Blog Tag: mothers' day
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Mother’s Day: What to Say (and Not Say) to Adoptive Mothers
A short time ago I was introduced to my new visiting teacher at a Relief Society activity. This was our first face-to-face meeting, and it shortly became clear that she was unaware that I am a mother by adoption. Within just a few minutes, she said all of the items on every “Things to not say to an adoptive family,” list, then she added some more (mostly unintentional), yet cutting digs. I left the meeting early.
In the following days, friends and I cried, laughed and commiserated at some of the common -hurtful at worst, and silly at best- things people say about adoption....
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Heavenly Mother’s Day: Dreaming of the Divine Feminine
Guest Post by Maxine Hanks
My encounter with the divine feminine began in dreams, when I was a teen; yet, a sense of Her was there before, in the love of my mother and the lyrics of my favorite Primary song: “our lilac tree” and “butterfly wings” and “the magical sound of things,” resonated Her presence.My first dream of Her came in 1972; a female figure led me to our Chapel, where a crystal bowl of pristine water waited on the sacrament table, for me to partake. Before I could drink, two sisters in the ward began adding ingredients to...
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Sacred Music: Eliza R Snow and A Mother There
This image is one that will be in the upcoming EXPONENT II COLORING BOOK (look for it later this year).
It is Eliza Roxcy Snow writing her famous hymn: "O My Father". Eliza had many roles and callings in the early church including 2nd President of the Relief Society, sister to the Prophet Lorenzo Snow, plural wife of the Prophet Joseph Smith and she was called the Prophetess of the Church by some. She was also known throughout the region as a poet.
"In Nauvoo, she gained distinction as a Mormon poet featured in local newspapers ... and was...
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Heavenly Mother’s Day: Sunrise on a Yearning Female Soul
Guest post by Domestic Philosopher
Sunrise on a Yearning Female Soul
Cold bears down.
I fall upon my knees in prayer.
Enduring, hollow winds that fill these my broken bones and empty spaces.
I grieve in silence, "Father, where is my Mother?"
Minutes pass, these endless seasons.
My winter-minutes leaving me alone.
Still I pray, I pray and watch.
The signs of life and subtle embers, warmth is sure to come ...
Just as my frigid body shutters, one last hope and struggle,
I feel the gathering rays of sunlight break the darkness of my winter.
Flecks of gold distilling, land gently through my shoulders.
Familiar love enshrouds me with this glorious cloak of...
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Heavenly Mothers Day: BYU Heavenly Mother Art Show, May 8, 2015
Guest Post by Katie PayneKatie just graduated with an MFA from Brigham Young University, and is about to move across the continent to start a new adventure with herhusband. She loves art, dill pickle dip, and long walks. Her personal website is www.katie-payne.com
My art over the last few years has tended to focus on my experience as a woman, especially as a Mormon woman. Most recently, I have created a large exhibition focusing on Heavenly Mother. The whole project started soon after I got married and moved to a foreign country with my husband. Unable to talk to my own mother on...
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Are we living up to Christ’s example of justice for women?
By Danielle Mooney
Danielle has lived in Boston since graduating from Wellesley College. She loves her husband, her dog, and soft serve ice cream cones.
http://youtu.be/ht3Z9-1zL3Y
Within the Gospels, we find stories about the life and ministry of Jesus of Nazareth that the authors compiled and composed for their particular early Christian communities. The Gospels function as communal faith-statements and each scene and saying they recount are part of the author’s broader theological message about who Jesus was and how we follow him.
As has been true throughout world history, during Christ’s life and the development of Christianity after his death, attitudes about...
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Guest Post: Why I’ll Be Fasting on Mother’s Day
by Aimee
In 1870, in the wake of the United States' bloody Civil War and the start of the Franco-Prussian war, Julia Ward Howe (American abolitionist, suffragist, pacifist, and author of the well-known "Battle Hymn of the Republic") penned an "appeal to womanhood" which would later come to be known as the "Mother's Day Proclamation." She wrote:
Arise, then, women of this day! Arise all women who have hearts,
whether our baptism be that of water or of tears!
Say firmly: "We will not have great questions decided by
irrelevant agencies. Our husbands shall not come to us, reeking
with carnage, for caresses and applause....
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Sacred Music: How Firm a Foundation
It was a few years ago, when I lived an hour’s drive from the nearest church branch (we joked that it was a "twig"), that I started to download and listen to General Conference. It seemed rather pointless to me to drive for an hour to sit on uncomfortable, cheap chairs in a room with maybe 4 other people to watch the conference that the rest of the world has seen 2-3 weeks earlier. So I began the habit of listening to the talks online as I did dishes, folded clothes or worked otherwise on an almost daily basis.
As...
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A New Kind of Mother’s Day
This last Mother’s Day was new to me. In the past few months, we unexpectedly found ourselves in the lucky position of increasing the numbers in our household, with the end goal/hope/prayer to permanently adopt. It has been a wonderful adventure and my husband and I are absolutely thrilled. Still... I faced Mother’s Day with trepidation. The first time I was wished a Happy Mother’s Day outside of the foisted "future mother" carnation at church, I was a young single adult. It was in a simple, yet beautiful card from a gay friend. He was also Mormon, and a close...
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Mother’s Day Wars
There is probably not a holiday more volatile for Mormon women than Mother's Day. While some love the talks and chocolates and pansies, some haven't been to church on Mother's Day for years.
There are many reasons why one would like Mother's Day to be skipped over at church. First, Mother's Day is a secular holiday and the devotion of a worship service to a cultural holiday is yet another specter of American culture creeping into the "gospel." Second, the veneration and idolization of mothers hurts a myriad of people: women who want to be mothers but aren't, women...
What is Exponent II?
Exponent II provides Mormon feminist forums for women and gender minorities across the Mormon spectrum to share their diverse life experiences in an atmosphere of trust and acceptance. Through these exchanges, we strive to create a community to better understand and support each other.
Exponent II was founded in 1974 by a group of Mormon women in Cambridge, Massachusetts. These women were inspired by the original periodical, “The Woman’s Exponent,” to create a forum “posed on the dual platforms of Mormonism and Feminism.”
For 50+ years, Exponent II has shared women’s voices in its quarterly magazine, and members of the community have convened at an annual retreat. Our reach has expanded as technology has advanced: the blog, founded in January 2006, has reached millions. As we look to the future, we are focused on growth and building a more inclusive community.
