The Paradox That Is Mormonism

I grew up loving my heritage. I am the offspring of Mormon pioneers from both my Mom and Dad’s side of the family. I (like many of you) had hard core ancestors that sacrificed and gave so much to this church. 

Learning at a young age to carry my baby across the plains at a ward Pioneer Day celebration.

Immigrants seeking a better life, more land, more work, enticed by promises made in this new religion. Immigrants…or colonizers…both are true.

I still like to tell people that my third great Grandpa Martin Hansen, who came over the ocean as a little boy from Denmark, discovered the Timponogos caves up American Fork Canyon in Utah.

But then I learned about the genocide the pioneers who settled here committed on the Timponogos Native Peoples and I felt gross inside. That beautiful Mount Timponogos, which many-a BYU or UVU college students love to hike, was named after its original occupants…a people and their history I was not fully aware of until a few years ago.

I loved reading the story of my third great Grandma Mary Ann Quinney. She heard older missionaries preaching in the park in England and went home to tell her family that she got baptized. They were aghast and upset that a young teen, under their care, did not seek their permission and were even more upset when she let them know she’d be boarding a boat to join the other members.

I thought she was so brave for leaving her family, crossing those plains, and cutting off her best friend’s toes that had been deadened by frostbite. I thought she was so faithful when she married into a polygamist relationship.

But then I learned about what my ancestors really thought of being in polygamist and polyandrous relationships. I read in other women’s journals what tactics of manipulation were used to secure their hand in marriage.

Look at us cute little kids culturally appropriating.

I finally came to grips with what had felt wrong for so many years, even when I tried to justify, it really was wrong. Making the story of my then, young teenage, grandma’s conversion story more troubling than I had seen before.

The paradox of it all! The good and the bad of what America is (and other colonizing countries and cultures for that matter), who its immigrants/pioneers are. What the Mormon, ahem, The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints is. Who my people are and what my people have done…and continue to do.

I started my research back in 2008 when sources were not as readily at my literal fingertips. But The Women’s Exponent II has been around since 1974.

The Women’s Exponent II Blog embodies the paradox of Mormonism so well. It points out what it loves about Mormonism and what this religion has given them past and present, but it also does not shy away from the disturbing details of what Mormonism is and the harm that it has done and continues to do. 

But just like any volunteer organization, we need help. Our blog costs money to run. We get charged high user fees when we get a lot of readers….and we love those readers! Another paradox within this Mormon sphere. We need to pay people to fix tech issues that constantly arise. 

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