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This story is about me—which feels odd because whenever I have written it before I’ve made it about my husband. We met at BYU, fell madly in love and were married in the Oakland Temple. We finished school, moved to Washington State, and started a busy life with children, callings, careers, and life. We have been a good match. I always credit his kindness and consideration and encouragement.

I never thought I was in a mixed-faith marriage because I believed my faith was the one and only true faith, and that my non-LDS husband was just a missionary work in progress. My insistence that my worldview is the only valid worldview is probably one of the primary reasons why I am in my third marriage.

Interfaith marriages are often underrepresented in LDS discourse on dating, marriage, and eternal life. Although I’ve often heard marriages like mine described as “backup” options, for me it has been a joy formed through much prayer, study, and lived experience.

We were waiting for our early morning flight for our family’s long-awaited trip to Disneyland. My husband came walking down the concourse with a Starbucks drink in hand. Our 10-year-old daughter asked what he was drinking, and he replied, “a caramel macchiato.” I inwardly fumed, as I was exhausted by preparing our family of seven for a big trip and this was the venue my husband used to tell our children he drank coffee.

Jennifer Kambourian is a lifelong member of the Church. At 42 years old she married John, a man of Catholic upbringing who had recently lost his first wife to cancer, leaving him to raise his three children. Coming from a part-member family herself, Jennifer had always been determined to marry a faithful Latter-day Saint man in the temple. But a revelatory process of prayer, fasting, temple attendance, and conversations with trusted friends led her to know she was meant to jo

I am a returned missionary, married in the temple to a returned missionary. This summer we marked our 33rd anniversary. About two months into the marriage, my husband told me that he had serious doubts about the Church. Over the next couple years, those doubts became more persistent until he completely quit coming to church in 1988.

His hands are as strong as his work ethic. He likes old rock music, westerns, and Mexican food. He’s a naturally loud person with an easy sense of humor. He curses like a sailor and loves his family fiercely. He believes in God but not in organized religion. He worships God by watching the sunset as orange surrenders to red, and red melts into night sky. He is married to a lifelong member of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints and together they are raising three c

As a seamstress with a special spot in her heart for the traditional Chilean cueca dresses, Maria Teresa Toro Valenzuela knows how to modify and improve on a good pattern. Having been ‘born of goodly parents,’ Maria Teresa joined the church as a young mother. Threads of love of family, country and the gospel now run through the life that she has tailored for herself by prayerfully and enthusiastically combining the best of her country’s traditions with the teachings of the

Camille Moffat was driving home late one night when she was hit head-on by a drunk driver. She suffered multiple fractures, a traumatic brain injury, and doctors thought that she might never walk or speak again. However, through a series of miracles, Camille relearned how to walk, and has retained her sense of wit, style, and intelligence. She loves to tell her story about God’s hand in her life and the lessons she has learned about God’s love for all of His children.

Elizabeth Ostler is a theater-maker, activist, and professor living in Brooklyn, New York. She specializes in directing and puppetry, and in coaching others on how to tell their stories. A survivor of childhood abuse and of an abusive marriage, she dedicates her artistic work to advocating for other victims and raising awareness about domestic violence and human trafficking. She has felt the companionship of the Savior throughout her life, and her knowledge of His love and of

Elizabeth Ostler is a theater-maker, activist, and professor living in Brooklyn, New York. She specializes in directing and puppetry, and in coaching others on how to tell their stories. A survivor of childhood abuse and of an abusive marriage, she dedicates her artistic work to advocating for other victims and raising awareness about domestic violence and human trafficking. She has felt the companionship of the Savior throughout her life, and her knowledge of His love and of

he showed Her Son how to mother, so He could show the world.

Mother pricked her finger And so we all fell asleep Dreamily waiting for the Prince’s kiss. Sometimes dreams feel too real We forget that this isn’t where we came from We forget that we are sleeping But one day we will open our eyes again We will see His face

Beholding the magnitude of your Grace, Enoch cried “thou art there. ”Let me remember, Lord: Thou art there. Let me be comforted. Let me lift up my heart and be glad. Let me remember: You stopped for the woman in the crowd. She, bleeding and forgotten. You stopped to give of your very virtue. Let me stop and give of my self. In your Holiness, you washed their feet.

The river gushes down my face Tears twist and turn Dodging knuckles Pressed against my cheeks I peek between finger slivers And cloudy pools Seeing a hydra ocean surge