Mormon Feminism: Essential Writings

With at least fifteen million adherents around the globe, Mormonism maintains a powerful claim not only on the loyalties of believers but on the interests and imagination of non-Mormons as well. No issue in Mormonism has made more headlines than the faith's distinctive take on sex and gender. From its polygamous nineteenth-century past to its twentieth century stand against the ERA and its twenty-first century fight against same-sex marriage, the LDS Church has consistently positioned itself on the frontlines of battles over gender-related identities, roles, and rights. Even as the LDS Church has maintained a very conservative position in public debates over sex and gender, Mormon women have developed their own brand of feminism rooted in Mormon history and theology. To be a Mormon feminist is to live the tension between the visionary theology of Mormonism (for example, the faith's distinctive belief that God is a married couple, a man and woman) and its conservative institutional politics, between women's experience-based knowledge and the all-male Church hierarchy. This groundbreaking book gathers together for the first time essential writings of the contemporary Mormon feminist movement from its historic beginnings in 1970 to its vibrant present, offering a guide to the best of Mormon feminist thought and writing. This volume presents the voices of Mormon women--including historians, humorists, theologians, activists, and artists--as they have challenged assumptions and stereotypes, recovered lost histories of Mormon women's leadership, explored the empowering potential of Mormon theology, pushed for progress and change in the contemporary church, and joined their voices with other feminists of faith hoping to build a better world. Designed for use by book clubs, study groups, and classes, this highly accessible but rigorously developed book includes a timeline of key events in Mormon feminist history, discussion questions, and a topical guide.