Posts Tagged ‘ women ’

98–99: “Middle Way” Mormonism and Women

May 23, 2012
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98–99: “Middle Way” Mormonism and Women

Mormon Matters episodes 85–86 featured a panel consisting of four men discussing “Middle Way Mormonism,” a term that has been gaining traction as a way to describe a path that some Latter-day Saints are taking in which they attempt to negotiate the tensions that arise when they find themselves believing ideas or valuing certain things differently than what they perceive is a typical LDS position yet still working to remain within and fully engaged with Mormon community life. We now turn to a similar discussion of the “Middle Way” journey, but with women’s voices. What are the common experiences...

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74: Writing Mormon Lives

February 14, 2012
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74: Writing Mormon Lives

Phyllis Barber and Joanna Brooks are two of Mormonism’s bravest voices, writers of memoirs in which they offer us privileged glimpses of their inner lives, their comings of age in all the kinds of awkwardness that entails, including learning how to inhabit their bodies and sexuality in healthy ways, tensions between the path indicated by LDS narratives and the various other possibilities suggested by other stories that surround them, struggles with theological ideas and legacies that are especially difficult for women, their searches for place in and peace with the tradition and people into which they were born and...

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49: Mormonism’s Messages about Motherhood

August 30, 2011
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49: Mormonism’s Messages about Motherhood

This panel discussion examines the wonderful gifts of Mormonism’s strong emphases and teachings about the divine role of motherhood as well as the external and internal pressures that come with these messages and how they sometimes work against the more basic gospel goal of helping women fully flourish and grow in godlike qualities. In this far-ranging and insight-packed conversation, panelists Chelsea Fife, Chelsea Strayer, and Jennifer Finlayson-Fife all maintain the utmost gratitude for their own role as mothers and for church emphases on motherhood’s many joys while also examining ways we as Latter-day Saints might change some of our...

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30: Mormon Women and Equality

May 3, 2011
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30: Mormon Women and Equality

Michael Otterson, head of the LDS Church’s Public Affairs department, recently wrote a short piece for the Washington Post‘s “On Faith” blog titled, “What Mormon Equality Looks Like.” In his post, he cites three anonymous LDS women who assert their equality with men in terms of access to pulpits to teach and pray, their chances to preside over Church organizations, their equality “in the eyes of God, as equal halves of a divine pair and equal partners in his work, which includes the raising of families,” as well as equality in their rights to “direct access to God through...

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Why is no one addressing women watching porn?

October 9, 2010
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The only time porn is brought up is in the Priesthood session. I’m positive a lot of girls grow up not even realizing that some of what they’re engaging in is wrong because it’s never brought to the attention of women, particularly when they’re young girls and teenagers. The YW manuals never once mention any such problems; the only chastity lessons they get are how to keep boys at arm’s length. Why is no one addressing this issue? Why do women have to wait until they’re already addicted before anyone will help them not be addicted? Why is it...

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Mormon.org FAQ: Women & Priesthood

August 17, 2010
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Last week we looked at some of the cool profiles on mormon.org that are part of a new effort to make members real and accessible for potential investigators.  And we talked about the difficulties of giving members an open mic on some of the tough questions.  This week let’s look at another tough topic:  Women and the priesthood.

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LDS Grass-Roots Interpretations of the Eve Archetype

September 22, 2009
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LDS Grass-Roots Interpretations of the Eve Archetype

Since Eve is one of the most powerful archetypes for women, it’s not surprising that this story is at the root of many discussions of womanhood.  Feminists have generally been dissatisfied with how the biblical Eve story has affected values and attitudes toward women over the centuries.  Early exegesis of the creation story became the rationale for rules and regulations guiding women’s behavior.  Because Eve was regarded as a source of sin, there was a perceived need to harness the dangerous energy represented by woman.  LDS theology has attempted to redefine the symbolic Eve by picturing her as a...

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I Have Seen the Axe

July 7, 2009
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Alice Walker, who wrote about the heartbreak of female genital mutilation quoted an African proverb in the beginning of her book Possessing the Secret of Joy:  “I have seen the axe, and the handle is one of us.”  Are women our own worst enemy when it comes to reinforcing stereotypes and norms that limit women?

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How My Wife Exercises Her Priesthood

July 3, 2008
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Tired of talking about gay marriage?  How about women and the Priesthood? In all seriousness, let me share with you a recent experience that has had a profound impact on the way I view the concept of Priesthood, and that has convinced me, once and for all, that I am not the sole Priesthood bearer in my family.  I believe it’s high time we recognized the service rendered by faithful LDS women as more than simply the fulfillment of a Relief Society assignment, or being a good visiting teacher.  Such efforts constitute the righteous exercise of Priesthood power.

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