Making Mormon Feminist Spaces More Inclusive

I am proud to call myself a Mormon feminist. I’m an active member of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, an adult convert, a mixed-race Asian American woman, and the only member in my family. I’ve always identified as a nuanced member and have been so grateful to find pockets of welcoming, inclusive spiritual spaces for me in almost everywhere I’ve lived.

Exponent has been such an important part of my spiritual life, and it hosts crucial conversations I don’t see taking place anywhere else. But as my time as the blog’s diversity, equity, and inclusion (DEI) rep comes to a close, I want to gently call in this community and ask that we all share the labor of making Mormon feminist platforms like this more inclusive and welcoming to marginalized voices. For example, it’s not fair to ask the very few women of color to be the only ones commenting on race. If we don’t know what we’re talking about regarding a specific marginalized community, we have an opportunity to learn from members of that community and then share what we learn with others, including amplifying those sources directly with full credit.

I’d love to see more of an effort from Exponent volunteers and readers to hear, get curious about, and engage with issues outside of their experience that may be more representative of global Mormon women and less familiar to white American women (in addition to the issues that are already being discussed that are more familiar to that audience). This could happen on commemorative days and months like Black History Month, but it should also happen year-round.

Just because many Mormon feminist spaces haven’t felt the most inclusive before doesn’t mean they need to stay that way. In Mormon 9:31, Moroni says, “Condemn me not because of mine imperfection, neither my father, because of his imperfection, neither them who have written before him; but rather give thanks unto God that he hath made manifest unto you our imperfections, that ye may learn to be more wise than we have been.” Let’s learn to be more wise than we have been.

Let’s talk about language access, the uneven distribution of the Church’s financial resources worldwide, the lack of racial diversity in leadership of an increasingly globalized church, the fear and discomfort many privileged members feel addressing issues of race, class, disability, and other marginalized identities, and more. Let’s inform ourselves and our families and our communities with what others who are different from us are saying are their priorities. Let’s explore what we can do in our callings, Sacrament talks, Sunday School lessons, temple prep and institute and seminary classes, social gatherings, social media pages, and human-to-human interactions to let everyone know diverse voices are not only tolerated but welcomed in our circles. Let’s not let the perfect be the enemy of the good when it comes to speaking up, reaching out, and advocating for others who are different from us. Let’s normalize repentance when we fall short of our values.

In Romans 15:7 Paul writes, “Wherefore receive ye one another, as Christ also received us to the glory of God.” As 2024 reaches its last days, I carry a prayer in my heart that next year and beyond we will all better receive each other, even “the other” that is different from ourselves, as Jesus receives us to the glory of God.