Mormon Women

A new marriage; two sons facing the tumultuous teen years; work as a computer consultant. And now assigned to oversee care for all the women of her church from the new young mothers to grieving widows, Margaret Agard is overwhelmed with her five page to-do list. She makes the daily decision to turn the list over to God. Her life is quickly filled with experiences both touching and quirky from hospital visits to screaming peacocks culminating in her astonishing changed relationship with God.

The word is out about Sadie Hoffmiller's amateur detective work, but it's not the kind of publicity Sadie wants. When Jane's article threatens Sadie's reputation in the community, she accepts her first investigation-for-hire and travels to Portland, Oregon - if only to give herself some space from her whispering neighbors. And from Pete, who is sending her mixed signals about their budding relationship. Sadie hopes the Portland air will clear her head, and she is eager to get to work for May Sanderson, who has suspicions about her father's untimely death.

Sadie Hoffmiller believes in her abilities as a cook and as a detective. She believes in the beauty of a perfectly baked pumpkin roll. She does not, however, believe in ghosts. As Halloween approaches, Sadie is looking forward to spending her favorite baking season of the year making delicious New England recipes in Boston, Massachusetts, with her favorite leading man, Pete Cunningham, as they babysit his three young grandsons. When the boys insist that Mrs. Wapple, the woman who lives across the street, is a witch, Sadie and Pete are anxious to distract the boys from such silly ideas.

When Nicole Hardy’s eye-opening "Modern Love" column appeared in the New York Times, the response from readers was overwhelming. Hardy’s essay, which exposed the conflict between being true to herself as a woman and remaining true to her Mormon faith, struck a chord with women coast-to-coast. Now in her funny, intimate, and thoughtful memoir, Nicole Hardy explores how she came, at the age of 35, to a crossroads regarding her faith and her identity.

Have you ever noticed in the scriptures men are always going up into the mountains to commune with God? Yet in the scriptures, we hardly ever hear of women going to the mountains, and we know why, right? Because the women were too busy keeping life going; they couldn't abandon babies, meals, homes, fires, gardens, and several responsibilities to make the climb into the mountains! As modern-day women, we may feel like we are never "free" enough from responsibilities, never quite enough, or holy enough to have the type of communion we want with God.

In the inhospitable lands of the Utah Territory, during the winter of 1888, thirty-seven-year-old Deborah Tyler waits for her husband, Samuel, to return home from his travels as a wheelwright. It is now the depths of winter, Samuel is weeks overdue, and Deborah is getting worried. Deborah lives in Junction, a tiny town of seven Mormon families scattered along the floor of a canyon, and she earns her living by tending orchards and making work gloves. Isolated by the red-rock cliffs that surround the town, she and her neighbors live apart from the outside world.

Now that all five of her sons have left home, Mormon bishop's wife Linda Wallheim has quite a bit of time on her hands, most of which she spends worrying about the state of the country and how her youngest son, Samuel, who is openly gay, is faring on his mission in Boston. She has also become close with one of the women in her ward, Gwen Ferris. But Gwen is quickly losing faith in the church, and her issues with the Mormon power structure are only reinforced by her calling in Draper's local "Spanish ward".

Quirky private investigator Erica Coleman is no stranger to murder and mystery - which is why her best friend’s daughter Megan is confident in Erica’s unique ability to unravel a disturbing mystery developing in the ramshackle old house she shares with her college roommates, Liz and Beth. In the quaint historic district of Dover, Delaware, lies Crooked House - an apt name for the once magnificent home. Following an alarming rise in the number of “accidents” surrounding Liz, the girls enlist Erica’s help to stop the mysterious assailant.

It’s the week before her wedding, and Natalie Marsh doesn’t have a moment to spare. But when a potential donor requests a meeting regarding Natalie’s mental health clinic, she makes time for the conversation - especially since that donor is tied to a tragedy in the life of Natalie’s fiancé, Gideon: eight years ago, Gideon’s roommate Travis died of a drug overdose. Now Travis’s mother wants to honor his memory by helping others avoid the same fate. It is a noble request that soon turns into a nightmare: Travis didn’t overdose - he was murdered.

The revelatory words of prophets and apostles have continued to magnify the cherished role of Eve, not only as the mother of all living and companion to our first patriarch, Adam, but to all who follow in their guided footsteps toward eternal life. Through Eve’s faith and courage, we can readily see that we too have an intricate role to play in the gathering of the saints in these last days. The women of today are connected with Eve through an eternal bond. As her daughters, we are called to finish Mother Eve’s divine purpose in bringing her children to the knowledge of Christ.

Diana Cannon-Ragsdale was born into a Mormon dynasty. Her father Ted Cannon was a local celebrity in Salt Lake City, and her family’s ancestors were contemporaries of Brigham Young—and they had many dark secrets to keep. In Loose Cannons, Diana traces her rebellious 1970s girlhood—amidst her father’s multiple suicide attempts and remarriage to her mother’s sister. As she and her siblings barreled into adulthoods they weren’t ready for, they tried to rely on each other while reproducing broken relationships of their own.

Growing up is hard. During the few short years of adolescence, young women are expected to move out, get an education, and support themselves while building skills like managing money, setting goals, and cooking cheap, nutritious meals. It's a lot of pressure, even for girls who have supportive parents and helpful siblings. With Life Tumbled, Malissa teaches you how to make the most of your one shot. The decisions you make, skills you pick up, and wisdom you gather at this special age set the course for the rest of your life. Make it the best it can be. Let's tumble together!

Meghan Decker is a woman who is attracted to women. She is also married to an amazing man, and together they are each committed to their faith, their covenants, and their testimony of Jesus Christ and his church. Growing up, Meghan could not see how her deep spiritual faith and her attraction to women could coexist. But after decades of shame, denial, and hiding, Meghan came to accept this part of herself. She realized that while she can't decide to change her sexual orientation, she can decide how to respond to the circumstances of her life.