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As a molecular physiology professor at UNC Chapel Hill, Sarah Street is interested in the big questions of how the brain works: What is perception? What is reality? What is agency? In addition to having implications for how people of faith process spiritual experiences, Sarah hopes her work can also show that people’s emotional experiences have impact on their physical health.

Sheri Dew wrote biographies of Ezra Taft Benson and Gordon B. Hinckley during their lifetimes. She served as a counselor in the general Relief Society presidency from 1997 until 2002. She is now CEO of Deseret Book. Her book Women and the Priesthood was published this month.

Stephanie comes from four generations of women who were trafficked for the purpose of sexual exploitation. Her own mother was sent into the trade at age twelve and had her first child when she was sixteen. But Stephanie’s mother broke the pattern by refusing to exploit her own children, allowing Stephanie to grow up outside the sex trafficking industry and join the Church in high school. Stephanie is now a wife and mother and the founder of two non-profits.

Kat S. is a family therapist in New York City and a Jewish convert to the LDS Church. She is also the semi-anonymous blogger behind the popular Tumblr page “Just Say Amen Already,” a light-hearted look at her Mormon experience. Kat says she was prompted to the task of making us laugh at ourselves. Here, she talks about the healing power of laughter and the beauty she finds in life and the Gospel.

Laurel “Lolly” Weed is a wife and a stay-at-home mother to three daughters, but says she has no natural housekeeping skills and doesn’t feel like a typical Mormon mom at all. And she’s okay with that. Her marriage is also atypical; her husband, Josh, is gay. Last year, Lolly and Josh published a blog post about their story. When it went viral, the Weeds were surprised by the resulting publicity, criticism, and outpouring of support.

Rachel Whipple doesn’t own a dryer or an air conditioner. Why? Because she believes that being a steward of the earth means making do with what she has and providing for herself and her family wherever possible. Rachel also grows her family’s food, bakes their bread, cans, sews, and rides her bike almost everywhere. She speaks movingly about the need for a revival of provident living, government’s role in sustainability, and our responsibility to the poor.

On June 5, 2002, at the age of 14, Elizabeth Smart was abducted from her home in Salt Lake City and spent nine months in captivity. Her kidnappers, Brian David Mitchell and Wanda Barzee, were both sentenced to prison in 2011. Since her captivity, Elizabeth has become an advocate for the prevention of child sexual abuse.

Suzi Fei is a devout Mormon, wife, and mother. She’s also a computational biologist and an enthusiastic career woman who says her natural inclinations to pursue a profession often brought anxiety and loneliness while growing up in the Church. But her life changed when she met her biological parents, and Suzi began feeling more comfortable in her own skin. She encourages women to embrace their natural talents and spend more time trusting in God and less time worrying about cul

Annie Bush joined the Church in her native Bordeaux, France at the age of 16. Working as a translator for the Church, Annie spent years immersed in bringing The Ensign, the scriptures, and church manuals to life in her mother tongue of French. Through it all, Annie says her priority has been her family.

Melissa Dalton Bradford raised four children in the midst of an international life: Norway, France, Singapore, Germany. But what appears glamorous to many has its costs, and Melissa honestly talks about the lack of community and permanence that has defined her years abroad. She also reveals how important those intangibles can be when struck with a tragedy, like the loss of her 18-year-old son in a drowning accident, and how we all can learn to mourn and comfort more compassi

On March 17, 2013, Kate Kelly launched OrdainWomen.org. Her efforts to draw attention to the possibility of female ordination have drawn both impassioned praise and criticism, but Kate feels that the example of her parents, the experience of her mission, and her training in human rights law has made female ordination a flag she’s prepared to carry.

Angela Fallentine is a U.S. expat living in New Zealand. Angela has had a long career with the Church’s public affairs offices—but she recently gave one of her most significant public speeches as a private citizen, when she and her husband spoke before the New Zealand Parliament during debates on this year’s Definition of Marriage bill. Angela felt impressed to present teachings from “The Family: a Proclamation to the World,” an experience that reconfirmed her commitment to t

Although the product of a Mexican mother, a Peruvian father and an Ecuadorian mission, Maria Babin always had a special love for France. Now living in Paris as a mother to four children, Maria adapts and innovates in her efforts to teach her children three different languages: English, Spanish and French.

As a wife and mother in a part-member family, Peka draws on the inspiration of her mother — who was also a “single parent in the gospel” — to support her husband as he learns about the Church and teach her daughter what she believes. Issues of race have proven challenging for her non-white family, and Peka discusses how much she appreciates member friends who embrace her husband for who he is and not for what they want him to be.

When Pam Shorr decided to stop attending church, she doubted she would ever go back. She recalls thinking, “I really want to find who I am and what I believe. I just want to do my own thing for a while.” But eventually, Pam found herself prompted to return, and an inspired Relief Society president showed her the way. She describes her reactivation in the Church as difficult, terrifying, and inspiring. “When I returned,” she says, “I was ready for the whole thing, and I have n