feminism

I was praying recently for help with cynicism and hopelessness that challenged my faith in God . Two things happened that encouraged me to...

Dissent is a vital aspect of progress but it is not just the voices of those who suffer that create moral and social improvements, it is the powerholders' ability to listen and the united ability of the majority to re-imagine reality together. We are a nation that greatly benefits from dissenters.

A couple years back, after dipping my toes back in the dating pond following the death of my grandmother, I encountered a young man...

Back in January of 2022, I wandered into my local Deseret Book store with a Christmas gift card to spend. I hadn't been there...

I do hope, however, that this call to civility and love does not encourage people to avoid all difficult topics or advocacy. It's far too easy to say, "I am not political," or "I don't care about politics," or "I only focus on the good" to achieve peace. This peace comes at a great cost, however. And the people who pay that cost are often those who experience the daily costs of systemic racism, sexism, bigotry, and classism.

“I am a witness by being absent,” Wendy declares, giving vivid despair to the realization of my role as a woman in this patriarchal church. What brings her peace brings me grief.

Women theoretically don't get the priesthood because our all consuming role here on earth is to just be mothers. We can't be distracted in any way from nurturing and caring for our children, not even by being able to give them a blessing when they're sick because that would somehow be too big of a distraction from our real purpose - nurturing them. But the instant we leave this earth life and become exalted mothers in heaven, all nurturing will stop immediately. We will turn that role over to our husbands. He will listen to our children's prayers, send them comfort, and provide guidance. It's a good thing we didn't waste time practicing priesthood power on earth, because we needed all the practice nurturing we could get in order to... let our husbands take over that job too for the rest of eternity. Women are preparing for an eternity of doing absolutely nothing.

The kinds of creative navigation of choices that I have seen discussed and modeled in Mormon feminism have served me well in life. I can acquiesce to expectations, I can resist expectations, I can create or find other options that allow me to preserve my integrity.