Exponent II's Blog, page 90

“Holy in All its Forms” by Carol Ann Litster Young

We get to decide what, or where, is a holy place for ourselves. When we were younger, perhaps we were told which places were holy. For me, that was the temple. Maybe nature, slightly. My church experience made connections with nature through ward campouts, Girls Camp, and Scout Camp. There seemed to be a set criteria for what made a place holy — quiet, clearly feeling God, being in a specific, separated area. However, I don’t think it was explicitly explained to me growing up that I could decide what makes a place holy.

No one else could decide this for me — or for anyone else. Others might say somewhere is holy, and perhaps you might feel it too. But only individuals can answer that question for themselves.

My holy places have changed over time. Perhaps when I was a  youth I needed the pattern and example of temple trips and ward and family campouts to explore what was holy. Now, I find that my holy places include a mix of wonderment — like when you can see the night sky clearly, how small you feel looking at the great expanse of the stars and realizing how very old they are — and connection. One way I know a place is holy is feeling that mix of connecting with our inner knowing and an outside presence that both connects and distances ourselves with its grandeur.

I also find holy places in the mundane parts of my life. That life includes real constraints such as the threat of sickness, lack of paid time off, being a parent, and money concerns. As a result, I have shifted away from searching for the grand and epic and I now seek holy places in less obvious spaces — like taking a minute when I’m losing my patience to take deep breaths outside while my toddler’s screams of “I don’t want you to have alone time” are barely muffled on the other side of the sliding glass door. Or walking slowly through the snow, hearing the crunch of my feet and the muting effect of the snowfall. Finding ways to be present and accepting it’s winter instead of wishing I was somewhere else. The cheesy but profound Peloton yoga instructor reminding us at the end of each class that everything we need is already within us. Connecting with our holy places can be recharging, recommitting to ourselves and our lives to try again, respecting ourselves, replenishing what was missing.

A brief summary of holy places from all of the writing in this contest issue might be: “it’s complicated.” Many of the writers explore places that used to be holy or find holy in unexpected places or times. Several others reimagine a holy place.

Many of the contributors explore places that used to be holy or find holy in unexpected places or times. Several others reimagine a holy place.

Svitlana Miller, founder of the charity For Ukraine With Love, reflects on the significance of place given her tireless work following Russia’s invasion of her home country. Sarah Safsten explores a shift in her holy places as she names the literal and physical droughts in her life, while Alma Pellett reflects on what the temple meant to her in the past and finds comfort in new holy spaces as a trans woman. Holly Mancuso discovers solidarity with ward members after fleeing a meeting in the surprising sacred space beside a dumpster, and Shannon Milliman creates meaning in the different places she has lived and roles she has inhabited. Cynthia W. Connell poetically parallels a near-death experience with hope found in Christ’s empty tomb while Heidi Toth accepts running and her body as holy place amidst pain and discomfort. Aislynn Collier acknowledges her wilderness spaces as she leaves traditional church spaces and Andee Bowden — in their winning essay — finds their name and deeper identity on the shores of Lake Michigan. Emily Gray Fisher, a professor and expert on holy spaces, juxtaposes her professional studies of Lutheran churches with an LDS church historical site where she unexpectedly finds peace. These themes are also reflected in the artwork, where most of the pieces were submitted by artists for this specific issue.

Perhaps finding sacred space is a constant navigation of our individual selves “suspended between heaven and earth,” described so vividly in Lorraine Jeffrey’s winning poem, “Peter — In That Instant.” As you read all the essays, poems, reviews, and interviews alongside the evocative artwork and other features found in this Winter 2023 contest issue, we invite you to reflect. What are your holy places, and what makes them holy to you?

ARTWORK

“She Rises” by Whitney Naomi

“A Tongue to Cry to Thee” by Sarah Safsten

I.  The mountains were parched, their summer thirst unquenched by shallow stores of snowpack. The reservoirs were dangerously low. Each day, the sky (and my nose) filled with smoke that blew in from California forest fires, stubbornly coated the bowl of Utah Valley, and obscured the mountains behind my house. I griped on the way […] To access this post, you must purchase Subscription – Digital, or Subscription – Print + Digital, United States.

“Home” by Kameron Abilla

I come from a long line of dietersexperts in contorting, molding,hating their bodies.the echoes of their long nightsin hunger,sighs and tears over scales,whisper to meon certain dayswhen the windis just right:the receiptsof their products that failed,memories of tubs of powdersand baskets of barsfill my mind.and with this lineage I run my handsover my stomach,my thighs, hug my cheeks.whisper, I love you.marks, looseness, spots,all speak to me louderthan the whispers on the wind:this is homethis is safeI belong to myself,for myself.

Kameron Abilla is an applied gender studies graduate student in Claremont, California.

Poetry Finalist, “Holy Places” contest

ARTWORK
“Light On” by Cynthia Clark

“To Ukraine With Love”— An Interview with Svitlana Miller

Place, I imagine, is something you think about a lot — particularly this year after Russia invaded your home country. What does place mean to you?

On the 4th of July last year, we took our three kids to celebrate where we live in Southeastern Idaho. As colorful explosions filled the sky, out of the corner of my eye I noticed my cell phone buzzing. It was a missile warning for many regions of Ukraine where I have friends, family, and people I love. The phone kept buzzing. I closed my eyes to say a prayer. But the explosions in the sky above me made it difficult to gather my thoughts, to pray for the safety of the people I love.

I felt exhausted. Some 20 years ago, by landing in the U.S. for the very first time at the age of 17 to attend college, little did I know that I was filing for a life-long residence of the place called “in-between.” However, “in-between” is the place that uniquely positioned me to know the exact needs of the people in Ukraine and be able to pass on the message to communities in the U.S.

Have you seen any shifts in the sacred use of space?

On one trip to Ukraine, we stopped by a meeting house for the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. I had been there before the war. It was difficult to recognize now. It was a shelter for displaced people, open to anyone in need of refuge. Many had to flee from their homes in parts of Ukraine that were being heavily bombed. Classrooms were filled with mattresses. Other rooms were filled with boxes of humanitarian aid. The baptistry and shower area were used for people to bathe. Meals were prepared in the kitchen daily for the entire group. 

One evening, some friends and I brought pizza and dessert for everyone in the center. We blessed the food and people couldn’t hide their excitement about the different type of meal they were getting. As everyone lined up at the serving table, a loud air raid siren went off. Younger kids clung to their mothers, but everyone knew exactly what to do. They kept their plates with food, but quickly proceeded to the ground floor and sat along the walls of the hallway. Everyone was quiet. I watched them eat their meal in silence as we listened to the sirens warning us of rockets flying in our direction. I closed my eyes and said a prayer that the rocket coming our way would drop away from people, that it would not wound anyone, that it would not destroy a residential home. And then, as always, I prayed that I would see my own three children again.

Tell us a little about To Ukraine With Love, this charity that you founded at the outbreak of the war.

The mission of To Ukraine With Love is to “Help the people on the ground in Ukraine outlast their invaders.” Hope is something people in Ukraine cannot afford to lose. They have lost their homes, their loved ones, their cities. But as long as they have hope, they can continue to fight.

You have dedicated your life to this effort in ways that are so inspiring (the sheer hours and travel you do are astonishing). Can you share the story about the conversation that made you realize that you were called to this work?

With the start of the war, I found myself enraged by the injustice happening to my people. I couldn’t eat, couldn’t sleep. I was constantly checking the news. But after I filled the first cargo plane with aid with the help of so many amazing friends and neighbors — which laid the start of this charity — I was able to sleep for the first time in peace. Peace came only after I finally had a plan of action in place, a plan of how I was going to aid the people in Ukraine and what I would be doing to help. This plan entailed months and months of work, of 8-16 hours a day, often 7 days a week. As a mom of three kids and a husband who works long hours, it would seem that this new schedule would rob me of any kind of peace in my life. To my great surprise, I experienced the opposite! This is when I knew I was called to this work.

What is your personal sacred space, right now, particularly as you sustain yourself in this effort?

A couple of weeks ago, I planned a trip to the temple. My three kids had left for school and I was getting ready to leave when I noticed the Ukrainian news announcement that 90 rockets had just been launched on every major city in Ukraine. That it was the biggest missile attack since the beginning of the war. My first thought was, maybe I could push the temple trip to later that day or to another day. I just wanted to connect with the people I care about and make sure everyone was doing okay.

But I knew I needed to draw on the power that no other place on this earth could offer me. So I went to the temple. I tried to focus on the session. I thought about the creation of the world. About the fall. In the back of my mind, I thought about Ukraine and the terrible attack. As I was sitting in the terrestrial room, looking at the beautiful wall murals, I noticed two birds painted in a blue and yellow color. I had been in that room so many times and never noticed the beautiful blue and yellow birds. All of a sudden, I knew without a doubt that God was watching over the people of Ukraine — that He knew what they were going through and what I was feeling and going through as well. A sacred place for me has been a place where I can talk to God, where I can turn to Him in anger and disbelief of what is happening in Ukraine and find peace. He is truly the ultimate source of peace and wisdom.

What stories have stayed with you as you do your work?

I met a man in his 70’s from Sugar City, Idaho, who has no connection to Ukraine. He told me he had been heartbroken over the news he was watching about Ukraine and what was happening to our people. He hopped on a plane, came to Poland, and then went into Ukraine to volunteer at the International Battalion. They did not accept him due to his age. So he teamed up with humanitarian drivers in Ukraine and drove to some of the most dangerous parts of the country delivering vital aid to hospitals, women, children, civilian defenders. When I met him on the Polish border, I was blown away by his determination to help Ukrainian people. “Why are you doing this for our people?” I asked him. “How do your wife and children feel about you putting yourself in harm’s way?”

His reply was that he just couldn’t keep watching the news and do nothing about what was happening to the people in Ukraine. 

I have been astounded at people’s kindness and desire to help the people of Ukraine. I expected prayers, sympathy, and a certain level of support, but I never expected help of this magnitude. My job is to direct people in the U.S. to the very specific needs on the ground in Ukraine — to introduce the donors virtually and through photos and videos and show them the faces of the people they helped. This has proven very successful. When people see what their funds are spent on, they are willing to spread the word and donate more. We have directly helped 20,000-22,000 people. When people have hope there is always going to be a fight left in them. They will win this fight. I know this without a doubt. It is my job to help them last just a little longer.

How can people support you, donate, or get involved?

We can purchase everything people need in Ukraine in Poland or on the ground in Ukraine. We just need the means to purchase what people cannot afford to buy for themselves. For example:

$500 can help us purchase 10 high-quality sleeping bags which will keep 10 people warm in -30 degree weather. 

$6,500 can help us purchase 10 gas generators. This will help 600 Ukrainians living in tall condo buildings have the ability to warm up herbal tea, soup and keep drinking warm liquids during blackouts. 600 will be able to charge their devices during long-term black-outs and stay connected to their loved ones and let them know they are safe and alive. 

$1,000 can provide 3,000 meals for people in the most destroyed part of Ukraine – women and children who line up to get a freshly-cooked hot meal, for many it is their only meal of the day.

$2,000 can help 10 households with fire-burning stoves to keep their children warm this winter. 

$200 can still save one family from freezing this winter by giving them firewood. If you can afford to keep more than one family warm – I ask you to consider doing it. We have no overhead, every donated dollar goes directly to Ukraine. Peace will come to us not just from standing on the right side of history but fighting on the right side — fighting where we stand. ⋑

DONATE TO SVITLANA’S EFFORTS:

ToUkraineWIthLove.org Venmo: @AidForUkraine

“Run. Breathe. Repeat.” by Heidi Toth

My sacred space is everywhere, though for only a brief moment because with each step, each breath, I am in another space. To access this post, you must purchase Subscription – Digital, or Subscription – Print + Digital, United States.

“THE LOVE MAP by Carol Lynn Pearson” —Reviewed by Rachel Rueckert

Carol Lynn Pearson’s recent novel, The Love Map: Saving Your Relationship and Incidentally Saving the World, is a kind of Dante’s Inferno meets Dickens’ Christmas Carol. A young, married protagonist, Joanna, faces marriage difficulties. “Something is on fire, something is going up in flames and it’s us, it’s our marriage,” Joanna says to her husband before leaving for a work trip. She travels alone on a literal (then figurative) journey deeper into herself, faced with memories of what was and shadows of what could be.

An inciting incident puts Joanna into a kind of trance or vision. This invites a new character into the story: a “Higher Self,” also called a “kind teacher,” “the Self that remembers,” and a “gust of God” presence whom Joanna calls “Sylvia.” Sylvia acts like Beatrice in Dante’s work or the spirits in Dickens’ carol. She is Joanna’s guide through four realms. As Joanna travels through these kingdoms, she pursues an answer to a question: “What is love, real love? If I find it, how can I keep it?”

Though the novel is cheerful and humorous with a plucky pace, Sylvia’s deep insights are the real heart of the story. A few passages to give you a taste:

“Like God, love is huge, which makes sense because God is love.” (33)“Cowards contribute nothing and we owe everything to those who dare.” (34)“This is a one-woman show, and you are the woman.” (38)“Listen carefully. You have been carrying within you every day of your life a map that is clear and verifiable.” (38)“Everything in your life is either your business or another person’s business or God’s business. And only when you stay in your own business do you have power.” (43-44)“Yes, God was there too. Love was there and God is love and where else would God be?” (73)“Imagination is everything. It is the preview of life’s coming attractions.” (75)“And now you have the choice to be right or to be happy and to grow” (103).

The Love Map is a short but mighty novel with a lovely message, no matter in which of the four kingdoms a reader might most often find herself.

“Has marriage always been this hard?” Joanna asks (88). Sylvia, in response, laughs. “There are different kinds of hard,” she says. A lighthearted yet deep demonstration of how to shed smaller selves and instead to fight our sabotaging egos (with compassion and wisdom, no matter how vast our own museum collection of resentments), The Love Map is a short but mighty novel with a lovely message, no matter in which of the four kingdoms a reader might most often find herself. This is inspirational fiction. Joanna serves as an everywoman, inviting individuals to consider for themselves: “What would Love do now?” (112). ⋑

The Exponent Blog is Moving to Exponentii.org

Get ready—the Exponent blog is moving to exponentii.org. We’ve been working hard on our beautiful new website and now it’s time to migrate the blog so all of your favorite Exponent II content will be under one digital roof. Please pardon our dust over the next few weeks.

We have lots of exciting things planned for 2023 and we hope you will join us there! In the meantime, check out the Fall 2022 Exponent II magazine!

Nativity Ritual

Each year I look forward to the ritual of setting out various handmade nativity sets. The story is a universal one, that of bringing the life of God into the world. I have found depictions of various expressions of this story in different cultures, religions and peoples around the world. A miraculous conception and birth, signs of the coming divine presence, humble witnesses, wise seekers, the bringing of good news. Like countless people now and throughout time, I hunger for such a story.

The nativities that contribute to my yearly ritual show the hand of their maker. The unique expressions, ethnic features, animals native to far off lands, even fingerprint impressions left in clay figures – all speak of a person who pictured themselves in this story, this experience of being a part of bringing God into the world. In the ritual, I consider the role of each person or creature, and how it contributed to the story. Then I consider how I might be doing something in that way now that would presence the life of God now.

This year, I am thinking of an expanded story, and parts of it that are not depicted in most Nativity sets.

Last March, Mike and I were in Israel. We had a rich experience there, much of that was due to the local guides who helped us learn many aspects of the cultural and spiritual history.

[image error]

When we spent a day in Bethlehem, our guide was a Catholic woman whose ancestral connection to the town went back for many centuries. After visiting the traditional site of the Nativity, she took us to a nearby site that is considered to be that of the Inn where the couple was turned away. She shared a perspective I had never considered. She said that Mary and Joseph would have come to Bethlehem expecting to stay with family. Custom dictated that family would have accommodated them. But there is local lore that says the relatives of Mary and Joseph who owned the Inn, or hospitality house, did not approve of this marriage of Joseph to a woman who was already pregnant. It wasn’t so much there was no room in the Inn, it was that there was no room in their hearts for anyone who did not meet their standards of propriety. Our guide shared insight, saying that even though these family members did not make room for God to come into the world because of their disapproval – God still came into the world. The family members are the ones who missed out. Our guide asked us to have room in our hearts and minds for God to be born and live among us, even and especially in ways we would never expect, for God will come somehow. We can either choose to be a part of it, or miss out on it because we have no room.

She asked us to not turn away those who have been condemned by society, or tradition. This is how God comes to the world.

Now, as I set out another Mary figure, I think of God as anyone whose existence is denied, whose life is at risk, because so many in power shut the door to their voice, their bodies, their presence – and I think of how salvation comes to the world each time room is made for them.

[image error]

I only have one nativity set that includes a figure of Elizabeth. She is there, carrying her baby John on her back. I often think of this part of the story. Mary hungered to see, to be with a wise woman at this time of entering the unknown. I picture Elizabeth hurrying to greet her, and somehow recognizing the sudden motion of recognition in the life within her. Then her joyful crying out the good news, “There is life in me that sees God is in the world, and God is in you.”

I think we each have life within us that is able to recognize and create God in each other. I think we can help that life grow, and continue to witness the many ways people contribute to the presence of God in the world.

For me, the wonder and transformative power of the story of God being born into the world is not only that it happened long ago – but that we, like so many then, can be a part of making it happen now.

There is life within me that leaps with joy when I see God in others.

My Nativity ritual now calls me to practice this always.

Mary – 2000 years of scrutiny

About a year ago, I was reading a Christmas children’s book to my (then) 7-year-old daughter. The book described the story of Christ’s birth while interspersing biblical language. When I got to the part where Mary was told to name her child “Jesus,” my kid gasped. “What?” she said in complete disbelief, “Mary couldn’t even choose the name of her own son?” 

At that time our family had an infant, and I’m sure my pregnancy was still fresh on my 7-year-old’s mind. She had seen me on my hands and knees in the bathroom barfing my guts out for the first several months of pregnancy. She had seen my exhaustion levels sky-rocket as, instead of putting her to bed like I’d done her whole life, she’d have to come give me a kiss in my bed each night. She had seen my body get large and uncomfortable and need to stop doing the yoga we normally did together. Though she hadn’t witnessed the birth, she heard me tell details of what it was like. 

Understandably, she was appalled that a mother (who had been through that much) didn’t have a say in her child’s name.  

When my daughter expressed her indignation, my reaction was to laugh inside. I’ve heard this story my entire life and I’ve never heard anyone question the fairness of the name choice. In fact, I’ve never even thought about the fairness of the name choice. 

But I realize that’s part of societal problems – we don’t question things because they’re tradition and we’re used to it. Laughing them off isn’t going to help solve the problem.

Of course, this is only one feminist issue surrounding the Christmas story. Others worth mentioning include the 2000 years of people questioning Mary’s virginity (including the timing of when she may or may not have had sex), Matthew’s male-dominated narrative with Mary’s submissive characterization, complete lack of discussion of what that night looked like from a mother’s perspective, and the forgotten women of the nativity.

[image error] Minutes after my youngest was born. I chose this picture to illustrate the messy parts of the Christmas story that are skipped over in the story we often tell.

Christmas is special to me. It’s a celebration of the night my Savior was born. But questioning and discussing issues with the way we tell the story is an important part of dismantling the misogyny that often underlies our church institutional narrative. 

Does your family discuss feminist issues surrounding Christmas? How so? 

What do your kids notice that you may have overlooked because of years of tradition?

What have you come to realize as an adult that you may have skipped over as a child?

Come Follow Me: Matthew 1; Luke 1 “Be It unto Me according to Thy Word”

In this lesson, we will focus on Mary, mother of Christ. Who was she? What can we learn from her? How can modern men and women emulate her? This lesson is scheduled for January in Come Follow Me, but would also make a great Christmas lesson if presented in December.

People often point to Mary as a role model for women, and she is one, but she is also a great role model for men. Encourage class members to think about how her example applies to each of them personally, regardless of their gender.

The Visitation: Mary meets St. Elisabeth, 1525, courtesy of Koninklijke Bibliotheek,

With that said, it is important that Luke 1 focuses on women.

The first thing we find out about God, is that God is okay with womanhood, that God has found favor in a particular woman—I really hesitate to call her a woman because she is really probably a teenage girl—and that God is applauding a teenage girl growing up in a patriarchal background is worth mentioning and worth celebrating. …The fact that the greatest story of our time, that through Jesus the Christ, God has made provision for our redemption and for our repair, is a story that is not only presented to us through the perspectives of two women, Elisabeth and Mary in the Gospel of Luke, but it is also framed by an experience exclusive to women and that is pregnancy. And that is remarkable considering the time that this is happening in, where women could not initiate divorce, where women probably didn’t even choose their husbands; their husbands were chosen for them. We’re looking at women’s stories being privileged and pushed to the forefront of the Gospel of Luke. …The Gospel of Luke is important to us because it is showing us how the world should be, not how the world is, and you see this by the focus on women in this Gospel. You see this in the focus on the rich and the poor dynamic. And you see this in the focus on helping people who need our help.

— Kimberly Peeler-Ringer, A Feminist Christmas Nativity Story with Kimberly Peeler-Ringer, Religious Feminism Podcast, December 2, 2018

With God nothing is impossible

An Angel Foretells Christ’s Birth to Mary (start at minute 1:19)

Consider each line of dialogue from the angel Gabriel and Mary one at a time and discuss any messages modern men and women might learn from their statements. A couple examples are provided in 2023 Come Follow Me for Individuals and Families: Matthew 1; Luke 1. One of the examples provided by the manual is that the angel’s statement, “The Lord is with thee” in verse 28 might remind someone that “The Lord is aware of my situation and struggles.” Another is that Mary’s question, “How shall this be?” in verse 34 could tell someone, “It’s OK to ask questions to better understand God’s will.” But class members may also interpret these statements in other ways that are meaningful to them. There are no wrong answers. Find other ideas at There’s Something about Mary by Deborah, the Exponent, April 15, 2008.

28 And the angel came in unto her, and said, Hail, thou that art highly favoured, the Lord is with thee: blessed art thou among awomen.

29 And when she saw him, she was troubled at his saying, and cast in her mind what manner of salutation this should be.

30 And the angel said unto her, aFear not, Mary: for thou hast found favour with God.

31 And, behold, thou shalt conceive in thy womb, and bring forth a son, and shalt call his name aJESUS.

32 He shall be great, and shall be called the aSon of the Highest: and the Lord God shall give unto him the bthrone of his father cDavid:

33 And he shall areign over the house of Jacob for ever; and of his kingdom there shall be no bend.

34 Then said Mary unto the angel, How shall this be, seeing I aknow not a man?

35 And the angel answered and said unto her, The aHoly Ghost shall come upon thee, and the power of the Highest shall overshadow thee: therefore also that holy thing which shall be born of thee shall be called the bSon of God.

36 And, behold, thy acousin Elisabeth, she hath also conceived a son in her bold age: and this is the sixth month with her, who was called barren.

37 For with God nothing shall be aimpossible.

38 And Mary said, Behold the handmaid of the Lord; be it unto me according to thy word. And the angel departed from her.

Luke 1:28-38

Which messages that apply to you did you find in Gabriel’s and Mary’s words?

Remember that this whole narrative of Jesus’s birth does not start with his being born, but rather it starts with a young girl giving consent to God’s will. The gospel of Luke introduces us to Mary by highlighting her consent, or rather her submission, to the will of God. …It’s a perfect teaching opportunity to teach men and women and children about consent. …Gabriel comes to Mary and asks for consent before this supernatural thing happens in her body.

— Kimberly Peeler-Ringer, A Feminist Christmas Nativity Story with Kimberly Peeler-Ringer, Religious Feminism Podcast, December 2, 2018

Why are agency and consent necessary to God’s plan?How can we emulate God’s respect for agency and consent in our lives?

Like Mary, we sometimes find that God’s plans for our life are quite different from what we had planned.

—2023 Come Follow Me for Individuals and Families: Matthew 1; Luke 1

What do you learn from Mary about accepting God’s will?What can we learn about overcoming the seemingly impossible by studying Mary’s words and actions? Would anyone like to share an experience in which God helped you accomplish something you thought was impossible?Blessed is she who believed

Upon learning that her older cousin Elisabeth was also miraculously pregnant, Mary traveled to see her. She spent three months in her home, leaving just before Elisabeth gave birth.

41 And it came to pass, that, when Elisabeth heard the salutation of Mary, the babe leaped in her womb; and Elisabeth was afilled with the Holy Ghost:

42 And she spake out with a loud voice, and said, Blessed art thou among awomen, and blessed is the fruit of thy womb.

43 And awhence is this to me, that the mother of my Lord should come to me?

44 For, lo, as soon as the voice of thy salutation sounded in mine ears, the babe leaped in my womb for joy.

45 And blessed is she that believed: for there shall be a performance [fulfillment] of those things which were told her from the Lord.

Luke 41-45

Mary and Elisabeth Rejoice Together (start at minute 1:15)

Let’s pause from our discussion of Mary for a moment to talk about Elisabeth. Consider these words from a Latter-day Saint woman who struggled with infertility.

As an infertile woman with no hope of ever bearing a child, the celebration of birth was just a reminder of my own imperfection… The incessant reminder that Mary was “highly favoured” (Luke 1:28), which hallowed her womb only served to solidify the idea that I was not favoured of God….

As I read through Luke’s first chapter, I found myself focused on Elisabeth. It seemed in the time previous to this, the story of Elisabeth was taught to me as though it were but a side-plot or witness of Mary’s story. But it isn’t; it is a powerful source of inspiration in and of itself. She was called barren (Luke 1:36), but she remained faithful. She remained faithful after a lifetime surely filled with trials that were probably not just related to infertility, but may have been harder because she was publicly, and correctly, labeled as barren. She and her husband worshiped and served in the temple. They were known to be righteous, good people, even at a time when the birth of a son was paramount to…well… everything. Like me, she may have even been judged by fellow church members as unrighteous, not faithful enough, not good enough to do what women are supposed to do. Like me, she may have had to reconcile the religious tradition of women only as mothers, and understand that against religious trends and traditions that women are, and should be, spiritual leaders. And that female spirituality is wholly unrelated to motherhood.

Her empty womb surely caused her grief, I mused. But she was so in tune with the spirit that she, upon sight of Mary, was the first to know through the spirit that Mary was carrying Christ (Luke 1:41). Previous to Elisabeth, the scriptures only note Mary and Joseph having been told this fact by angels. Elisabeth did not need an angel because she was so very powerfully in tune with the spirit. She knew. Her own barrenness did not turn to bitterness that depleted the spirit from her.

—Sherrie L.M. Gavin, , The Exponent, November 29, 2014

How can we emulate Elisabeth?What does Mary’s decision to make this journey tell us about Mary, Elisabeth and their relationship to each other?How might Elisabeth have influenced Mary?My soul doth magnify the Lord

Known as the Magnificat, Mary’s speech to Elisabeth is the longest discourse by a woman recorded in the New Testament. (See Jason Porterfield, The Subversive Magnificat: What Mary Expected The Messiah To Be Like, Enemy Love.)

The Magnificat has been set to music by many composers. Here is a version I like:

“Magnificat” by Ruth Elaine Schram; art and music by Augsburg Fortress

46 And Mary asaid, My soul doth bmagnify the Lord,

47 And my spirit hath arejoiced in God my bSaviour.

Luke 1:46-47

What does it mean to magnify the Lord?How can we better rejoice in our Savior?

48 For he hath regarded the low estate of his ahandmaiden: for, behold, from henceforth all generations shall call me bblessed.

49 For he that is mighty hath done to me great athings; and bholy is his name.

50 And his mercy is on them that fear him from generation to generation.

Luke 1:48-50

Can you think of “great things” God has done to you?How have you witnessed God’s blessings and mercy?

Mary’s Magnificat, Mary’s song of praise liturgy, “My soul does magnify the Lord” in Luke 1:47-55: It’s important to note we have the testimony of a woman a celebrating her relationship with God in the sacred text.

— Kimberly Peeler-Ringer, A Feminist Christmas Nativity Story with Kimberly Peeler-Ringer, Religious Feminism Podcast, December 2, 2018

Why would we we celebrate our relationship with God? How do we do that?

So much about God is a mystery. But I do believe. And something about Mary — swaddling Jesus at his birth and again at his death, holding him so close that a “sword” of grief pierces her heart – helps me believe it is possible to bridge the chasm between humanity and divinity. As the angel said, “Hail Mary, full of grace, the Lord is with you.” And with us.

— Deborah, Something About Mary, Revisited, The Exponent, November 29, 2014

What have you done in your life to build a bridge toward the divine?

51 He hath shewed strength with his arm; he hath scattered the aproud in the imagination of their hearts.

52 He hath put down the mighty from their seats, and exalted them of alow degree.

53 He hath filled the hungry with good things; and the rich he hath sent empty away.

Luke 1:50-53

What is Mary telling us here about how what she is seeing in her society and how it contrasts with God’s plan?

This part of Mary’s discourse reveals a different side to Mary’s personality than the meekness she demonstrates while talking to the angel.

What does it mean to wait for God in a broken world? What does it mean to wait in a time in which God’s promise of redemption is met by the despair of the poor, the greed of those who exploit others, and the rage of those who commit violence? What does Advent mean for the real world?

Mary had some thoughts on that.

Her Magnificat is a powerful poem that holds together the grittiness of life on the margins and the resilient hope of those who trust in God. Mary found herself pregnant and not yet married in an ancient culture in which coercive control of female sexuality was a primary measure of masculine honor. Mary faced an uncertain future at best and devastating retribution from her community at worst. Indeed, the Gospel of Matthew is careful to note that Joseph planned to dismiss her quietly rather than expose her to public humiliation (Matt 1:18-19): the latter scenario could theoretically have included stoning for adultery, according to Jewish law. So I don’t envision Mary as the radiant woman peacefully composing the Magnificat in Marie Ellenrieder’s 1833 painting, but as a girl who sings defiantly to her God through her tears, fists clenched against an unknown future. Mary’s courageous song of praise is a radical resource for those seeking to honor the holy amid the suffering and conflicts of real life.

— Carolyn J. Sharp, Yale University, On Scripture: Carolyn Sharp on Luke 1:39-56: Magnificat for a Broken World, December 14, 2011

How should we channel our righteous indignation when we witness evil and oppression?

Mary’s discourse has been seen as so subversive by people in power that it has been banned multiple times by authorities in various countries.

Frequently throughout history, people on the margins have identified with this powerful poem and been inspired to believe that God can actually bring liberation to their plight. In fact, in the past century at least three different countries have banned the public recitation of Mary’s Magnificat. These governments considered the song’s message to be dangerously subversive. During the British rule of India, the Magnificat was prohibited from being sung in church. In the 1980s, Guatemala’s government discovered Mary’s words about God’s preferential love for the poor to be too dangerous and revolutionary. The song had been creating quite the stirring amongst Guatemala’s impoverished masses. Mary’s words were inspiring the Guatemalan poor to believe that change was indeed possible. Thus their government banned any public recitation of Mary’s words. Similarly, after the Mothers of the Plaza de Mayo—whose children all disappeared during the Dirty War—placed the Magnificat’s words on posters throughout the capital plaza, the military junta of Argentina outlawed any public display of Mary’s song.

— Jason Porterfield, The Subversive Magnificat: What Mary Expected The Messiah To Be Like, Enemy Love

Why would Mary’s words be so threatening to oppressive regimes?

54  He hath aholpen [helped] his servant Israel, in remembrance of his mercy;

55 As he spake to our afathers, to Abraham, and to his bseed for ever.

Luke 1:54-55

Here, Mary demonstrates her knowledge of scripture.

How can better study scripture so that we can recall it and apply it?Mary’s influences, and her influence

Mary’s hymn was influenced by the Song of Hannah, a triumphant paean to God dating centuries earlier. Hannah, a godly woman unable to conceive a child, finally becomes pregnant with Samuel, who will be celebrated in Israelite tradition as a mighty judge. She dedicates her boy to the Lord, singing of God’s power to overthrow the arrogant enemies of the lowly. Luke’s Magnificat draws on the Song of Hannah, inviting us to our own sources of memory to understand how God has transformed situations of risk and oppression.

— Carolyn J. Sharp, Yale University, On Scripture: Carolyn Sharp on Luke 1:39-56: Magnificat for a Broken World, December 14, 2011

Review the Song of Hannah and look for parallels between its themes and Mary’s Magnificat.

What parallels do you see between these two discourses?How do you think Mary was inspired by her study of the teachings of Hannah in the Old Testament?

1 And Hannah aprayed, and said, My heart brejoiceth in the Lord, mine chorn is exalted in the Lord: my mouth is enlarged over mine enemies; because I rejoice in thy dsalvation.

2 There is anone holy as the Lord: for there is none beside thee: neither is there any brock like our God.

3 Talk no more so exceeding proudly; let not arrogancy come out of your mouth: for the Lord is a God of aknowledge, and by him bactions are weighed.

4 The bows of the mighty men are broken, and they that stumbled are girded with strength.

5 They that were full have hired out themselves for bread; and they that were hungry ceased: so that the abarren hath born seven; and she that hath many children is waxed feeble.

6 The Lord killeth, and maketh alive: he abringeth down to the grave, and bringeth up.

7 The Lord amaketh bpoor, and maketh crich: he bringeth low, and lifteth up.

8 He araiseth up the bpoor out of the dust, and lifteth up the beggar from the dunghill, to set them among princes, and to make them inherit the throne of glory: for the cpillars of the earth are the Lord’s, and he hath set the world upon them.

9 He will keep the feet of his saints, and the wicked shall be asilent in darkness; for by bstrength shall no man prevail.

10 The adversaries of the Lord shall be broken to pieces; out of heaven shall he thunder upon them: the Lord shall ajudge the ends of the earth; and he shall give strength unto his king, and exalt the horn of his banointed.

1 Samuel 2:1-10

Mary was called not only to give birth to Jesus, but to raise him and prepare him for his role as the Savior. Review the beatitudes from Jesus Christ’s Sermon on the Mount and look for parallels between their themes and Mary’s Magnificat.

What parallels do you see between these two discourses?How do you think Mary may have influenced and/or anticipated Jesus’s teachings?

3 aBlessed are the bpoor in spirit: for theirs is the ckingdom of heaven.

4 Blessed are they that amourn: for they shall be bcomforted.

5 Blessed are the ameek: for they shall inherit the bearth.

6 Blessed are they which do ahunger and thirst after brighteousness: for they shall be filled.

7 Blessed are the amerciful: for they shall obtain mercy.

8 Blessed are the apure in bheart: for they shall csee God.

9 Blessed are the apeacemakers: for they shall be called the bchildren of God.

10 Blessed are they which are apersecuted for brighteousness’ sake: for ctheirs is the kingdom of heaven.

11 Blessed are ye, when men shall arevile you, and persecute you, and shall say all manner of bevil against you falsely, cfor my sake.

12 aRejoice, and be exceeding glad: for great is your breward in heaven: for so cpersecuted they the prophets which were before you.

Matthew 5:3-12