Carol Lynn Pearson, a poet, playwright, memoirist, activist and devoted member of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, gave voice to experiences many struggled to articulate: grief, experiences of gay people within the Latter-day Saint tradition, the search for belonging and complexities of faith.
For nearly five decades, Pearson has been an influential literary voice in the Latter-day Saint tradition. Through her writing, she invited readers into difficult and hopeful conversations, never losing the lens of compassion and love.
After two years of battling uterine cancer, Pearson died on Wednesday night, July 29. 2026, at a hospital in California. She was 86.
Barbara Jones Brown, director of Signature Books, worked closely with Pearson on the four volumes of her diaries, called “The Diaries of Carol Lynn Pearson.” In one of their last conversations, Brown shared that Pearson was eager to know if people were reading her diaries.
“It was very clear to me that it was very important to her that people know her story and read these diaries,” Brown said on Friday during a panel at the Sunstone Symposium commemorating Pearson’s legacy.
Even as she grew frail, Pearson insisted on signing every copy of the diaries with the words “With Love” next to her name.
“That’s what she was all about — love,” Brown said.
Latter-day Saint scholar Bob Rees said that Pearson possessed a combination of qualities that aren’t common: She was a devout believer and an outspoken critic of the church. “She was a person of both faith and courage,” he said, “and those people are rare.”
Called to write ‘Goodbye, I love you’
Pearson was born in 1939 in Salt Lake City, grew up in Provo and studied at Brigham Young University, where she developed her love for literature and theater.
Her career began in 1967 when her husband, Gerald Pearson, borrowed $2,000 to self-publish her first poetry collection, called “Beginnings,” in 1970.
The book became a Latter-day Saint phenomenon, eventually selling well over 150,000 copies. Her poems blended everyday domestic life with spiritual reflection, employing simple language to communicate themes about faith and spirituality.
Pearson also became a familiar name in Latter-day Saint popular culture through her writing for the stage. She wrote the beloved Latter-day Saint musical “My Turn on Earth,” which was performed for decades and introduced young audiences to gospel themes through music and theater. She also authored numerous plays, children’s musicals and screenplays, including the award-winning educational film “Cipher in the Snow.”
Pearson’s literary stature grew nationally after the publication of her memoir, “Goodbye, I Love You,” which challenged prevailing assumptions about AIDS and homosexuality.
The book is an intimate account of Pearson’s love story and marriage to Gerald Pearson, who, after experiencing same-sex attraction throughout their marriage, came out as gay. After 12 years of marriage and four children together, the couple divorced. Later in life, when Gerald Pearson contracted HIV/AIDS and got sick, Pearson welcomed him back into their home to care for him until his death.
The book, which one historian called “a masterpiece of Mormon literature,” made a splash nationally and led to Pearson’s appearances on major national television programs, including “The Oprah Winfrey Show” and “Good Morning America.” She was also featured in national magazines like “People” and “Woman’s Day.”
“I did come to the conclusion that that was a story that lots of people could benefit from,” Pearson said in a recording that Brown played at the event. Pearson said she felt “called” to write that book. She said she had received letters from gay men who told her they had planned their suicide, but the book convinced them to change their course.
“When they read that book, they thought — I need to be here, I deserve to be here,” Pearson said in the recording.
This year marks the 40th anniversary of Pearson’s memoir.
Throughout her life of writing and activism, Pearson remained a faithful member of the church. Pearson also wrote the lyrics of the beloved primary song “I’ll Walk With You” and the poem “Pioneers.”
‘Connected to God’s inspiration’
Jody England Hansen, who views Pearson as her mentor and a friend, was introduced to Pearson’s writing during her teenage years through her father, Latter-day Saint author and BYU professor Eugene England. She learned from Pearson how to be attuned to the needs around her.
“Following Christ meant that if you saw the need in the world — if someone was denied their existence or their rights, or if they were hungry, or they needed shelter — that you do something about it,” England Hansen told the Deseret News. “She was amazing at recognizing when someone was in need.”
She said Pearson would call her, sensing England Hansen needed help. “She would talk to me, and she would sing to me, and she would pray with me.”
England Hansen described Pearson’s gift for “sitting with the contraries” and the aspects of faith that may appear opposing to one another.
For Pearson, discomfort was part of faith, and she embraced it, England Hansen said. “She was so deeply connected to God’s inspiration — it was so integrated in her, seeking constantly.”
Final poem
The first volume of Pearson’s book was published by Signature Books in August 2025, with the second volume following in July. The next two are forthcoming.
Laurel Thatcher Ulrich, Pulitzer Prize-winning historian and member of the Church of Jesus Christ, just finished reading the first volume of Pearson’s journals. “Bless you, (Carol Lynn), for sharing your diaries and for making church service joyful, coherent, and inspirational in new and fascinating ways,” she wrote in a statement Brown shared with the Deseret News.
Pearson finished the fourth volume of her diaries, expected to be published this fall, with her final poem. “She wrote it for all of us,” Brown said.
To Those Who Have Loved Me
When I am gone
let me lie in state
in your heart
for a day or two
or more.
Then plant me
Deep in the soil
of your best work
and let me help
toward harvest.