Vol. 43 No. 1 — Summer 2023
COVER ART — “Lot’s Wife” by Hayley Labrum Morrison
Salt from Great Salt Lake, spray paint, and oil on cradled panel, 18 x 24 in.
Lot’s Wife is remembered for her disobedience and salty demise. This cautionary tale favors blind obedience, but she deserves nuance. What if her parents and siblings were still in that destroyed city or she simply hoped to gaze upon the place she raised her children for one last time? I left the Salt Lake Valley at age 25. As I look back on the land that raised me, there is a similar complexity of thought. My family and memories of my formative years keep the salty air fresh in my mind, but time away has brought me perspective and growth. We must be allowed to look back, to mourn what we have lost, to ache for what might have been, and to not be reduced to a two-dimensional example of sin after experiencing moments of humanity. Jesus describes those who believe in Him as the “salt of the earth.” Perhaps Lot’s Wife’s belief knew no bounds. Perhaps she was far wiser than we know.
@hayleylabrummorrison | hayley.co
LETTER FROM EDITOR “The Art of Losing” by Rachel Rueckert
ESSAY “Lost Things” by Lisa Van Orman Hadley
ESSAY “Moving On” by Cherie Taylor Pedersen
POETRY “Cooking For One” by Fiona Phillips
ESSAY “Gift Redemption” by Louise Hammel
ESSAY “Honest Surrender” by Emily Sorensen
FLANNEL BOARD “Living with Ambiguous Loss” by Allison Pingree
ESSAY “Waiting” by Lisa Turley Smith
POETRY “Emily Dow Partridge Young” by Britta Adams
ESSAY “Triumph” by Melissa Malcolm King
ESSAY “Some Beginnings” by JosieAnna Peterson
ESSAY “Shoulder Kisses” by Natasha Rogers
POETRY “Solstice” by Ashley Robinson
ESSAY “Six Months to Live” by Anne Pimentel
POETRY “Earth” by Jessie Giles
SABBATH PASTORALS “Through a Glass, Darkly” by Mer Monson
POETRY “Six Years After” by Mer Monson
BLOG FEATURE “Menopause and Me” with Lauren Walke
ESSAY “Contemplations from Board Games” by Amy Jurgensen
ESSAY “Cantus Firmus” by Sarah Perkins
POETRY “Being a Widow Isn’t That Bad” by Louise Hammel
ARTIST FEATURE “Art Made Accessible” — Interview with Tori Christensen
ESSAY “All Creatures” by Eunice Yi McMurray
WOMEN’S WORK “Living Onward” — Interview with Melissa Dalton-Bradford
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EDITORIAL STAFF
Editor-in-Chief Rachel Rueckert
Managing Editor Carol Ann Litster Young
Art Editor Rocio Cisneros
Layout Designer & Editor Rosie Gochnour Serago
Women’s Theology Editor Eliza Wells
Poetry Editor Abby Parcell
Blog Feature Editor Katie Ludlow Rich
Book Reviews Editor Ynna Padilla
Sabbath Pastorals Editor Nicole Sbitani
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EXECUTIVE BOARD
President Lori LeVar Pierce
Vice President & Secretary Lindsay Denton
Treasurer Jeanine Bean
Members Crystal Adams, Andee Bowden, Carol Ann Litster Young, Ramona Morris, Nancy Ross, Rachel Rueckert, Heather Sundahl
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MAGAZINE STAFF
Magazine Support: Andee Bowden, Kim Ence, Sherrie Gavin, Linda Hamilton, Hailey Hannigan, Jessica Mitton, Alma Frances Pellett, JosieAnna Peterson, Natasha Rogers, Shannon Soper
Art Community Ambassador Page Turner
Social Media Art Manager Charlotte Condie
Subscription Manager Gwen Volmar
Proofreaders Kami Coppins, Cherie Pedersen, Karen Rosenbaum
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SPECIAL THANKS
This magazine is volunteer-led and reader-funded. Please consider a donation, supporting our Patreon, or subscribing to support our contributors and community!
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Exponent II (ISSN 1094-7760) is published quarterly by Exponent II. Exponent II has no official connection with The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. Articles published represent the opinions of authors only and not necessarily those of the editor or staff.
Copyright © 2023 by Exponent II, Inc. All rights reserved.
