Zandra Vranes

Zandra Vranes is an award-winning writer and filmmaker. Most recently she was a producer on the film, His Name is Green Flake, winner of the Los Angeles Film Award and the London Independent Film Awards. Zandra is the co-author of the book, Can I Get an Amen: Celebrating the Lord in Everyday Life and co-founder of Sistas in Zion, a multimedia platform that creates content that inspires faith, hope, charity, and hilarity. True to her sign, Zandra is a Pisces that loves the water, so when she's not creating content you can find her paddleboarding with her boo and their adventurous chihuahua.

Latter-day Saint Life

2 Latter-day Saint women on the eternal, but difficult, call to nurture

By Emily Watts

July 15, 2020 07:00 PM MDT

Here are two insights into how women can gain a better perspective about their eternal callings as nurturers.

8 Min Read

Latter-day Saint Life

The Last Time a Mormon Called Me the N-Word Was April 2017: Speaking to the Pain of a Black Mormon Woman

By Zandra Vranes

August 17, 2017 06:18 PM MDT

What a powerful article.

1 Min Read

Latter-day Saint Life

One Humiliating Christmas That Taught Me an Important Lesson About Service

By Zandra Vranes

December 03, 2016 05:00 AM MST

I do not come from money. I come from whatever the opposite of money is. My siblings and I joke with our parents that we are in a first world country living a third world life. Coming from humble means has made me a lot of who I am today, and it makes me grateful for even the smallest of things. But when I was younger, I didn’t have such an appreciation for my family’s meagerness. We were blessed because a lot of people served us and showed kindness, but there are experiences I have had that make it hard for me to accept service. I had a love-hate relationship with the Christmas season when I was younger. I loved focusing on the birth of the Savior, seeing the lights and all the festivity, but Christmastime was always a reminder of how poor I was and of what would not be under my family’s tree.

5 Min Read

Latter-day Saint Life

Dysfunctional Families are Forever

By Zandra Vranes

August 31, 2016 09:00 AM MDT

Dear Diary,

6 Min Read

Latter-day Saint Life

The Irony of Spare Change

By Tamu Smith

April 27, 2016 09:00 AM MDT

“Excuse me. Can you spare any change?”

2 Min Read

Latter-day Saint Life

Check Yo'Self Before You Wreck Yo' Self: A Life Lesson from Sistas in Zion

By Tamu Smith

March 24, 2016 09:00 AM MDT

Usually we don’t write in our diaries one day and then read what we wrote the next. Some time usually elapses between when we record and when we look back. But we should evaluate our lives regularly and be performing spiritual background checks on ourselves.

2 Min Read