My thoughts on the temple: Starting with the first time I went to the temple to receive my own endowment, it was not a pleasant experience for me. I did have a couple of people tell me beforehand that I shouldn't be scared. I couldn't imagine why anyone would be scared to go to the temple. It was a week to the day before our wedding. Matt's sister, Carmen, accompanied me, due to the fact that Mama was in bed with a detached retina and doing everything the doctor told her to do in order to...

My thoughts regarding discrimination based on sexual orientation within the Church: I'm relatively certain that I grew up knowing boys who were gay and girls who were lesbians, but I honestly didn't suspect anything at the time. Of course, I was extremely sheltered when it came to everything about human sexuality. And when I say "extremely sheltered," that's putting it mildly. I was vaguely aware that some boys were a little bit effeminate and maybe affectionate towards one another,...

My thoughts on racial discrimination within the Church: I grew up during the '50s and '60s. I was always told that the "Negro" could not hold the priesthood. I can't recall for sure whether I was ever explicitly told why this was the case, but I knew that it was what it was. I accepted it. Living in Salt Lake City during those years, I really didn't have any association at all with Black people. Grandma Hepworth had taught me to "be nice to the little Coloreds" (who lived...

My thoughts on the Word of Wisdom: If there is any commandment that matters to Mormons, it's that we are to obey "The Word of Wisdom." Nothing defines a "good Mormon" like strict obedience to this teaching. Sometimes I feel as if my having a glass of wine at Thanksgiving and Christmas is just about the worst thing that I, as a Latter-day Saint, could conceivably do.

Papa smoked when I was a very little girl. I remember one night when I was young enough that...

I am grateful to be a member of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. Even though I am lonely often and sometimes frightened, for every reason I can find to leave, I can find a dozen other reasons to stay. I can say with conviction that I truly do believe what I call the "core doctrines" of Mormonism. It would probably be accurate to say that, for me, these core doctrines really are nothing more than the LDS perspective of the Plan of Salvation and the gospel of Jesus Christ....