Dear reader,

I am thrilled to picture you holding this issue of Exponent II in your hands. As the new editor in chief, this issue has taught me so much — about listening and about community. I am grateful to the community that built this magazine over 50 years ago, the community of writers that contributed their voices to this issue, and the community of volunteers and editors who continually put it all together.

My managing editor, Natasha Rogers, and I are especially grateful to Rachel Rueckert and Carol Ann Litster Young, the former editor in chief and managing editor. We are grateful for the love and labor they poured into Exponent II over these past four years. We are grateful for their kind support throughout this editorial transition. Carol Ann and Rachel are generous listeners, leaders, and friends. We’re honored to continue the work.

In this fall issue, we asked our writers and community to tell us about listening. As I write this letter in September of 2025, I am struck by how crucial listening is, how desperately we need generous listeners and bold truth-tellers, right now, in all of our communities. There is so much work to do, and this issue is one step towards deeper listening. In this issue, you will find many perspectives, stories, and accounts of listening — from moments of meaningful connection to advice on growing as a listener to examples of the damage poor listening can do.

These voices take on many forms — poems, essays, clay, paint, a sacrament meeting talk, stained glass, portraits, interviews, and letters. In Sarah King’s “Open Letter,” a young feminist addresses Prophet Russell M. Nelson directly and requests that he hear her. Many writers find a deeper spirituality and connection through listening — to classical music, to the divine, to our bodies, to our intuition, to ourselves.

Several pieces take on listening as a skill; a skill that we can nurture and grow, and a skill that we must use to connect across difficulties and differences. Nicole Sbitani advocates for listening that is radical and reciprocal. Leticia Storrs shows how Mormonism’s roots teach us to celebrate difference. Becca Kearl, a professional in creating connection through conversation, offers practical advice on forming our ability to listen deeply, especially when we disagree.

Inability to communicate about the powerful dangers in our culture — racism, abuse, and misogyny — is closely examined in these pages. Ragan Fry’s short story centers on a toxic marriage and the lingering effects of hearing loss. Elaine Turner describes the experience of recognizing her own racial privilege as the white mother of Black sons. Lori LeVar Pierce’s “The Ward Librarian” and Ruth Ann Snow’s “Women Hearken, Men Listen — Sometimes” reveal the painful limitations for mutual understanding between all genders in a deeply patriarchal Church. Brooke Palmer’s poem, “The Silencing of Ophelia,” hauntingly concludes: “Being silenced hurts more // Than drowning.”

As with every issue of Exponent II, this collection of voices are doing the work of feminism in and out of Mormon communities, homes, gardens, and church buildings. The magazine you hold in your hands is a testimony to the power that is generated when we exercise our voices to bridge understanding, to reach others, and see ourselves.

Grateful, and listening,

Millie

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