Mormon Feminism Essential Writings

This groundbreaking collection gathers together for the first time the essential writings of the contemporary Mormon feminist movement--from its historic beginnings in the 1970s to its vibrant present, offering the best Mormon feminist thought and writing.

No issue in Mormonism has made more headlines than the faith's distinctive approach to sex and gender. From its polygamous nineteenth-century past to its twentieth-century stand against the Equal Rights Amendment and its twenty-first-century fight against same-sex marriage, the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints (LDS) has consistently positioned itself on the frontlines of battles over gender-related identities, roles, and rights. But even as the church has maintained a conservative position in public debates over sex and gender, Mormon women have developed their own brand of feminism by recovering the lost histories of female leadership and exploring the empowering potential of Mormon theology. The selections in this book-many gathered from out-of-print anthologies, magazines, and other ephemera--walk the reader through the history of Mormon feminism, from the second-wave feminism of the 1970s to contemporary debates over the ordination of women.

Collecting essays, speeches, poems, and prose, Mormon Feminism presents the diverse voices of Mormon women as they challenge assumptions and stereotypes, push for progress and change in the contemporary LDS Church, and band together with other feminists of faith hoping to build a better world.

Joanna Brooks is Associate Dean of Graduate and Research Affairs at San Diego State University.

Rachel Hunt Steenblik is a PhD student in Philosophy of Religion and Theology at Claremont Graduate University.

Hannah Wheelwright is a Programs Assistant at Robert F. Kennedy Human Rights.

A Note on the Cover
Acknowledgments
Contributor List
Introduction by Joanna Brooks
Key Events in Mormon Feminist History

A. FOUNDATIONS: The 1970s
1. Claudia Lauper Bushman, "Women in Dialogue: An Introduction" (1971)
2. Claudia Lauper Bushman, "Exponent 2 is Born" (1974)
3. Carol Lynn Pearson, "Millie's Mother's Red Dress" (1974)
4. Claire Peterson, "Hide and Seek" (1974 -1975)
5. Elouise Bell, "The Implications of Feminism for BYU" (1975)
6. Judith Rasmussen Dushku, "Mormon Sisters: Feminists" (1976)
7. Margaret Munk, "First Grief" (1978)
8. Dixie Snow Huefner, "Church and Politics at the Utah IWY" (1978)
9. Sonia Johnson, "My Revolution": Excerpts from Housewife to Heretic
10. Sonia Johnson, "The Church was Once in the Forefront of the Women's Movement": Speech to the Senate Constitutional Rights Subcommittee (1978)
11. Sonia Johnson, "Patriarchal Panic: Sexual Politics in the Mormon Church" (1979)
12. Linda Wilcox, "The Mormon Concept of a Mother in Heaven" (1980)
13. Lisa Hawkins Bolin, "Another Prayer" and "Let My Sisters Do for Me" (1980)
14. Carol Lynn Pearson, "Motherless House" (1980).
16. Linda King Newell, "A Gift Given, A Gift Taken: Washing, Anointing, and Blessing the Sick among Mormon Women" (1981)
17. Carol Cornwall Madsen, "Mormon Women and the Struggle for Definition: The Nineteenth-Century Church" (1981)
18. Laurel Thatcher Ulrich, "Pink Dialogue and Beyond" (1981)

B. LIVED CONTRADICTIONS: The 1980s
1. Nadine Hansen, "Women and Priesthood" (1981)
2. Mary Bradford, selections from Mormon Women Speak (1982): Reva Beth Russell, "A Purple Rose;" and Cherie Taylor Pederson, "Expanding the Vision"
3. Mary Bradford, "Across the Generations" (1984)
4. Margaret Toscano, "The Missing Rib: The Forgotten Place of Queens and Priestessses in the Establishment of Zion" (1985)
5. Linda Sillitoe, "an elegy in lower case (for president spencer w. kimball)" (1985)
6. Laurel Thatcher Ulrich, "Lusterware" (1986)
7. Judith Rasmussen Dushku, "The Day of the Lambs and the Lions" (1987)
8. Violet Tew Kimball, "Wife #3" (1987)
9. Carol Lynn Pearson, "A Walk in the Pink Moccasins" (1988)
10. Elouise Bell, "The Meeting" and "When Nice Ain't So Nice" (1990)
11. Sonja Farnsworth, "Mormonism's Odd Couple: The Priesthood-Motherhood Connection" (1991)

C. DEFINING MOMENTS: The 1990s
1. Cecilia Konchar Farr, "I Am a Mormon, and I am for Choice" (1992)
2. Carol Lynn Pearson, Mother Wove the Morning (1992)
3. Susan Elizabeth Howe, "The Blessing" (1992)
4. Margaret Toscano, "Put on Your Strength, O Daughters of Zion: Claiming Priesthood and Knowing the Mother" (1992)
5. Lavina Fielding Anderson, "The LDS Intellectual Community and Church Leadership: A Contemporary Chronology" (1992)
6. White Roses: Statement (1993)
7. Laurel Thatcher Ulrich, "Border Crossings" (1994)
8. Janice Allred, "Toward a Mormon Theology of God the Mother" (1994)
9. Lynn Matthews Anderson, "Towards a Feminist Interpretation of Latter-day Saint Scripture" (1994)
10. Cecilia Konchar Farr, "Dancing Through the Doctrine" (1995)
11. Lynn Matthews Anderson, "I Have an Answer" (1996)
12. Carol Lynn Pearson, "Could Feminism Have Saved the Nephites?" (1996)

D. RESURGENCE: The 2000s
1. Joanna Brooks, "Where Have All the Mormon Feminists Gone" (2003)
2. Lorie Winder Stromberg, "Power Hungry" (2004)
3. Chieko Nishimura Okazaki, "There is Always a Struggle" (2005)
4. Kynthia Taylor, "The Trouble With Chicken Patriarchy" (2007)
5. "What Women Know" (2007)
6. Lisa Butterworth, "13 Articles of Faith of Healthy Chastity" (2010)
7. Joanna Brooks, "Invocation / Benediction" (2010)
8. Valerie Hudson Cassler, "Two Trees" (2010)
9. Chelsea Shields Strayer, "Dear Mom" (2011)
10. Neylan McBaine, "To Do the Business of the Church: A Cooperative Paradigm for Examining Gendered Participation Within Church Organizational Structure" (2012)
11. Meghan Raynes, "Now I Have the Power" (2012)
12. What Women Know Collective, "All Are Alike Unto God" (2012)
13. Kate Kelly, "Equality is Not a Feeling" (2013)
14. Janan Graham, "On Black Bodies in White Spaces: Conversations on Women's Ordination and Women of African Descent in the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints" (2013)
15. Gina Colvin, "Ordain Women, But . . . : A Womanist Perspective" (2014)
16. Lani Wendt Young, "Rejoice in the Diversity of our Sisterhood" (2014)
17. Trine Thoma Nelson, "Claim Yourself: Finding Validation and Purpose Without Institutional Approval" (2014)
18. Liz Hammond, "The Mormon Priestess: LDS Temple Theology of Womanhood" (2014)
19. Rachel Hunt Steenblik, "Welcome Baby, You are Home" (2014)
20. Carol Lynn Pearson, "Pioneers"

Glossary of Names and Terms
Additional Resources
Study Group Guide
Topical Guide
Index