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Thank you to everyone who read the finalists in this year’s contest. We love sharing these pieces with you! We got several compliments on the variety in this year's pieces--and a few complaints about how tough it is to compare the pieces to each other. Our sympathies to anyone who really struggled to choose their favorites. We hope it was at least worth it to be able to support your favorite writers and discover new voices. Well, the agonizing is over. The votes are in. Our g

Thank you for joining us for the contest! Each year, we give out a small cash prize to the writer of the audience’s favorite piece. To vote, look through the pieces and rank your favorite four. READ THE FinalistS: “Awkward Old Testament Stories” by Katherine Cowley “Moroni’s Wife Is an Angel, Too” by Christopher Bissett “Night without Darkness” by Lee Ann Setzer “Eurydice” by Alixa Brobbey “Seconds” by J. A. Dove “In My Father’s House Are Many Rooms” by Janci Patterson “Decon

Listen to this piece on our podcast Lucy is scanning the line at the storehouse on the look out for irregularities. The old man with the cart full of old electronics, several heads of cabbage, and two sacks of potatoes pulls his faith, hope, and charity chits from the Faraday pouch he wears on a braided leather strap around his neck. Only the charity one is glowing in her headset and only faintly at that. Not even enough for a head of cabbage or a small spool of copper wire.

Listen to this piece on our podcast The same day went Jesus out of the house, and sat by the sea side. Matthew 13:1 The car door slamming shut seems to echo loudly in the dark as my mother and I get out of the car. The only other sound is muffled, coming from the other side of the dyke. A rhythmic slapping of waves from the Baltic Sea against the beach, before they withdraw with a whoosh. The thin layer of snow on the sand crunches underfoot as my mother and I walk up and ove

Read the English translation here Listen to this piece on our podcast De ovejas y pastores by R. de la Lanza El buen pastor conoce a sus ovejas, y ellas conocen Su voz y la siguen. Pero hay rebaños en que las ovejas, adormecidas sos conciencias, ebrias de libertad, se asumen todas pastores. Estas ninguna voz oyen y aun menos la siguen. This piece was published in 2026 as part of the 15th Annual Mormon Lit Blitz by the Mormon Lit Lab. Sign up for our newsletter for future upda

Read the original Spanish version here Listen to this piece on our podcast Of Sheep and Shepherds by R. de la Lanza translated by James Goldberg The good shepherd knows his sheep, and they know his voice and follow it. But there are flocks in which the sheep, their consciences dormant, inebriated by liberty, take themselves as shepherds. There is no voice that these can hear, and how much less could they follow. This piece was published in 2026 as part of the 15th Annual M

Listen to this piece on our podcast 1. I get to play with toys. No matter how old I am, it is always satisfying to yell "Boom" as a tower of blocks falls over. 2. There are snacks. Yes, the snacks are officially for the kids. But the servant is worthy of her hire, and sometimes, a couple goldfish hit the spot. 3. There are few people to talk to. It's an introvert's dream! There's only a few names and faces I need to remember. I have an excuse to beeline out of sacrament mee

Listen to this piece on our podcast Put off thy shoes from off thy feet, for the place wheron thou standest is holy ground. – Exodus 3: 5 1. Remove the tied, zipped, heeled, strapped monstrosities. Leave them on the curb next to the fire hydrant, above the rain-worn gutter and the woman yelling from her window. Let the crush of pavement settle against the soft insides of memory cushioned feet. Feel the burden of gravity balancing on the bone sack of being. Feel cement’s proge

Listen to this piece on our podcast It belongs to a different era— the tiered spire with fluted edges that could be a sculpted water feature, the golden windows tucked behind an architectural cake’s ladyfinger wrap, the Angel Moroni (so last decade), a pillar of cloud and a pillar of fire both by day and by night (a logistical necessity), the work horse of the Church that’s always a bridesmaid, never a bride (the pictures!). If it had been built in the 1870s instead of the 19

Listen to this piece on our podcast “Let me know when you need to haul loads to the dump,” The Elders Quorum President says as he hands me the keys to my late grandmother’s home. “I’ll send some ward members over with a truck.” “Thank you,” I say. “But it might take a while. I want to settle into the place first.” The Elder’s Quorum President gives me a look that says if it were up to him, we’d be emptying the house with a backhoe. “I’m never setting foot in that house agai