"By proving contraries, truth is made manifest," said Joseph Smith. Good thing, because Stephen Carter's religious life is full of contradictions. "Sometimes the priesthood is a wonderful thing to me," he writes. "Other times, it's an oppressive weight. Sometimes I can feel the binding power of the temple. Other times, it seems only to cut me off from my loved ones. My mission was at once an elating and awful time."

A Cub Scout fishing trip reveals Christianity's earthier side. Receiving the priesthood sends Carter on a spiritual roller-coaster ride. A death-metal concert hammers into him a whole new definition of spirituality. This collection of award-winning personal essays wrestles the "used tin foil, the ratty teddy bears, the rusty bicycle frames, the dog-eared magazines, the empty toilet paper rolls" of Carter's life into stories compelling, candid, and insightful.