Dryad

I was born into a conservative LDS family with convert parents.  I remained conservative for quite some time after I left the nest, and went through what I thought was a crisis of faith.  Really, it was just me not wanting to follow the rules and realizing that it made me miserable.  I went back to being conservative.  In the meantime, I got married to a brand-new convert who only stayed active for about a year.  My dear husband walking away from my precious religion was at first traumatic, but then it gave me permission to ask questions.  It also gave me permission to really dive into the strong connection I’ve always had with nature—water and trees, in particular.  I always had a strong desire to learn about paganism, but my conservative upbringing always stopped me.  I was terrified that I’d stray from the straight and narrow, join in pagan sex orgies, and completely lose my testimony and my soul.
Having a husband who doesn’t care about religion allowed me to search for myself for answers.  I recently became much more of a feminist than I ever thought possible, and I have been searching diligently for a Heavenly Mother that I never thought I had to know.  Thanks in large part to Jenni (my new permission-giver ;) ), I am finally embracing who I am, and I look forward to raising my toddler son with knowledge of the traditions and rituals that I am learning to enjoy. 
I am still an active member of the church, but my methods of worship are evolving so that I can comfortably walk the middle ground.  I’m excited to be here!

I blog at http://spiralgrove.blogspot.com/

Maggie's Intro

There are few things as awkward as the introduction post and I am in the royal court of awkward. Fair warning...

Hiya! I'm Maggie mother to 5 little girls (yes, all girls)- Lilith Luthien (7), Mable Mirkwood (5), Olive Onodrim (4), and twins Birdie Bree & Poppy Peregrin (nearing 2). If those names don't show our Earth loving crunchy ways I don't know what will. I married at 18 to my wonderful husband in 2003 and before the age of 24 we were blessed with our 5 little ladies. Life is good!

We are striving to live a whole and simple life here in the Southern California desert. Part of this is a deep reverence not only for the gospel but for our Mama Earth. We follow the seasons and find that the symbolism found in the cycles of the Earth and in life are matched with the symbolism within the gospel. We learn through such symbols and find wisdom through their repetition so this has become an important family practice for us.

I was raised LDS though fairly inactive. In my teens I became a very faithful member but that was short-lived as I found the inequality between men and women to be inexcusable. At the same time I left my mother to live with my aunt in Washington I discovered Goddess spirituality with my older cousin and became Wiccan. For the next 5 or 6 years this was my path. Towards the end of those years I dived into the Dianic tradition and really began to explore womanhood. I truly believe that this opened me up to accepting the gospel again through revering womanhood, motherhood and, of course, Heavenly Mother. It was at this time that my husband (a Pagan more than a Wiccan) decided to convert to Mormonism. I felt moved by the Spirit that night along with him and made the decision to come back to the church and the gospel. With this we packed up our altars and put away our herbs, candles, cauldrons, statues... All of it. It was very emotional especially when I threw out my Tarot cards. I kept my favorite card from each- the Lovers. I still have them tucked away.

We played the good Latter-Day Saints for a few years. Were sealed a couple of years after his baptism and welcomed 3 more little ones. But we felt that something was lacking. We knew what it was but we felt "wrong" for it. And then we had a shift in belief... Long story short we have abandoned religious literalism and have become unorthodox Mormons with a fierce independent streak. The cores of this is that we were finally able to separate the church from the gospel. They aren't one and the same. We haven't felt as devoted to the faith as we do now, funny enough.

My husband does not identify as a Pagan though he still feels very much connected to that Pagan/Earth loving spirit. We do observe the seasons as a family which he is fully committed to. I believe that neo-Paganism/the Craft is my practice where Mormonism is my belief. My husband feels Buddhism is his practice. It all fits together nicely for us as individuals and as a couple.

I have returned to the Tarot. As I said above I have a deep love for symbolism and the Tarot is no different. I use them for deep inflection. They are a big part of my spiritual practice as much as meditation, prayers and mantras.

I have discovered the beauty of liturgy and poetry as prayer. This has really opened me up on a spiritual level. I include both in my everyday practice as well as in special ritual. Again with the symbolism!

That about sums me up. I have taken the liberty of re-posting two blog posts from our family blog here on the same date they were posted on my blog to maintain the year's flow of this blog. One is on Christmas/Winter Solstice and the other on the Spring Equinox.

So excited to be here again!

Lioness

I was born and raised in a traditional LDS family. After a pretty uneventful childhood and young adulthood I experienced a huge trial of my faith shortly after the birth of my son in 2006. I slowly fell into inactivity where I stayed for three years.
As we added to our family (another daughter) and my children grew older I felt a void growing larger within me. I didn't know what I would tell them if they asked me what I believed with regard to religion. I was in an awkward place of "not LDS but not post LDS". I felt adrift with no anchor, a tenuous plant with no root system. I began to evaluate my feelings and decided that I needed to learn if I still had a testimony of the gospel.
During my time away from the micromanagement of the church I learned more about what worship looked and felt like for me. I feel a wonderful sense of stability and comfort in ritual (action). To me the Pagan path is very wise and ancient - without corruption.
Of all the amazing women here I am by far the one with the least experience and knowledge. I look forward to a year full of faith building traditions, a vast increase in knowledge and a deep reconnection with my Heavenly Mother.

Descent

At the age of 13, I embarked on a journey of religious exploration. My parents raised me in the Unitarian Universalist Church and one of the religion's guiding principles is that each person is encouraged to be on a "free and responsible search for truth and meaning." I didn't know at the time when I set out to honestly seek to find and embrace truth that I would end up a Mormon with pagan leanings. Before I joined the LDS Church, I learned and loved a great deal about Wicca. I loved the emphasis on nature and the beauty of the earth as well as the recognition and honor of a female deity. Though I found a portion of truth I was seeking there, I did not feel it was complete and continued my search.

In 2001, I was baptized a member of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. I love the doctrine of Mormon theology that families can extend beyond the grave, that life is but a short while of our existence, that there is a grand plan that extends beyond what we know and love here. The goodness of life and love continue on. Joseph Smith, the founder of the LDS Church, and prophet of the restoration of the gospel, taught that Heavenly Father is an exalted man who in order to be exalted must be married and that his wife has also been exalted and inherited the powers, dominions, thrones and principalities of divinity. God the Father and God the Mother rule together as equal partners . In our dominant culture. very little is known or understood about God the Mother, but as a mother and woman myself, I have a desire to seek after the goodness and truth that I can know of Her. One of the concepts I love about Mormon theology is that truth is embraced wherever it can be found and that we are encouraged to seek after the things that are good, virtuous and praiseworthy because all good things come from God.

Now, 10 years after my conversion I am coming full circle. After 10 years of looking towards a better world and securing my knowledge of the afterlife and my faith and hope in being reunited with deceased loved ones, it is time for me to connect with the earth and my life here. My children are young and just starting to learn about their purpose here on the earth, part of which is to "replenish the earth" and use the bounty of the earth for the benefit and use of humankind. For my children, I want them to secure the blessings promised to them in the Word of Wisdom:

"And all saints who remember to keep and do these sayings, walking in obedience to the commandments, shall receive health in their navel and marrow to their bones;

And shall find wisdom and great treasures of knowledge, even hidden treasures;

And shall run and not be weary, and shall walk and not faint."

In teaching them to honor the cycles of the earth, I believe that they and I will learn some of those hidden treasures, that we will find beauty and joy in the world around us, strengthen our family bonds here and in the afterlife and live gently on the earth making our home here a heaven on earth.

I am looking forward to this year of celebration and gratitude for the blessings of nature and the love of God that is manifest in them.

Moonprysm

Like Ayla, I came to paganism before becoming LDS. I was born Baptist and I started studying religions when I was fairly young. Originally I found that Wicca seemed to resonate with me. As my religious study continued and my faith matured, I moved to the more general title of Paganism. But after several years of that path, I found it too unbalanced. The general tendancy was to provide only lip-service to our Father, while reserving worship mostly for our Mother. In an attempt to regain balance in my life and to reconnect with both my Father and Brother (Jesus), I began to try out different churches.

When someone suggested I check out the LDS church and I began doing my research, I couldn't believe there was a church out there where all of my beliefs fit - my Heavenly Parents, a reverence toward nature, and an inclination to a more natural way of life - all were in perfect harmony.

I do not like to say that I converted, because my beliefs really did not change much. I do at times struggle with the church as an organization - after all, people are imperfect, and it is an organization run by people - however my testimony of the Prophet Joseph Smith, the Book of Mormon, and my Heavenly Parents is always strong. I feel that outside of "rules", outside of "have to's" and "should's", there is a place of true peace and meeting of Spirit. When we expect to get all of our answers from our leaders, there is no reason to go directly to our Heavenly Parents. Spirituality must start in the home - connection must start from within us. I am striving to reach a deeper connection with my Parents, with Spirit, and with the world that was made for us.

My husband is a Pagan who never "converted", and therefore it is important in our family that our children recieve a balanced religious education, covering all sides of our family faith. My husband and I have been married since November of 2003, and together we have 3 boys, born in 2006, 2009, and 2010.I am excited to share our family's journey to balance and connection with everyone here. :)

Jenni

I was raised LDS and have been active in the church my whole life. My family was a little bit 'hippie' and so I was accustomed to questioning the status quo about things like nutrition, medicine, and social habits, but it was not until I was an adult that I began to appreciate that some of what we do as mormons is more tradition than doctrine. (There is no doctrine about jello or funeral potatoes, nor about Relief Society handouts or tablecloths, nor even about which hand to use for taking the sacrament.) That was eye-opening to me, because if a thing is just a tradition, then it's not essential, and it's ok to make adjustments for what works best for you.

When I was in college I did some initial research into Wicca as part of an assignment. I was fascinated by what I learned, and my husband and I have said for years that if I didn't have a testimony of the gospel, I would probably be Wiccan. Recently I have been reading up on more branches of Neo-Paganism, and I continue to be fascinated. I think that some of their ancient traditions have residual truths from Adam's (true) religion, and I see many bits of gospel within pagan teachings. The gospel and the temple teach us that all truth comes from God, and that all truths fit together; so as I find these bits of truth in paganism, I feel that they are as valid as the truths taught in official LDS sources.

The biggest thing that draws me toward actual pagan practices are the symbols and rituals. For example, the spiral is an ancient symbol for eternity. I find it aesthetically more pleasing than the sideways 8 used in mathematics, and have several pieces of jewelry with spirals in them. It may be a 'pagan' symbol, but I wear spirals because they can mean 'eternity' to me too, and since I believe in eternal marriage and eternal families and eternal progression, I like wearing the symbol that reminds me of those things.
A ritual may be something as simple as raising ones hand or lighting a candle, or as complex as a lengthy liturgy. In my perception, rituals have precisely as much (or as little) meaning as is felt by the participant. I find that the simplicity of lit candles, awareness of seasons and cycles, and repetition of simple mantras enhances my spirituality. I feel closer to nature and closer to the Holy Spirit as I tune out the world with these things. Aspects of these 'pagan' rituals work for me as a Christian. I may adapt some and ignore others, but the source is undeniable. (In fairness, any moderately literate person is aware that many modern 'Christian' practices were originally pagan, from the Christmas tree to the Easter egg...again, it's not what the ritual is that matters so much as what it means to the practitioner!)

It was when my family moved to Alaska--land of the midnight sun (in summer) and almost-all-day darkness (in winter) that led me to the decision to start actually formally celebrating the equinoxes and solstices. As I learned more about the Wheel of the Year I wanted to start celebrating those other days as well. We have been doing some informal observations of these holidays for a couple of years now, but I am excited to take it to a more formal level.

I also blog at Mindful Serenity (and several other places!)

RasJane

13 years ago, I converted to the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints. I distinctly remember the feeling I had upon completing my reading of the Book of Mormon. It was a warm feeling of belief. I was not a convert who was found by the Missionaries, referred by a friend or who joined because of an interest in genealogy. My husband was raised in the church, but was inactive when we met. I started reading his Book of Mormon, asked to talk to the missionaries and was baptized after a year of investigating. I greatly appreciated the family focus of the church, but for me it has always been about the gospel.
In studying my scriptures to find answers on how to help my oldest child who bears many burdens, the scriptural admonition such as that found in Moses 2:14 stood out to me. "And I, God, said: Let there be lights in the firmament of the heaven, to divide the day from the night, and let them be for signs, and for seasons,for days, and for years;"
This has been the small pill that is hard to swallow. I have known that this is important to my family, but I have not been diligent in finding a way to implement it. The culture of the church does not support relying on the "lights in the firmament of the heaven" to guide us through the year. Our modern society barely acknowledges the existence of them outside purely scientific inquiry. Yet our ancestors devoted significant time to the study of the stars, the moon and the sun, as well as their motion through the sky.
It has only been through some very difficult trials this year that I have turned to the study of Wicca to supplement my study of the restored gospel. Suddenly my inspiration of many years ago seems very clear. This year, I am dedicated to observing the lunar cycles and the 8 traditional Sabbats. By so doing, I hope to begin to restore my and my family's connection to Nature. Through that connection we will be able to follow the rhythms our bodies crave, increase our understanding of this world and our place in it, and gain a more balanced view of God and Goddess.