Book-Cover

Mormon Women Write

Book Cover

Approximately three months ago, I packed my bags and my baby and hopped on a plane to California to say a few words about the book, Mormon Feminism: Essential Writingsand what coediting it with Joanna Brooks and Hannah Wheelwright has meant to me. Many of my words are about writing, and legacies, and memorials. Others are about baby nap-times, and gratitude, and resolution. I quote authors, philosophers, and women I love, and I get teary. It is hard not to be moved by the intertwined, brave, lived history of Mormon feminism.

Thanks to the magic of technology (and the good folks at my Claremont Graduate University), you can watch my remarks here. If you listen especially carefully, you may even hear my babe pronounce, “Mama.” (A shoutout to my kind classmate and colleague who cared for her in the back.)

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QBh-83YgFa4

For those who are more readers than video watchers, I offer the ending:

Here I wish that I could say what this book has meant to me, but it feels too difficult, so I can just say this: I am grateful for the privilege of participating in this project, and the forced recollection it has been. It felt holy to sit with the last 40 years of Mormon feminists, to learn from them, and be inspired by them. In gratitude and love, I gave my heart, my mind, my late nights, and almost all of my daughter’s nap-times.

There are moments of great indignation, but it is not an angry book. There are many more moments of sorrow, but it is not a sad book. It is a heart turning toward our mothers. It is a collective tale, collected with the help of many. It is women’s stories, told in women’s words. In it they ask their big and small questions and speak their big and small truths. It is an opportunity to remember. I acknowledge that some indignation and sorrow might come in recollection, and that reading it makes me cry, no matter how many times I have read it before. Remembering makes me feel a rawness for my sisters in their earnest endeavors to reach God. Thankfully, the writings contain their own balm in Gilead, their own hope, their own peace, their own resolution, and their own power, built upon what Claudia once called the “dual platforms” of Mormonism and feminism.

My cohttps://exponentii.org/wp-content/uploads/2021/12/IMG_5173-scaled-1.jpgs and I offer it for posterity: we offer it as a record kept. I am confident that this shared story will tie generations together, in part because it will tell readers that their questions about gender in the church are not new questions, and that they are not alone.

All of these words are on my mind again, because Hannah and I are finishing up the work of indexing, which for me feels like the most careful and intent act of remembering and recording. I have been spending time with nearly every name in Mormon Feminism, in alphabetical order, and making note of their page numbers. Hannah has been doing the same for nearly every topic.

There are tiny moments of tedium, but even more of thanks, to pause on the names of women and men I admire–names (just in the “A’s”!) like Janice Merrill Allred, Lavina Fielding Anderson, Lynn Matthews Anderson, Susan B. Anthony, Leonard Arrington, and Valeen Tippets Avery. I smile so often.

I’m also mindful of one more list of names, those women and men who are not in the book, but could be, if we had all of the pages this movement requires. Thank you for being a part of it.

9 Responses

  1. I think most often when working on Mormon feminist research I have felt profoundly humbled by the sacred feeling I feel throughout the whole process. You captured my feelings so well.

    1. And you have captured mine. “Profoundly humbled by the sacred feeling I feel throughout the whole process” is perfect. It is real. It is soul enriching (though sometimes also exhausting).

      Thank you for all of your studies, and research, and labors. xo

    1. I am so excited for you to receive it. Truly. Thank you ordering it, but even more, thank you for all of the important work you do for Mormon feminism.

    1. So grateful for your support and excitement. Now I am thinking of your little animal in your little book who imagined her books on the shelves of people she knew and people she didn’t know. I feel like that animal. xo

    1. Thank you! I’m looking forward to you having it and reading it. Thank you for your book, your heart, and your mind, and everything you do.

Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

This site uses Akismet to reduce spam. Learn how your comment data is processed.

Our Comment Policy

  • No ads or plugs.
  • No four-letter words that wouldn’t be allowed on television.
  • No mudslinging: Stating disagreement is fine — even strong disagreement, but no personal attacks or name calling. No personal insults.
  • Try to stick with your personal experiences, ideas, and interpretations. This is not the place to question another’s personal righteousness, to call people to repentance, or to disrespectfully refute people’s personal religious beliefs.
  • No sockpuppetry. You may not post a variety of comments under different monikers.

Note: Comments that include hyperlinks will be held in the moderation queue for approval (to filter out obvious spam). Comments with email addresses may also be held in the moderation queue.

Write for Us

We want to hear your perspective! Write for Exponent II Blog by submitting a post here.

Support Mormon Feminism

Our blog content is always free, but our hosting fees are not. Please support us.

related Blog posts

I’m going to try to do a better job holding multiple truths about Mormon women’s experiences at once with care, including wisdom gained from my North American-specific feminist awakening, and the recognition that many wise and experienced Latter-day Saint women of color around the world are focusing on priorities and using approaches that have meaningful and understandable distinctions from mine. 

Never miss A blog post

Sign up and be the first to be alerted when new blog posts go live!

Loading

* We will never sell your email address, and you can unsubscribe at any time (not that you’ll want to).​