Vol. 40 No. 2 – Fall 2020
This is the first issue that began and ended during the COVID-19 era….The resulting collection of essays and art is powerful.
This is the first issue that began and ended during the COVID-19 era….The resulting collection of essays and art is powerful.
As I reflect on my tenure as the Editor-in-Chief of Exponent II, I am proud of the work we’ve done in achieving many of the
“I can’t believe I have to leave.”It was the first time I had felt peace at church in a long time. Even though it was just a thought, trapped inside my head, where no one could see, it shook me. I felt the tears begin to well up. The hymns I was singing felt holy. The pew I sat in felt holy. The words I had heard offered over the pulpit that day felt holy. It had been the first time in a long time that any of it felt right. More than right—it was beautiful. Anticipatory grief is grief that […]
It is not a breaking through, a reaching down, a pulling up. We are not running, cunningly, past drunken guards to enter in. It cannot be kept from within. Our loose, liquid, bodies are not seeping into heaven’s cloth. It is seeping into us. Here we stand, as witnesses, until our fiber knees absorb the weight. (Photo by Pawel Czerwinski on Unsplash)
Sacrament talk in Dakota Ridge Ward, Columbine Stake, Littleton, Colorado Malcolm Gladwell popularized a theory put forth by psychologists from as early as 1899: it takes 10,000 hours of practice to achieve mastery of a skill. Neurologist Daniel Levitin explains: “The emerging picture from such studies is that ten thousand hours of practice is required to achieve the level of mastery associated with being a world-class expert—in anything. . . . It seems that it takes the brain this long to assimilate all that it needs to know to achieve true mastery.” As you might expect with a quote from a neurologist, […]
Once I tried to pray away the kinks, But God told me “expand,” not shrink. Because while they trace heritage back to sod, These kinks
Why or how did you decide to become an artist?From a young age, I was interested in making things with my hands and was always obsessed with color, especially the colors that I wore. I had the privilege of being born into a family that valued writers, musicians, and artists, and was always exposed to this world. My mother studied art at UC Irvine, and I attended classes with her as a child. I fell in love with using clay and oil paint at age seven. I always knew I loved art, but artists seemed like magicians to me, endowed […]
I. She is mighty to save. Her arms are at least half hanging skin from carrying, birthing, mourning souls. Souls are heavy. Bodies are heavy, even of tiny children. Her love has gravity. It will root us when we root for our Mother’s milk. II. You are not always what I want. You are not what I think I need either. I am speaking to myself, but also to you. III. Help me accept you in the ways you show up for me. Help me accept you in texts, blue bubbles, and people trying their best. Last night, I told […]
Editing this feature has changed how I read Exponent II in the sense that I wonder what future readers may think as they read each issue, and what they may know of our time. So, dear future reader, we are over a half-year into the global COVID-19 pandemic, and the end is far from known. It’s the unavoidable reality of everyone alive today, and its impact on daily life has been profound. For me, without recitals to attend, vacations to plan, or even simple traditions like church dinners to look forward to, the days feel repetitive, and that can be […]
Since the Church’s founding nearly 200 years ago, our unique history and culture has produced and attracted a remarkable array of women who have become
Exponent II provides feminist forums for women and gender minorities across the Mormon spectrum to share their diverse life experiences in an atmosphere of trust and acceptance. Through these exchanges, we strive to create a community to better understand and support each other.