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A Community for Anyone Interested in Mormonism.

“Imagine a Church where your beloved grandmother is your stake president.”

Alan, April 4, 2013April 4, 2013

Great interview by Joanna Brooks of Kate Kelly who launched ordainwomen.org.  I REALLY hope momentum builds on this issue.

On Tuesday, I ran into a female missionary on my campus.  Since I just left a course on “feminist international political economy,” I couldn’t help but give her an earful.  She was only 5 days into her mission, and looked rather homesick…age 19, chose to go on a mission before going to college, given that the Church recently lowered the age requirement for missionaries.  I asked her about women and the priesthood, and she told me that when she was a kid, she had huge issues with it — that it seemed unfair that only boys got the priesthood — but she went to her father who explained the whole gender symmetry thing to her, and now she “gets” it.  When I pushed her on this (e.g., men get the priesthood and parenthood, women only get parenthood), she said with a sad smile, “I know, I know…but it’s what we believe!”  I pushed her on the gay issue, letting her know I’m gay, linking it to female ordination (i.e., faiths that okay gay marriage also ordain women), and she could only sadly smile and reiterate, “I know it’s hard, but it’s what we believe.”  I wish I had the sense to point her to ordainwomen.org to let her know that one can be a faithful Mormon woman and still believe in female ordination, AND there’s a movement for it.  But perhaps one cannot be a missionary and assert that, similar to the gay issue (you can believe it’s not a sin, but can’t be a missionary unless you’re willing to teach that it is).

Ah well, I did mention Joanna Brooks’ name, whom did the missionary didn’t recognize.  Perhaps it’s not a good idea to over-associate Brooks since we don’t want another September Six on our hands.

Women

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Comments (5)

  1. Hellmut says:
    April 5, 2013 at 1:32 am

    Sadness appears to a theme.

  2. Alan says:
    April 6, 2013 at 10:04 pm

    Well, it’s sad because the female ordination issue often feels like an uphill battle with an unclimbable slope.

    Anyhow, check out this recent Facebook post by Paul Toscano (one of the September Six) reflecting on the issue. He succinctly reminds folks of the feminist scholarship in the 90s on the issue — e.g., how Joseph Smith promised women the priesthood.

  3. Just Jill says:
    April 7, 2013 at 7:23 am

    I’m watching the movement with interest. I am now outside looking in and I feel such empathy for these women while at the same time I am so happy to be far removed from the church. Good luck to them and I will bolster them all I can with my good thoughts and loving energy (minus the HG).

  4. Pingback: Sunday in Outer Blogness: A Woman Prayed in Conference Edition!!! » Main Street Plaza
  5. Pingback: the feminists are coming, the feminists are coming! » Main Street Plaza

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