Guest post by Amy Clark Freeman. Amy enjoys reading, hiking in the mountains, and learning alongside her three children and husband in Orem, Utah.

The book Fifty Years of Exponent II by Katie Ludlow Rich and Heather Sundahl has come at a time when I can really get excited and appreciate many of the women involved in this Mormon feminist organization. For 32 years I never learned about other women in the LDS faith who felt and thought like myself. It has been a gift and an awakening for me to have this book of history.

In early 2022, Katie sent me a copy of the Exponent II magazine, and as founding mother and first editor-in-chief Claudia Bushman describes, it was “like receiving a letter from a friend”—and bonus—it also came with a literal letter from my friend! I was immediately captivated by the quality of the magazine materials itself, and the artwork caught my breath. The obvious time and attention to the magazine made me take this lovely gift seriously and I wondered, “What is this Mormon feminist organization that I’ve never even heard of?” I devoured that first issue and wanted to see and read more. 

Thanks to the (also awesome) blog, I had a lot of reading material to soak up. Soon there were sign ups for the Exponent II retreat in New Hampshire. I registered to head out with two new best friends–author and blogger Katie Rich and blogger Natasha Rogers, and one I hadn’t met yet—current Exponent II Vice President Lindsay Denton. Little did I know this community would be one of my safe havens. As a person continually seeking places of love and learning, I found a home in Exponent II.

At the retreat, I was introduced to people from all over the country with varying experiences in the Exponent II sphere. I remember feeling particularly stupid meeting a few of the Founding Mothers, but I was just glad to hear them. After the weekend of rituals, camaraderie, education, laughs, and tears, Heather Sundahl asked me if I would come again. I replied, “Retreat is a non-negotiable!” 

We attended the retreat together again in 2023. I met some new people and reunited with others. The idea for the book was already coming to fruition and steamrolling its way to becoming a reality. Now, here it is. And for the fiftieth anniversary! I am honored to have been on the sidelines, cheering for my friends these past few years. While reading 50 Years, I felt so much joy seeing these newer acquaintances and friends’ names in the text, either with their personal writings or other contributions to Exponent II. 

In Fifty Years of Exponent II, Rich and Sundahl give a very approachable yet detailed history of how the women in Boston started the then-newspaper and its subsequent successes and challenges to the present day. The book includes a compilation of 103 newspaper, magazine, or blog entries paired with introductions from each editor’s era. You’ll laugh. You’ll cry. You’ll be in a state of wonderment. 

You. Will. Feel. 

In “The Founding Foremothers”(151), Susan Kohler said, “Let’s quit fooling around and get going… Let’s make it look as nice as we can with our limited talents; let’s put it on newsprint; let’s make it cheap; let’s just do it.” (153). I don’t know that any big endeavor like starting a Mormon feminist publication would be possible without Susan Kohler’s attitude and the willingness of others to take a chance and volunteer their time and talents. It reminds me of another piece titled “Creativity: A Constant Renewal (excerpts),” where Susan Howe writes, “Everything about creating requires humility…We have to … move to experiences that are not easily predictable, experiences at which we may fail.” (169). I see my friends who took a big risk using their time and talents to write this book with little to no monetary resources, and perhaps it proves that the spirit of our Mormon feminist foremothers is strong in the people who show up in and for this organization. 

I see the challenges that took place with constant differences of opinion among the board members through the years—having to navigate localized paste-up parties in the Boston area to using technological advances and decentralizing Exponent II contributors across time zones. It was also an adjustment each time a new editor or president took over, going from having a newspaper to magazine and adding the blog, then forming the Exponent II Facebook group and later making the difficult decision for it to be “paused indefinitely” (102). When learning of Suzette Smith’s (Exponent treasurer for six years) embezzlement, I was shocked at the resilience and grit the Exponent board members demonstrated as they regained their 501c3 status and slowly got the balance back up while also putting new safeguards in place to prevent theft from ever happening again.

Sometimes, difficult or taboo topics addressed in the paper led to taking action. Sue Paxman (Booth-Forbes) was an editor and activist (1984–1997) whose contributions and activism really moved me as I read about her.  She started doing themed issues of the paper and “tackled topics ranging from homosexuality to adolescent drug use. One subject—the abuse of women and children—became a rallying point where Exponent moved into direct advocacy” (41). After seeing so many submissions of abuse to the paper, it became evident to Sue that advocacy was needed. In the book, you’ll see that even Stake President Mitt Romney got involved…

Amid the growing pains, dueling ideas among contributors, harmful Church policies, and hostile political environments, in addition to the newspaper’s rise and fall of subscribers dependent on current church events, “they chose connection and community over ideological purity” (xviii.) In my opinion, this is where Exponent II’s magic lies. Women and gender minorities have a platform where they can share their own experiences, where they might hesitate to share in a formal church setting. In Exponent II spaces, the connection runs fluidly among spiritual, matriarchal, and intellectual giants, and I am lucky to be a witness and play a small part in the story.

Head over to the Exponent II Instagram for a giveaway of a signed copy of Fifty Years Exponent II and a hand-made leather book holster.