At Last She Said It

12/01/2026

From August 24, 2022:
"Why does a latter-day saint have to be perfect at paying tithing in order to have a temple recommend? We are allowed to struggle (yet strive) to live many gospel principles, so why is this one that must be lived perfectly to attend the temple?

If tithing wasn’t tied to a temple recommend would we develop more of a transformational testimony of it? Instead of a transactional one? These are some of the questions we dared to say out loud on our episode about blessings this week. Because I can’t think of a bigger commandment than tithing that is explicitly tied to our dialogue around blessings. Can you?"—Cynthia

12/01/2026

Searching for grace in our sacrament hymns

10/01/2026

What does wearing a cross mean to you? Here's what it means to Susan--

09/01/2026

From November 11, 2022:
"I keep having conversations with people who tell me church has become so boring, they’re going crazy. I remember as a kid thinking I might lose my mind in stake conference sometimes. I wanted to kick my folding chair, if only to get in trouble and spice things up for 10 seconds. But our culture has a well-honed weapon to keep those who are bored from kicking our chairs: 'If you’re bored, it’s because you didn’t ___________ (spiritually prepare, soften your heart, read the lesson in advance, etc.).' Let’s face it: talks about talks and lessons about talks have gotten SO old for some of us, and in a lot of wards that’s what we’re served most Sundays. The answers are stale, the questions are too! Someone asked me yesterday if I could have any calling, real or made-up, what would it be? I thought about it all night. You know what? I’d like to be on the Imagination Committee. I don’t necessarily know how to fix things, but I’d love to think up possible solutions without getting in trouble for suggesting there’s room for improvement. Let’s try it together: how could we make our church meetings better? What would inspire and recharge you? Where’s your holy envy sitting on Sundays?" —Susan

07/01/2026

From October 2, 2022:
"In 1986 I was 12 years old. I was visiting with two of my Aunts, who had double-pierced ears and they asked me if I wanted to go to the mall and get a second piercing. I had long admired their’s AND my grandma’s double-pierced ears. My parents said that was fine. Decision made.

For 20+ years I wore two sets of earrings. And then Pres. Hinckley gave some advice that girls/women should only wear one pair. That quickly became The Rule and it was then added to the For Strength of Youth (FSOY) pamphlet. I wish I could say I heard his grandfatherly advice as just that, advice, but I didn’t. I removed that second pair because I wanted to be good and obedient. 🤦🏽‍♀️

Fast forward ten years and my life had fallen apart. I remember crying on my bathroom floor and saying “how was not wearing two earrings supposed to save me from this?” It was a turning point for me. I began to focus much more of my life on actual teachings from Jesus and began to give advice from outside sources their proper place. My holes never closed. I began to wear that second pair of earrings again as a way of reclaiming my sovereignty. Here I am in 2019–I was taking my daughter’s senior pictures and said ‘hey I’m never in front of the camera…take my pic!” You can barely see my second earrings, but they’re there. If only for me.

FSOY has just been updated. It much more resembles the general teachings I remember it containing in the 80s than the checklist it has become for the last 20+ years.

It now reads:

'What is the Lord’s standard on dress, grooming, tattoos, and piercings? The Lord’s standard is for you to honor the sacredness of your body.....Be wise and faithful, and seek counsel from your parents and leaders.'

And that’s exactly what I did back in 1986. Let us all raise our 🥂 glasses to a return to principles over rules."

—Cynthia

05/01/2026

From April 2, 2023
I posted this during the rest hymn in a general conference session on April 2, 2023 and I think it received the most reactions of any post we've ever made on our page. The response even caught the eye of the Salt Lake Tribune. That isn't a reflection of the post but rather a reflection of the problem. The fact that our church still has only 3 women speak during a full-weekend worldwide conference is perhaps the most unbelievable thing for me as a member in 2026. Really? —Susan

04/01/2026

02/01/2026

From 9/20/2021:
A woman said to me the other day, "I have one friend in my ward who I can talk with. You need at least one to keep going." I know there are women who feel happily at home when they're at church, but that's never been me, and right now it's apparently not her either. We aren't the only ones! Not having anyone with whom you can talk openly about what's hard for you can feel overwhelmingly lonely. I think a lot about the best ways to signal safety to others at church, but I should probably just say it out loud next time I find myself at the pulpit so there can be no mistake: No matter what thoughts you're carrying, in a true church we must BOTH belong, so you can always open up with me. —Susan

31/12/2025

From 3/3/2021:
When Dr. Hanks said this on our podcast (Ep. 26) I knew it was a phrase to keep in my back pocket. There’s really just no way to please everyone without losing who I am. I have never been a people pleaser, but in the past, I preferred to play nice and keep the other adults in my life mostly happy. But that comes at a cost I refuse to pay anymore. Embracing the disappointment I cause others is just another part of the messiness of life. Shrug my shoulders, accept I’m not for everybody, and move on.
—Cynthia

29/12/2025

From 11/1/2021:
I'm going to be straight with you: I've been trying to give up custody of my own life for a long time. I've been willing to hand responsibility for my happiness to just about anyone or anything rather than take charge of it myself. I've done SO many right things for not-quite-right reasons. After decades of staring into the same mirror, the old lady now looking back at me has finally started to speak. She says, "Hey, Susan. Guess what? No one's ever made you do a single thing. They've all been your choices. All of them! So what is it YOU actually want to do?" What does doing right things for myself look like? I'm starting to figure that out. I guess agency is stepping into my choices bravely and with intention. Faith is giving up what happens next and trusting both my feet and the path itself. Hope is leaning into the grace of every day. Love is seeking real relationship with people and with God. And the peace I've been looking for everywhere else actually lives right here in the present moment.
—Susan

26/12/2025

From 6/21/2021:
I’m really good at the “filling” part: books, podcasts, and audio books….and lousy at the “emptying” part. I know this about myself. So I purposely set timers for 15 minutes to do nothing. Sitting under my trees and walking on a shady trail in complete silence are usually my go-to “emptying” moments. What are yours?
—Cynthia

25/12/2025