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The Marvelous Miracle of Messy
Look at these two cuties, would you? The date was June 2, 1955. Seventy years ago, these two young pups went into the Salt Lake Temple as...
Laureen Simper
Jun 1, 20254 min read


The Call of Great Literature
I saw Little Women at the Hale Center Theater this weekend. It was a wonderful musical production of one of my all-time favorite novels,...
Laureen Simper
Mar 23, 20254 min read


Books that Matter: My "What I Did Over Summer Vacation" Essay
I went to Narnia this summer. I've only been one other time; I took my son when he was 10; he's going to be 34 in a few weeks. These last...
Laureen Simper
Sep 4, 20244 min read


Celebrating Motherhood
Mother’s Day used to really bug me as a young mother. I remember one particularly poignant Mother’s Day when my first child was 2 or 3....
Laureen Simper
May 11, 20243 min read


Worth Protecting
(Originally posted May 16, 2022) I was 16 when the Roe v. Wade decision was handed down in 1973. In my sheltered naivete, I was horrified...
Laureen Simper
Apr 17, 20243 min read


Where My Children Can Find Me
One of the most memorable movies of my childhood is Shenandoah - filmed in 1965 and starring Jimmy Stewart. The thing that made it...
Laureen Simper
Mar 31, 20244 min read


Re-Write Your Story
(Original post April 30, 2022) I was the burnt waffle. Erma Bombeck wrote that it’s too bad we can’t do children the way we do a batch of...
Laureen Simper
Feb 13, 20244 min read


When There Are Angels
Friday morning, long hike day. Dale's been doing it since retirement, except for the long months of my illness, hospitalization, and recovery. He craves his hike days like oxygen or chocolate chippers, his finely-honed cookie recipe, which he sometimes takes on his hikes. We say prayers together, and like most hiking days, there are two prayers going on in my head: the one I am saying out loud, and the one I am saying in my head. The one out loud: "Father - please bless us wi
Laureen Simper
Jan 20, 20244 min read


Looking for Cracks
(Original post January 2023) It's just an ordinary plate from a Mexican shop in Ensenada. Probably didn’t even cost $20. I bought it on a...
Laureen Simper
Jan 9, 20241 min read


Daughtering
[Originally published March 17, 2018] As we embrace our divine roles as mothers, it’s natural that we will suddenly find ourselves in...
Laureen Simper
Sep 13, 20232 min read


Glorious Burden
[Originally published March 17, 2017] I was privileged to share this essay with UN delegates at the annual Commission on the Status of...
Laureen Simper
Sep 13, 20233 min read


The Homecoming
[Originally published October 31, 2011] You can learn a lot from your kids. Grant spoke in church yesterday, and gave a beautiful talk...
Laureen Simper
Sep 13, 20233 min read


Foreshadowing....Heaven
[Originally published October 21, 2011] Two days ago, we had a taste of what I imagine it's like to pass through the veil at the end of...
Laureen Simper
Sep 13, 20232 min read


Tomorrow...
[Originally published October 17, 2011] So much to do in the next 30 hours. So for now, I just have to say that tomorrow, my little boy...
Laureen Simper
Sep 13, 20231 min read
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