
Had I simply refused to see it? Turned a blind eye out of conformity? Why, after decades in the church,...