Exponent II's Blog, page 257
April 23, 2018
September Young Women Lesson: Why do we pay tithing?
Write on the board, “Why do you pay tithing?” Invite the young women to imagine that a friend of another faith asks them this question. How would they respond?
Learn Together
Invite the class to work together to write a list of reasons people pay tithing. Let the young women guide the discussion. As young women provide their answers, share quotes below that reinforce their statements. If they run out of ideas, you might share a quote as a prompt. In addition to the reasons listed below, the youth may have other ideas. That is fine. There are many reasons people may choose to pay tithing beyond those listed here.
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Church facilities, and their ongoing utility costs, are paid for with tithing.Write on the board, “Why do you pay tithing?”
Why do we pay tithing?
As a Duty to God
The law is simply stated as ‘one-tenth of all their interest.’ Interest means profit, compensation, increase. It is the wage of one employed, the profit from the operation of a business, the increase of one who grows or produces, or the income to a person from any other source. -President Howard W. Hunter
Will a man rob God? Yet ye have robbed me. But ye say, Wherein have we robbed thee? In tithes and offerings.
Ye are cursed with a curse: for ye have robbed me, even this whole nation.
Bring ye all the tithes into the storehouse, that there may be meat in mine house, and prove me now herewith, saith the Lord of hosts, if I will not open you the windows of heaven, and pour you out a blessing, that there shall not be room enough to receive it. -Malachi 3:8-10
Consider, for example, ten apples. Now, all ten of these apples actually belong to the Lord, but He asks us to return to Him only one-tenth, or one apple. -Elder Yoshihiko Kikuchi
As a Spiritual Practice
Perhaps our most pivotal moments as Latter-day Saints come when we have to swim directly against the current of the culture in which we live. Tithing provides just such a moment. Living in a world that emphasizes material acquisition and cultivates distrust for anyone or anything that has designs on our money, we shed that self-absorption to give freely, trustingly, and generously. By this act, we say—indeed—we are different, that we are God’s peculiar people. In a society that tells us money is our most important asset, we declare emphatically it is not. -Anonymous Church Member, as quoted by Jeffrey R. Holland
We should pay them as a personal expression of love to a generous and merciful Father in Heaven.-Elder Jeffrey R. Holland
Sometimes we think that because our circumstances are difficult, it is not practical to keep all the Lord’s commandments. There are those, for instance, who feel they cannot afford to pay tithing. But as we obey the commandments, we have the evidence of blessings, feelings of accomplishment, and inner peace. -Sister Barbara W. Winder
To Qualify for a Temple Recommend
In order to enter the temple, you must be a full-tithe payer. -For the Strength of Youth
To Contribute Our Fair Share toward Resources We Use
The rising generation…could now, if we are not careful, grow up in the Church with absolutely no understanding as to how their temples, chapels, seminaries, and socials are provided. Teach your children that many of the blessings of the Church are available to them because you and they give tithes and offerings to the Church. Teach them that those blessings could come virtually no other way. …The buildings, programs, and materials I have mentioned do have an attached cost. That is not an unimportant lesson for our children to learn in their youth. -Elder Jeffrey R. Holland
To Support Church Efforts
In keeping with the biblical practice of tithes, Latter-day Saints offer one-tenth of their income to the Church. These funds are used for:
Providing buildings or places of worship for members around the world. We have thousands of such buildings and continue to open more, sometimes several in a week.
Providing education programs, including support for our universities and our seminary and institute programs.
Supporting the Church’s worldwide missionary program.
Building and operating more than 140 temples around the world and the administration of the world’s largest family history program.
Supporting the Church’s welfare programs and humanitarian aid, which serve people around the world — both members of the Church as well as those who are not members. -Humanitarian Aid and Welfare Services Basics: How Donations and Resources Are Used, Mormon Newsroom
How to Pay Tithing
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Friend Magazine, September 2017
When teaching youth, we sometimes forget to provide practical instruction about how to accomplish tasks that have become second nature to us in our adulthood. Consider this story that Artel Ricks told about his first attempt at paying tithing as a child. (It was later retold by President Gordon B. Hinckley at General Conference.):
I … went to the only room in the house with a lock on the door—the bathroom—and there knelt by the bathtub. Holding the three or four coins in my upturned hands, I asked the Lord to accept them. [I was certain He would appear and take them from me.] I pleaded with the Lord for some time, but [nothing happened. Why would He not accept my tithing?]. As I rose from my knees, I felt so unworthy that I could not tell anyone what had happened. …
A few days later at Primary, the teacher said she felt impressed to talk about something that was not in the lesson. I sat amazed as she then taught us how to pay tithing [to the bishop, the Lord’s servant]. But what I learned was far more important than how to pay tithing. I learned that the Lord had heard and answered my prayer, that He loved me, and that I was important to Him. -Artel Ricks
While young women are older than the child in this story, not knowing the procedures for paying tithing could still be a barrier for them. Take some time to explain.
Using tithing slips
Get a tithing slip and envelope from your ward (usually kept outside the Bishop’s or Branch president’s office–tell the youth where to find them in your local meetinghouse).
Fill out the slip and keep the yellow carbon copy as your receipt.
Place the cash or check and completed tithing slip in the provided envelope.
Return the envelope in one of the following ways:
Hand the envelope to the Bishop/Branch President or the first or second counselor in the bishopric during Sunday church meetings.
Pay for postage and mail the envelope to the bishop (his address is printed on the envelope).
Give it to the Aaronic priesthood holders (including a fast offering alongside your tithing) when they come to your door to collect fast offerings on the first Sunday of the month (if they do this if your local area).
Online
Here is an excellent tutorial (with screenshots) about how to pay tithing online:
How Do I Pay My LDS Tithing Online?
Tithing In Kind
While it is unlikely that youth will use this method, the church does accept in-kind donations of financial assets such as real estate and stocks. If any of the youth have questions about this method of paying tithing, more information is available here:
April 21, 2018
What comes next?
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Things I miss about going to church every week:
Developing deep relationships with people from many different walks of life
Singing the sacrament hymn, focusing on the love of Christ together with a group of people
Having an easy outlet for my expertise at working with children
Watching people change from toddlers to children to teenagers to adults, and going on to have their own families. Even though I moved a lot as a kid, that feeling of change vs. continuation over time (and generations) was pretty strong at church
Being presented with issues and principles to think deeply about, with the goal of becoming a better person – especially when the talks and lessons made it clear that there was more than one right way to be, and discussed the tension between two good principles
The times that unity and diversity were valued together, that felt so affirming and filled me with love and belonging
The clear sense of purpose about my life’s path*
Regularly hearing the deep truths about other people’s spiritual journeys
Being promoted every week to dig deeply into beautiful sacred texts
The constant reminders that the divine interacts with us, but often in very human, imperfect ways
Giving talks and planning lessons, listening to the spirit as I spoke, and hearing that what I prepared meant something to someone else
Things I don’t miss about going to church every week:
Fighting with myself every week about how I justify supporting a church that excludes innocent children from full participation
The talks and lessons about modesty, obedience above conscience, and how evil the world is
Worship of The Family more often than Jesus, and without caring about or supporting actual people that make up actual families
The recycled lessons and by-the-book comments
Being frustrated about the disconnect between my leadership skills and the opportunities I was offered
Having an implied need for permission about extending my spirituality or connection to God outside the bounds set by the church’s rules
So much cognitive dissonance
What I’m looking for now:
I guess it’s pretty clear that what I need is a spiritual community of some kind, but I also miss having mentors. Not because of the hierarchy – I never wanted to have someone else be in charge of my spirituality – but because they had been in a similar place to me, and come through it. Their suggestions were helpful, but the fact that they were living proof that someone survived what I was struggling through was invaluable.
I need to be responsible myself for regularly reading scripture and sacred texts, which is probably going to take some time and trial and error to figure out. I didn’t like that it felt so quick, moving through one book of scripture each year, but it did tie the lessons together, and I don’t feel as drawn to something spontaneous and disjointed. Maybe I need to come to peace with the idea of following my impulses, or maybe I need to find or create a structured curriculum.
I know that I am the one who’s ultimately responsible for my journey, but I don’t want to make it alone.
For those of you who are here, or who have been here, what’s helped you build a connection with God? How or where have you found the reciprocity, unity and diversity of a good ward? Where do you turn (besides The Exponent, of course) when lessons at Church feel rote?
*which I understood to be “become as much like God as possible”, rather than “get married and have several babies”, and still want to do, I’m just not as sure anymore what that God looks like, and how I should practice
April 19, 2018
Stopping Sexual Abuse by Ecclesiastical Leaders with Mary Dispenza and Judy Larson
In this episode of the Religious Feminism interview series, Mary Dispenza and Judy Larson, two leaders of Survivors Network of those Abused by Priests (SNAP), the activist organization made famous by the Academy Award-winning movie, Spotlight, discuss best practices to stop sexual abuse by ecclesiastical leaders and support sexual assault survivors. You can find episode notes for the Religious Feminism Podcast here at the Exponent website: http://www.the-exponent.com/tag/religious-feminism-podcast/
Links to Connect and Learn More:
Survivors Network of those Abused by Priests (SNAP)
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Judy Larson
2018 SNAP Conference in Chicago
Split: A Child, a Priest, and the Catholic Church by Mary Dispenza
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Mary Dispenza
Additional Resources Discussed in the Podcast:
#MormonMeToo series at the Exponent
Listen and subscribe for free below:
April 15, 2018
Lesson Plan: What Does It Mean to Minister?
At April 2018 General Conference, church leaders announced a new effort called “ministering” that would replace the home teaching/visiting teaching program. Details about the new program are available at www.lds.org/mycalling/ministering.
This video shares highlights from this announcement and includes illustrations of church members engaged in a variety of activities which might be considered “ministering.”
Note: In many church buildings, you must download videos to your device beforehand; you cannot play videos directly from the Internet. You can download this video here. Choose the “full video” version for the complete 4 1/2 minute video. https://www.lds.org/mycalling/ministering/a-vision-of-ministering?lang=eng
After watching the video, discuss:
How do you feel about the announcement of the ministering program?
What do you like about it ?
What are your misgivings?
What will we need to do to make this new effort work in our local ward or branch?
Some class members may have concerns about the new program. That is okay. Talking through concerns is an important part of adjusting to change and should not be discouraged.
While the ministering program is just beginning to be rolled out churchwide, the Relief Society General Presidency has already moved toward the ministry model since January 2018, when they discontinued formal visiting teaching lessons. At that time, they explained:
“We want to help sisters understand how to really care for and strengthen each sister. The handbook doesn’t talk about our responsibilities to teach a lesson. It talks about how ‘visiting teachers sincerely come to know and love each sister, help her strengthen her faith and give service. They seek personal inspiration to know how to respond to the spiritual and temporal needs of each sister they are assigned to visit.'” –Sister Jean B. Bingham, General Relief Society President
“What are we supposed to do? Do what she needs.” –Sister Sharon Eubank, First Counselor in the Relief Society General Presidency
Discuss:
How are your efforts at ministry going so far? What is working for you? What are you struggling with?
How do we know what others need? What do we need to do to understand their needs?
How can we come to sincerely know and love people we are assigned to minister?
While this particular ministering program is new, we have all been called to ministry ever since we became members of the church. Consider how Alma described the baptismal covenant:
…and now, as ye are desirous to come into the fold of God, and to be called his people, and are willing to bear one another’s burdens, that they may be light;
Yea, and are willing to mourn with those that mourn; yea, and comfort those that stand in need of comfort, and to stand as witnesses of God at all times and in all things, and in all places that ye may be in, even until death, that ye may be redeemed of God, and be numbered with those of the first resurrection, that ye may have eternal life—
Now I say unto you, if this be the desire of your hearts, what have you against being baptized in the name of the Lord, as a witness before him that ye have entered into a covenant with him, that ye will serve him and keep his commandments, that he may pour out his Spirit more abundantly upon you? Mosiah 18:8-9
What does is mean to bear one another’s burdens?
To mourn with those who mourn?
To comfort those who stand in need of comfort?
To stand as a witness of God?
As Mormons, using the word “minister” is new to us, but within other faiths, people have been accepting the call to ministry and considering what it means to them for a long time. What can our friends of other faiths teach us about ministering?
“I sat in one of those ‘pastoral identity’ lectures. As I listened to the professor talk about a pastor’s call to guide, protect, nurture, and grow God’s people, the woman next to me nudged me with her arm, ‘Sounds a lot like being a mother,’ she smirked. I smiled back at her, absorbing this information.” –Kate Wallace Nunneley, Evangelical Associate Pastor
(Check out our interview with Pastor Nunneley here.)
“Youth ministry is about making real the teachings of Jesus. It requires that I consistently strive to be in touch with the Divine so that through our ministries, youth might get a glimpse of what it would be like to walk and talk and eat pizza with Jesus. Youth ministry allows us to walk with our youth through the most important developmental phase of their life. It takes us on mission trips and retreats, to birthday parties, and graduations. But it also takes us to cancer wards, juvenile detention centers, funerals, and social services agencies. And it takes us to the feet of Jesus and the throne of God. This is what youth ministry is to me. It is about creating sanctuary—safe places for our youth to come and rest from the pressures of school, the stress of family, the confusion of adolescence, and to be exactly who they are: amazing creations of God.” –Lara Crutsinger-Perry, Minister to Youth and Families, United Church of Christ
The words “minister” and “servant” are used interchangeably in scripture. (See this article, Ministry Means Service, for more information about the greek origins of the word “minister.”)
Christ gave some beautiful examples of ways we could minister to others when he told this story to his disciples:
Then shall the King say unto them on his right hand, Come, ye blessed of my Father, inherit the kingdom prepared for you from the foundation of the world:
For I was an hungred, and ye gave me meat: I was thirsty, and ye gave me drink: I was a stranger, and ye took me in:
Naked, and ye clothed me: I was sick, and ye visited me: I was in prison, and ye came unto me.
Then shall the righteous answer him, saying, Lord, when saw we thee an hungred, and fed thee? or thirsty, and gave thee drink?
When saw we thee a stranger, and took thee in? or naked, and clothed thee?
Or when saw we thee sick, or in prison, and came unto thee?
And the King shall answer and say unto them, Verily I say unto you, Inasmuch as ye have done it unto one of the least of these my brethren, ye have done it unto me. -Matthew 25:34-40
In our modern world, the means by which we may minister have expanded.
“In addition to whatever schedule you establish for actual visits, that calendar can be supplemented with telephone calls, written notes, texts, emails, video chats, conversations at Church meetings, shared service projects, social activities, and a host of possibilities in the world of social media.” -Elder Jeffrey R. Holland
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Not every act of ministering needs to be a grand gesture.
“Sometimes we think we have to do something grand and heroic to ‘count’ as serving our neighbors. Yet simple acts of service can have profound effects on others—as well as on ourselves. What did the Savior do? Through His supernal gifts of the Atonement and Resurrection—which we celebrate on this beautiful Easter Sunday—’none other has had so profound an influence [on] all who have lived and who will yet live upon the earth.’ But He also smiled at, talked with, walked with, listened to, made time for, encouraged, taught, fed, and forgave.” –Sister Jean B. Bingham, General Relief Society President
What are some ways others have ministered to you or those around you?
How can our ministering help meet people’s spiritual and temporal needs?
How can it help people come closer to Christ?
New Permablogger – Trudy
Hello everyone! I’m happy to be here as a new permablogger. Some of you have probably seen me hanging around the bloggernacle for a while now; I’ve been around since 2005, first lurking, then occasionally commenting on some blogs, then starting my own blog, then abandoning my blog, then guest posting. Now I’ve found a home here. It kind of feels like giving a talk at church – “for those of you who don’t know me…”
I grew up in Silicon Valley and joined the church as a Beehive. I have one sister, and I was raised to believe I could be anything I wanted to be. What I wanted to be was a scientist. However, there was this notion permeating the air, both in religious and scientific circles, that I couldn’t be both a believer and a scientist. I had to choose one. I decided to be a lawyer instead, so I studied political science and philosophy. I went to college at Santa Clara University, which was a remarkable experience. The university was dedicated to both excellent education and the glory of God. Many of my professors were Jesuits, and I wish I had met them before I changed my career path because they showed me that it’s possible to be both a scientist and a deeply dedicated follower of God. Philosophy is my second love, and I’m glad I took the time to study it, which I might not have done if I had gone the science route. But science, to this day, is still my first love.
After college, I served a mission in North Carolina. I joke that I said on my mission papers that I didn’t want to learn a foreign language, but they didn’t listen to me because I got sent somewhere where I had to learn to speak Southern. After my mission, I returned home to California and went to law school. I graduated into a terrible job market for lawyers, and eventually I had to leave. I moved to a large city in the southwest, and I’ve called it home for four years now. I can see the hand of God in guiding me to where I am, and I’m excited to see what’s in store next.
I’m kind of a mass of contradictions. Politically, I’m a libertarian (with a lowercase l), which I often say makes me too liberal for church and too conservative for the bloggernacle. In my career, I represent disability claimants before the Social Security Administration, which on its face seems like a strange job choice for a libertarian, but I still think it fits. Theologically, I believe in the central tenets of the LDS church, insofar as those tenets are compatible with the gospel of Jesus Christ. However, if anything at church, either culturally or taught over the pulpit, is in contradiction to the gospel, I feel free to reject that particular teaching or practice. If the church and the gospel ever conflict, I will choose the gospel every time.
I’m single with no children. I hope one day to marry and have children, but I’ve made peace with the possibility that it might not be in my future. I look around at how many single women there are in the church and how many single men, and I know how to do math. My current ward is really wonderful about including single people, but I’ve been in some wards that have been very bad about it. It’s the church of Jesus Christ, not the church of Married People, and sometimes I think we forget that.
I’m looking forward to being a part of the community here. Thanks for having me!
April 14, 2018
Broken Things
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Guest Post By Amelia Christensen.
Amelia likes podcasts, ripping up gardens, and whale watching. She has two beautiful, curious, and emotional boys with her husband, and aspires to work in the mental health sector. Her heroines are Daria, Emma Smith, and Audrey Hepburn.
At twenty-two years old life stretched before me full of hopes and dreams. I was sure about my future and how certain events would make me feel.
I dreamt of the callings I would be offered as I grew in age and experience. I imagined sending my two sons off on missions with pride and a few tears. I imagined my own mission: maybe my husband and I could be the temple president and matron one day. I could offer patrons the warmth of a smile and a hug. I could sweep through those sacred rooms with clumsy but willing steps. I could be the gentle Mother of that space.
Things break. Glass that is beautiful and strong can shatter into thousands of glittery pieces. A mighty gumtree can explode and blacken with the flames of a deadly bushfire in the hot Australian sun.
It wasn’t just one day or one event. It was two years of everything I’ve ever known becoming unrecognisable. A scary, disjointed figure, often brought on by “would God really do this?” The answer was mostly “no, I cannot believe that They could do this.”
God does not esteem men above women. I cried when I heard frontier women were traded like commodities and told their righteousness depended on their practice of polygamy, but I likewise wept tears of joy when I heard accounts of them giving healing blessings and advocating for the vote. This journey into my own feminism has come with questions. So many questions.
Why don’t we give blessings anymore? Why is it bad to expect curriculum and General Conference talks to be less gendered? What good reason is there to exclude women from policy making? Why do men want me to keep Heavenly Mother hidden? My God isn’t sexist.
God doesn’t create mistakes, and They surely won’t allow Their LGBTQI+ children to feel like they are one. I won’t believe that anymore. I can’t believe that.
What if my sons aren’t looked after on their mission? What if they are gay or trans, and every minute of the two years is excruciating and confusing?
I can’t believe God restricted people of colour from having the priesthood and receiving ordinances, nor can I believe that They don’t want diversity in the church leadership. My God isn’t racist. My God embraces all that makes Their children unique.
I can’t believe God does not bless all Their children, regardless of this “status” we call “active Mormon.” God doesn’t have a club for the most righteous, where They hand out blessings like candy.
I refuse to believe God would separate families because one of the members decided to go down their own path, away from Mormonism. How could that be fair, especially when I’ve seen so much hate and contention within the walls of chapels and temples? I can still hear the gossip outside my change-room door.
Could God possibly call men They knew would abuse Their children? I can’t believe that, either. Imperfect is one thing, robbing the agency of a human under your power is another. Maybe not everything is completely inspired. How can it be?
The questions I now ask once had easy answers. They were privileged answers, dismissive answers. Alienating answers.
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Burnt trees can bring new life. Shattered glass can be swept up and melted down into new things.
In me there is new hope. It is not the same, but it is just as beautiful. God looked upon my genuine heart and said, “it is good.” Because this is where God looks, into my willing and broken heart.
Maybe I’m a little rougher around the edges now. Maybe I don’t live the way other Mormons think I should, but does that matter? I have never felt closer to the Saviour and my Heavenly Parents. If the cultural and doctrinal things threaten my relationship with Them, I will choose Them every time.
My faith crisis has dropped seedlings that have developed into new faith, new testimony. I have carved out a spot in Mormonism for myself. It works for now, and though it’s not easy, it has blessed me to connect with other women in sacred rawness.
Should I choose to leave, though my feelings about Joseph Smith are complicated, there is one quote my friend shared with me that fills me with determination to make the most of things:
“And if we go to hell, we will turn the devils out of doors and make a heaven of it. Where this people are, there is good society. What do we care where we are, if the society be good?”
In this life alone, Zion has already been found for me. It is full of queers and questioners who love deeply, no matter what. I send my blessing to this diverse community and thank the heavens and earth for you.
April 13, 2018
Guest Post: On Advocacy in the Church #MormonMeToo
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Recently, our ward executive secretary asked my husband if the Bishop could meet with us at our home. My husband set a time for that evening, and we wondered what the Bishop wanted. Was it a calling? My husband had just been released from one of his callings, but we already held a joint Sunday School teaching calling.
The Bishop arrived and chatted with us for awhile. We aren’t unused to meeting with the Bishop casually. Only a few months ago, I held a leadership calling which required frequent meetings, emails, text messages, and phone calls with the Bishop. It’s not like we didn’t know each other.
After a few minutes of casual conversation, he told us why he wanted to meet with us. The answer surprised and almost floored me. It was my blog. My Bishop had called a private, personal meeting with my husband to talk to us about my blog.
At first I was flattered that he even read my blog. It is not a hugely popular blog, but one that is relatively well read with people who deal with issues similar to my own. It takes into account my Mormon perspective, yes, but I write about things unrelated to Mormon culture and doctrine as well. I had never considered that my blog could land me in a private meeting with the Bishop.
Apparently, the blog post in question was related to my sharing of an experience with #mormonmetoo and the Joseph Bishop case. In it, I briefly and respectfully recounted how I dealt with a case of unwanted advances and comments from a ward member and how, since multiple women from the ward had also had similar experiences, we brought the situation to the attention of our Bishop.
Now, here he was, sitting across from me, telling me that someone had come to him having read my post. According to him, they were concerned about being in his ward, considering how he had handled the situation (which wasn’t terribly, but it was difficult to get the gravity of the situation across to him at the time).
While he did not ask me to take down the post in question, he cautioned me against posting when I was passionate about something and asked that I consider what others might infer from my posts. He gave what appeared to me to be a veiled warning that I be careful about leading others away from the Church and their “eternal salvation” with the things that I write.
After he left, I felt shocked and confused. What had just happened? I, and many other women (and youth) in our ward, had negative experiences with a man bordering on sexual harassment, and now I was being rebuked and cautioned by the Bishop for publicly reporting it.
Was I being told, in a roundabout way, that if I continued to post in such a vein, I was in danger of Church disciple and potentially excommunication? Did I need to fear for my Church membership because I posted a #mormonmetoo experience?
It all seemed so ludicrous, and as I pondered further, I strongly felt for the individual who came to him asking about my post. This person had the right to make her comments as well. She—or he—deserves to be led by someone who is proactively and eagerly seeking to make women and children feel safe from abuse and harassment, instead of trying to minimize damage and keep secrets.
Further, I couldn’t help but feel that I was being called out for making him “look bad.” Here I was, being further victimized by the person who should be caring for my spiritual welfare. Instead of being concerned about me, asking how I felt about this situation and how I was doing spiritually, I was being treated as a threat and a potential enemy to “the Church.”
For some reason, the experience made me reflect on Christ’s experience in the Garden of Gethsemane, following his Intercessory Prayer.
In John 18, it states, “Judas then, having received a band of men and officers from the chief priests and Pharisees, cometh thither with lanterns and torches and weapons. […] Then Simon Peter, having a sword drew it, and smote the high priest’s servant, and cut off his right ear. […] Then said Jesus unto Peter, Put up thy sword into the sheath: the cup which my Father hath given me, shall I not drink it?” (verses 3, 10-11) In Luke 22:51, it records that Jesus then “touched his ear, and healed him.”
Even when Christ was being falsely accused and arrested, He still took the time to heal one of those who had come to take Him. He still cared about people and their welfare, even when they were coming to betray and crucify Him.
On another note, Christ nonviolently accepted those false accusations, knowing that from this cruel, unfair, and inhumane experience would come greater—even the greatest—good.
As I continued to think about this experience I had with the Bishop, an answer came to me in from the story of Esther and Mordecai. When the Jews were threatened with a decree of death, Mordecai pled for Esther to talk to the king, despite the fact that doing so might lead to her own death. Mordecai’s question for Esther came clearly to me, “who knowest whether thou art come to the kingdom for such a time as this?” (Esther 4:14)
Many of us are at a crossroads, and many of those crossroads are different and unique to us and our circumstances. Some of us wonder if we should continue in the Church, despite seemingly horrible allegations and revelations about Church leaders or policies. Others wonder how outspoken we should or can be while still remaining active.
A few months ago when I embarked on a path of public advocacy for another cause, I had the distinct feeling that I had set a ball rolling and wasn’t sure where that ball would end up or take me. I simply knew I had started a journey that I needed to go on, regardless of where it finished.
I still do not know what mountain I will die on, so to speak, but if it is the mountain of that particular advocacy or of protecting and standing up for victims of sexual harassment and abuse, I will say as Esther did, “if I perish, I perish.” (Esther 4:16).
Of course, my hope is that I—and none of us—need to perish on these mountains. I hope for a Church that embraces the gospel of Christ’s love—the Christ who healed the ear of a man who came to arrest Him.
I hope for a community where the choice is not “either/or.” I long to build and be a part of that community, one where our passions and voices are honored, where leadership asks us how they can help rather than trying to silence our cries. If this Church community doesn’t yet exist, I hope that we can build it together without being warned and rebuked. I believe that it is the community Christ wants for us, and I hope I’m not wrong.
An Interview with Laurel Thatcher Ulrich
[image error]When I first found out about Exponent II fifteen or so years ago, I began reading all the old editions of the paper I could get my hands on. I was starved for thoughtful, nuanced discussions of Mormonism and gender, and Exponent II satisfied that need. It also made me feel like I had finally found my people. Claudia Bushman, Judy Dushku, and Laurel Thatcher Ulrich, all founding members of Exponent II, became my Mormon feminist heroes. Eventually I heard about the wonderful All God’s Critters Got a Place in the Choir, a book of poems, essays and dialogues by Laurel Thatcher Ulrich, Pulitzer Prize winning historian, and Emma Lou Thayne, peace activist and poet. To this day I credit Ulrich’s “Lusterware” essay in this book with helping me wrap my head around the church, its fallibility, and my decisions to remain a (somewhat) practicing Mormon.
My favorite part of this “Lusterware” essay is when Ulrich writes about a young woman writing to her about her changing beliefs. This young woman wrote, “I used to think of the Church as one hundred percent true…. But now I realize it is probably ten percent human and ninety percent divine.” Ulrich writes, “I gasped, wanting to write back immediately, ‘If you find any earthly institution that is ten percent divine, embrace it with all your heart!’ Actually ten percent is probably too high an estimate.” That kind of pragmatism and perspective have helped me immeasurably.
LDS writer Kurt Manwaring recently interviewed Laurel Thatcher Ulrich, professor of history at Harvard, about her life and career. Below is an excerpt of this interview.
Kurt Manwaring: Richard Bushman initially advised you not to pursue a Ph.D. because he felt it would ruin your writing style. Did you ever talk with him later in your career about the way your doctorate affected your style?
Laurel Thatcher Ulrich: Dick wasn’t the only one who saw me as more of a popular writer than a scholar. I don’t think his comment was sexist, but the advice I got from one of my undergraduate professors reflected common ideas of the time. “Your business is to delight,” he said.
One of my UNH mentors even suggested (at a dinner after I successfully defended my dissertation) that it would be nice if I got a job but that it was more important that his male students did so because that was part of their “identity.” For me it was optional.
I was horrified at the time, but was too polite to say anything.
He always supported my work. That wasn’t the issue. He thought that as a married woman, I didn’t really need to support my self. His own wife worked collaboratively with him and he must have considered a viable option for a woman with children. Unfortunately, my husband was an engineer! We wouldn’t have made a very good scholarly team!
Kurt Manwaring: A popular phrase owes its creation to you: “Well-behaved women seldom make history.” What was the original context of this quote and how did you feel when you first realized it was gaining a life of its own?
Laurel Thatcher Ulrich: It came from the opening paragraph of an article on Puritan funeral sermons published in American Quarterly in 1976. It “escaped” into popular culture in the 1990s after my work became better known.
I thought it was amusing, but after getting lots of inquiries from all sorts of people I decided to explore it in more detail in my third book, a sort of survey of women’s history everywhere in the world and in every historical period!
It was fun to work on that book, which grew out of my teaching. I’m not sure my effort to complicate people’s notions of which women were and were not “well-behaved” was entirely successful, but the opening history in the book has been used as a writing sample in some advanced placement courses. This book allowed me to do some more expansive and playful than my more focused micro-histories.
Kurt Manwaring: In your essay, you say that when Mormons write about Mormons they run the risk of being perceived as apologists. Has this reality ever manifested itself in you leaving things out of your work you would otherwise include — simply to avoid being perceived in a manner different from your intentions?
Laurel Thatcher Ulrich: I try very hard to apply the same scholarly standards to my writing about Mormonism as to my writing about any other subject. If I am concerned about my own blind spots or biases, I enlist the help of readers I trust — my own husband, members of my scholarly community, and friends who are not scholars or who work in different fields. But I never intentionally “mask” my Mormonism or my religious beliefs.
Kurt Manwaring: What is feminism?
Laurel Thatcher Ulrich: Feminism is simply a belief in the equality of the sexes, and a willingness to challenge practices or attitudes that restrict opportunities for women or diminish their accomplishments.
Kurt Manwaring: What would you say to men who sincerely want to read feminist authors but feel a measure of discomfort for reasons they cannot identify?
Laurel Thatcher Ulrich: I’d tell them to “get over it.” They have nothing to lose but their own insecurities.
