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O, Jesus, my Savior and dearest friend, My companion in this season of sorrow, Wilt Thou walk beside me in the solitude Of my silent, aching heart? Wilt Thou hold my grief in Thy warm, strong hand? Hast Thou heard my sore lament?

O, Jehovah, Thou Son of God, let my praise to Thee be found on my lips. Allow my tears to wash Thy feet, accept my offering and let Thy will eclipse.

A dissonant tune twinned to plaintive words can live and spread like aspen roots, binding generations.

I hear Him In the gentle breeze Of leaves Half-flushed With green and gold.

For beloved bits of earth burrowed into my soul–– diamond-cold creek, edged with yarrow and thimbleberry; jagged canyon sheltered

r mercy is a deep river. Wash the pettiness from me and wring me out to dry.

When I was a child I didn’t spell things right And I thought the Son of God was actually the Sun of God So every time I looked at the sun I thought I was looking at Jesus

Lines of heart and mind silken invisible but tensile and tough Even when I severed some myself I could feel the tug Someone on the other end who hadn’t wouldn’t let go

As anyone that has sung in a ward choir I’ve directed knows, I love a good praise song. I find exuberant harmony, declarations of God’s goodness, and a joyful “Hallelujah” irresistible. I may have even had the primary children hold neon scarves and shake musical instruments while we paraded around the primary room singing “Praise to the Man” when I was the primary music leader.

As we approached 2022, I felt worried and intimidated. After the last three years studying Come, Follow Me, I felt a close connection with those books of scripture that I simply did not think I would have with the Old Testament. To add to this, I was asked to give a talk about the importance of the Old Testament.

Amber Corkin and Aubri Robinson are twin sisters who received a prompting that their daughters need to learn of women in the scriptures while growing up, more than they had as youth. They studied the scriptures and divine identity to help their children, and developed their own sense of divine identity along the way. They recently published Dear Divine Daughter: Inspiring Stories of Bible Women, a compilation of stories of women in the Bible.

Lorianne Updike Toler began studying the US Constitution while in elementary school and her interest charted her educational course through multiple graduate degrees. As a constitutional legal historian, she has founded organizations to provide resources for constitutional study. She has been teaching at New England Law: Boston, and will begin teaching at Northern Illinois University College of Law in the fall.

Although the conversation happened several years ago now, I still think of it often. While serving in a leadership role, I was meeting with another church leader. We had been discussing several women who had left the church or who stood on the very precipice of leaving. Although each woman had her own circumstances, a deep-seated concern with gender inequities at church was a central thread in their unconnected stories.

As a young adult, I began to identify as a feminist while remaining an active member of the church. I clung to and cherished the gospel truths I had been taught as a young child, while also choosing to ask questions and consider different perspectives through a feminist lens.

May is Mental Health Awareness month. Fiona Phillips and her husband have supported multiple family members experiencing mental illness. Their experience is being put to good use as they serve as Area Medical Advisor, supporting the health needs of full-time missionaries in California.