For many people, the phrase “Mormon feminist” is an
oxymoron. For others, it’s akin to
heresy. For me, it’s an identity. It’s part of who I am. Because so many people do not understand how
it is possible to be both, and because I have read so many blog posts and
Facebook comments recently expressing disdain and distaste for women who
identify as Mormon feminists, I would like to explain what it means to me to be
one.
First of all, let me say that my testimony of the Gospel of
Jesus Christ is not based on whether or not a woman prays in General
Conference, or on what I wear to church, or on whether I will ever see my
daughters pass the Sacrament. Rather, my
testimony is based on my understanding of the teachings of Christ and on the
love I feel from Him in my life. There
are many things about which I feel comfortable saying “I believe”, but there
are not many things about which I feel comfortable saying “I know”. However, one thing I do know is that my
Savior loves me. I know He knows me
personally, and I know He sees not only who I am now, but who I want to
be. When I am at my lowest He is there
to lift me up and He gives me strength when I am weak. Because I know He loves me, I also know that
God loves me.
Many people who are opposed to feminism in the Church assume
that what feminists are seeking is equal power – that all we want is the
Priesthood. It is true that there are
women agitating for the opportunity to hold the Priesthood. But this is only a small part of what
feminists want, and it is not something that is wanted by all who identify as
feminists.
Instead, what feminists want are equal rights. We want to be acknowledged as important, and
not just for our ability to give birth and to nurture children. Yes, these are important qualities that women
possess, but not all women will become mothers.
What, then, is their role in the Church?
What of the women who do not wish to be placed on pedestals and told that
they are better than men, or more spiritual, or more righteous? These are tokens, and they feel like a condescending
pat on the head. I do not wish to be
better than any man, or any woman. I
only wish to be equal.
On April 6,
a
woman made history in the Church, and all she did was offer a prayer. Of course, women pray all the time, even in
public. But this particular prayer
closed the first session of the 183
rd annual General Conference of
the Church. And until that moment, no
woman had ever been invited to offer a prayer in a general session of General
Conference. Why not? No one really knows. There is no clear reason, except that women
had never prayed in Conference before.
Tradition. A
group joined together
and wrote letters, requesting that a break in tradition be considered. Amid outcry from members who did not
understand why anyone cared, the letters were sent to Church headquarters in Salt
Lake City. According to the official
Church spokesman, the decision regarding who would pray was made months before
General Conference, so it seems likely that women (a woman prayed to open the
concluding session of Conference on April 7) were already slated to pray before
the letter-writing campaign even began.
However, I firmly believe that, regardless of when the decision was
made, God heard the prayers of the people advocating for change and He answered
them, in His own way and in His own time.
When Joseph Smith was a boy, God did not just appear to him
and tell him to start a new church. Even
though I’d like to think that this was in His plans all along, it wasn’t until Joseph
went to God in prayer and ASKED Him which church to join that God gave him the
answer that he should not join any, but that God had a work for him to do. In the scriptures we are told, over and over,
to ask for help. “If any of you lack wisdom,
let him ask of God, that giveth to all men liberally, and upbraideth not; and
it shall be given him.” -James 1:5. “And
all things, whatsoever ye shall ask in prayer, believing, ye shall receive.” -Matthew 21:22. “Ask, and it shall be given unto you; seek,
and ye shall find; knock, and it shall be opened unto you.” -3 Nephi 14:7. And over and over and over. God is pretty clear that He keeps the lines
of communication open. He welcomes our
questions, and we are told that He will answer us.
Why, then, if we believe these words so strongly, and if we believe
that God listened to the prayers of a 14-year-old farmboy, do we find it so
hard to believe that God will listen to and answer the prayers of hundreds of
women? President Gordon B. Hinckley, Prophet
and President of the Church from 1995-2008, was asked in an interview if he
thought women could ever be given the Priesthood in the Church, if the current
policies could ever change, and he answered,
“Yes. But there’s no agitation for that.” That was in 1997, and perhaps there was no agitation
then, but now, in 2013, there is. I don’t
think it’s such a leap to believe that it’s possible that things could
change. Who are we to claim to know and
understand God’s plans?
I
participated
in the now infamous “Wear Pants to Church Day”.
I did this for a variety of reasons, but mostly because I felt it was
important to stand up for those women who feel marginalized in the Church. And whether or not anyone else THINKS women
should feel that way does not change the fact that there are women who DO feel
that way. After Sacrament Meeting was
over that day, I had a woman give me a hug and thank me for wearing pants. I didn’t know before then that she felt that,
but she needed someone to wear pants for her, and I’m glad I followed my heart
and chose to do so.
It is wrong to tell others how to feel. We are human; we cannot always control our
emotions and our experiences. We all
come from different places in life, and things touch us in different ways. What feels right to me will not feel right to
everyone else. There are many Mormon women
who are perfectly comfortable with the way things are in the Church, and I
applaud and genuinely congratulate them.
But there are also many Mormon women who do not. For one reason or another, or for many
reasons put together, we do not feel represented, understood, heard, or
respected in the Church. This is certainly
not to say that we do not feel these things from God, but rather from the men
who run the Church here on earth. And
this is why we have chosen to speak up and speak out.
I do not know whether women will ever hold the Priesthood in
the LDS church. I don’t even know if
this matters to me or not – I haven’t figured that out yet. But what does matter to me is that women have
a place in the Church where they feel safe, loved, and understood. Where they feel represented and
respected. Where they can share in
worship and love without worrying that they will be turned away by other Church
members for questioning tradition. Because
if the Gospel of Jesus Christ is about love, then why are those of us who do
not fit into the traditional Mormon mold being shown so little love from our
fellow Church members?
Please show us, your sisters, some love and respect. Please make an effort to understand where we
are coming from. Please stop belittling
us for feeling the way we do, even if you do not understand how or why we could
feel that way. Please do not make it
harder for us to stay in the Church. The
Gospel of Jesus Christ is perfect, even if His followers are not. He welcomes our questions. All we can ask is that, as His people, you do
the same. We need your love; please don’t
turn us away.
