Originally posted by Kris on March 17, 2005. The original post and comments can be found here.
Just recently, I noticed that Heather P. linked to a post I made looking for essays written on the subject of Mormon feminism, or as I am thinking is more appropriate now, Mormon feminisms. It didn’t really go anywhere, so in my continued quest to read and learn more about this nebulous topic, I thought I would join in the established Bloggernacle tradition of starting a regular feature, linking to an on-line essay . The first essay I’ve chosen is by Carol Lynn Pearson called, “Dear Brethren” – Claiming a Voice in the Church.” (Dialogue: A Journal of Mormon Thought, Volume 36, Number 3, Fall 2003, p.201-206)
Sister Pearson begins by stating:
“In the several decades in which I have heard LDS women discuss “women’s issues” as they pertain to the church, I have found it remarkable how much fear there is among so many to speak their minds about the things they find upsetting. Time after time, after hearing a story of personal hurt or of general distress about “the place of woman,” I have said, “Write a letter. Raise your hand. Speak to your bishop.””Oh, I couldn’t do that!”
There is fear in the voice.”
She goes on to share an experience which culminates in writing a letter to her bishopric with copies sent to her Stake President, President Hinckley and Dallin H. Oaks. I find this essay to be very instructive.
In her conclusion, Pearson writes, “Maybe someone gave a little thought to what I wrote. But more important to me, I went to sleep that night knowing tht I am not a woman without a voice. That’s a good feeling.”
Many Mormons might find it difficult to believe that for an active, believing Latter-day Saint “it is possible to engage a critical eye and a loving heart at one and the same moment.” Others might see the silence of Mormon women as some kind of apathy . In a recent post on gender roles and the LDS church Dave says : “Yes, there are some who talk about it and sound mildly critical, but they still march off to church every Sunday like everyone else. They aren’t really concerned enough to do anything more than complain to friends“
Claiming a voice liberates us — not only from these myths, but from a silence that cankers the soul.