Pioneer Day
October 5, 2019“Tinesha, we found your relative’s headstone,” reads the email subject line. And then, a few days later: “Tinesha, your 4th great-grandmother was born in Finland.” From details of pioneer companies to the stories of my…
DiaBLOGue
True Joy Cannot Be Found in the Garden
October 5, 2019When Eve partook of the fruit, she envisioned a different kind of world than she knew in Eden—a world where she could learn, progress, and create. Unlike most Christians, Latter-day Saints believe that Eve knew…
Room for Me
October 5, 2019I remember the very first time I saw a painting of a black person in a Latter-day Saint building. It was the painting titled “And Thou Didst Hear Me” by Elspeth Young, located in the…
Imagery and Identity
October 5, 2019“Mami, you’re light brown. I’m dark brown. And Dada is dark brown,” my two-year-old daughter blurted out unexpectedly one night before her bedtime. “Yes mama, you’re right,” I responded as my mind raced. I could…
Listening for a Change
October 5, 2019“Rèv mwen pou demen” Douvanjou n se rèv demen ki dwe plòtonnen nan konbit tèt ansanm Mizè ayè n va sèvi fèy papye listwa pou korije devwa demen Nawè n va sèvi plim ak lank pou kouche sou papye zègrè n…
“There Is No Equality”: William E. Berrett, BYU, and Healing the Wounds of Racism in the Latter-day Saint Past and Present
October 5, 2019Dialogue 52.3 (Fall 2019): 62–83
De Schweintiz documents how students at BYU still hear racist reasons for the priesthood/temple ban in classes, missions, Gospel Doctrine, sacrament meeting talks and even in books published by the Church.
Post Mormon Past
October 5, 2019I suppose I should have foreshadowed my own shadow. I should have seen what I did not want to see. That said, I must say, I see what I see for fear my shadow over-take me, for fear I become mere shadow of my former Mormon self. Formerly and formally, I tell it like it is, that is to say, “it” being what I see I say, what I say I mean, what I mean to say, I think is really me. I like to think I think so, so I say what I think.
Still You
October 5, 2019I have a six-year old named Sofia, who, for reasons beyond my comprehension, insisted that we all call her “Cat Poop” for about six months last year. This feels relevant to the conversation at hand.
I’m Not a Mormon, and Neither Are You
October 5, 2019
What’s a Mormon Expert to Do?
October 5, 2019When I sold The Bishop’s Wife, a contemporary murder mystery set in Utah, to a national press in 2012, I spent a lot of time trying to figure out what my “bio” would be. I…