I. Savannah Eccles Johnston
I have never read "Goodbye, I Love You" or "Beginnings", but I have nonetheless felt the influence of Carol Lynn Pearson. Just the title of her book, "The Ghost of Eternal Polygamy," gave words to an ache in my heart when I did not have the words myself to explain the haunting I felt. Now that she has passed, I feel an urgency to read her poems, her memoir, and her diaries.
II. V. H. Cassler
I remember when CLP’s first book of poems was published; everyone read it, but I did not. That unfortunate choice but delayed my introduction to the wonderful CLP, however. I saw her perform her play, “Mother Wove the Morning,” if I recall correctly, at a junior high school in Orem in 1990. I was blown away. The play awoke my female soul so powerfully that for the first time I felt my Mother speaking clearly through her voice. I myself began to bubble over with thoughts and essays and even a book on CoJC doctrine on women. During this time, I spoke with CLP once on the phone on the subject of polygamy. I used to read two of her poems from “Day Old Child” collection to my course at BYU on the international political economy of women. I gave her 2020 poetry collection, “Finding Mother God” to my daughters to read, particularly the poem “A Motherless House.” SquareTwo has published essays about her works over the years. In other words, I know that CLP made a profound and positive contribution to my own spiritual life, and for that, I am eternally grateful. May she rest in peace, and may all her tears be wiped away with only joy remaining.
I will use CLP’s prescient words to wish her onward (from “The Push and Pull of Birthing”):
“And when the nine months times ninety or more
of my breathing in and breathing out are done
according to plan
when I am the one who mothers myself
through the hard work
the labor pain of dying
will I then be delivered through the
death-into birth canal that pulls me into the
reaching arms of my original Mother?”
But of course . . . but of course. Rest in joy, Carol Lynn Pearson.
III. Rachel Zirkle
A beautiful thing about being a creator is you can build connection and understanding with people you will never meet. I think this with Carol Lynn Pearson. When I first learned of her passing, recollection was slow until I read through some of her poetry and lyrics and I realized, I know her! Perhaps not officially, but I know her testimony that she put into words in works such as the Primary song “I’ll Walk With You.” This song has lived in my head since I was a young primary child, and I have taught it to countless other children as an adult singing time leader. She could’ve written about anything, but she chose to create a primary song that rejects the world’s way of bullying and invites singers to courageously show love to all like Jesus would. In other works that Carol Lynn Pearson has published, she shares life experiences that we can safely assume taught her deeply about these gospel foundational truths of being kind to all despite differences. I believe this is why “I’ll Walk With You” has resonated through time. What a blessing that she was willing to share what she learned through life experiences in a way we can relate to, and then was willing to take those experiences a step further by connecting them to Jesus Christ. She is an example of someone who has made something beautiful and transcendent from moments that had high personal cost. I think this is the mark of a true creator.
IV. Emilee Pugh Bell
Two of Carol Lynn Pearson’s poems have shaped my discipleship. First, like so many members of the Church who attended Primary, “I’ll Walk With You” echoes through my mind whenever I realize someone is getting rejected by a group. The second is a more recent addition to my discipleship, and represents something I love about women who are disciples of Christ. I’ve noticed that many of these women treasure the scriptures and see new things in well worn verses. The Lost Is Found is a long poem, written about Luke, chapter 15, and is a gleaming light of beauty and wonder. Here is the part I think of regularly:
When you enter the parables/of the three lost things/you are asked to look past
The cast of earthy characters and see/in the story that Jesus built
The Divine Family/three faces of Go/our Father, our Mother, our Brother.
Each character mourns for a missing one:/the father for the prodigal son/the woman for the silver coin/the shepherd for the wayward sheep
Each of them a symbol of God who is/searching for God’s beloved child.
Could you tell the story of the prodigal son?/Certainly.
Could you tell the story of the lost sheep?/Of course.
Could you tell the story of the lost coin?/Hmm…remind me.
There was a woman who lost a silver coin/and she lit a candle and swept the house diligently, every corner, every crack
And when she found it she called/her friends and neighbors saying
-“Rejoice with me, for I have found/the piece which was lost!”
Ah, but the story behind the story/the tale that Jesus was truly telling/is this:
God the Mother has a precious one/a silver one, and I have gone astray/and I am lost
But She will not rest and/She lights a candle and sweeps the house/diligently, every corner, every crack
And when She finds me She cries out with joy/and holds me tight in Her safe hand/and sings out to the stars:
Rejoice with me, for I have found/the piece which was lost!
I love seeing our Heavenly Mother in the scriptures through the recorded words of our Savior and Her Son, Jesus Christ. I’m grateful for Carol Lynn Pearson for seeing Her and pointing Her out to us. Thank you, Carol Lynn, for helping me want to search and search the scriptures for Christ and my Heavenly Parents and the Holy Spirit like the woman searched and searched for the coin. I sure hope that she’s getting her lingering questions answered, her heart healed, and big hugs from our Brother and Heavenly Parents right now.
V. Ashley Alley
I am so grateful for eloquent and outspoken advocates of compassion and understanding, like Carol Lynn Pearson. While I am not intimately acquainted with her work, the touching tributes I’ve read about the positive influence she has had on so many has been quite inspiring. In fact, I have already added many of her works to my TBR list! I am so looking forward to getting to know her through her works. One of the most beautiful things about the written word is its ability to remain influencing others long after we ourselves have departed this life. Long may her positive influence continue to be felt!
Full Citation for this Article: Editorial Board, SquareTwo Journal (2026) "Remarks on the Passing of Carol Lynn Pearson," SquareTwo, Vol. 19 No. 2 (Summer 2026), http://squaretwo.org/Sq2ArticlePearsonPassing.html, accessed <give access date>.
Would you like to comment on this article? Thoughtful, faithful comments of at least 100 words are welcome.