Women and The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints

The status of women in The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints has been a source of public debate beginning in the 19th century, when the church became one of the few Western religions to practice polygyny. Despite polygyny, 19th century women played a significant public leadership role in Latter-day Saint culture, politics, and even doctrine. Indeed, some critics view the role of women in the 19th century Church as the zenith of women's institutional and leadership participation in the church hierarchy. (Cornwall, 1994, at 239-264; Iannaccone & Miles, 1994, at 265-86; Jorgensen, 2000, at 105.)

In the mainstream of the Church today, women continue to have a significant public role, mostly in non-ecclesiastical areas such as art and culture. While the Church is firmly committed to patriarchy and gender roles, the majority of women in the Church have an extraordinary amount of goodwill toward their male leaders, and find this situation perfectly acceptable and even desirable in the context of the Church, even though the same women might be highly incredulous toward similar patriarchal structures in the workplace or in secular life.

Women also have retained a certain degree of limited authority in a few areas, including a number of "auxiliary" leadership positions, which include authority over children or other women, although these women leaders are subject to direct supervision and guidance by male priesthood-holders. Women are "endowed" with priesthood power, but are not ordained as clergy. Though not considered clergy, women play a significant part in the operation of local congregations. Women teach classes to adults, teenagers, and children. Women also organise social, educational, and humanitarian activities. Women may also serve as missionaries, and a select few may perform certain ordinances such as washing and anointing on behalf of women in Latter-day Saint temples. Unofficially, wives of male clergy also often play an indirect leadership role by influencing and counseling their husbands.

Outside the Church mainstream, there is a small minority of influential Latter-day Saint women who vocally contribute to church doctrine, and who attempt to influence Church policy; however, to the extent these women have been vocally and assertively critical of male church leaders, they are often excommunicated for apostasy, as are men who are similarly critical of Church leaders.

Contents

1 Women in early Mormonism 2 Frontier women in 19th century Utah 3 The Church and modern feminism 4 References

Women in early Mormonism

For its time, early Mormonism had a relatively liberating stance toward women. The religion owed some of its outlook toward women to the proto-feminism that accompanied the Second Great Awakening of 19th century New England. In that era, a number of notable women were given significant leadership roles in matters of religion. Joseph Smith, Jr., the founder of the Latter Day Saint movement, lived in and abided by a male-centered world; most of the early founding events of Mormonism involved only men. However, a number of women had significant supporting roles; for example, Smith's wife Emma Hale Smith served as a scribe in the translation of the Book of Mormon, and later as head of the Relief Society, originally a self-governing women's organization within the church.

In addition, early Mormon doctrine was comparatively woman-friendly. Notably, early Mormonism rejected the Augustinian doctrine of original sin, which held that humanity inherits the sin Adam and Eve in which they ate the forbidden fruit. This sin was historically blamed on Eve, and was thought to be the source of women's submissive and dependent state. The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints still rejects the doctrine of original sin.

Other issues:

• The beginning of polygyny
• Experiments with polyandry
• Founding the Relief Society
• Women in the Anointed Quorum
• Gifts of the spirit exercised by women
  • Prophecy
  • Speaking in tongues
• Performing ordinances
  • "Priestesses" in the temple
  • Priesthood blessings of women by women
  • "Is it necessary for sisters to be set apart to officiate in the sacred ordinances of washing, anointing, and laying on of hands in administering to the sick? It certainly is not. Any and all sisters who honor their holy endowments, not only have right, but should feel it a duty, whenever called upon to administer to our sisters in these ordinances, which God has graciously committed to His daughters as well as to His sons; and we testify that when administered and received in faith and humility they are accompanied with almighty power." (Snow, 1884)

Frontier women in 19th century Utah

• The "prophetess" Eliza R. Snow
• Development of a Heavenly Mother theology
• Female education and scholarship
• Giving women in Utah the vote
• Relief Society missions
  • Bathsheba Smith's mission to southern Utah to preach "woman's rights"
• The Woman's Exponent publication (the R.S. official newspaper)
  • 1920 editorial in favor of "Equal rights before the law, equal pay for equal work, equal political rights", stating that a women's place is not just "in the nursery" but "in the library, the laboratory, the observatory."
• Eliza Snow's counsel that women confide personal issues to the Relief Society present and her counselors, rather than the bishops. (Snow, 1884).
• R.S. president Emmeline B. Wells (1875): "Let woman speak for herself; she has the right of freedom of speech. Women are too slow in moving forward, afraid of criticism, of being called unwomanly, of being thought masculine. What of it? If men are so much superior to women, the nearer we come up to the manly standard the higher we elevate ourselves."

The Church and modern feminism

• Allowing women to speak or pray in Sacrament meetings
• Relaxation of position against family planning
• The decline of Relief Society and Primary Association autonomy as part of the Priesthood Correlation Program.
• Reasserting gender roles
  • The role of the man as natural leader and provider
  • The role of woman as natural nurturer and teacher
  • Bruce R. McConkie: A "woman's primary place is in the home, where she is to rear children and abide by the righteous counsel of her husband" (McConkie, Mormon Doctrine, 844).
  • Counsel of Ezra Taft Benson concerning women in the workplace
• Church responses to rape and sexual harassment
  • Recognizing the problem of spousal abuse.
• Feminist movements within the Church

References

• Cornwall, Marie. "The Institutional Role of Mormon Women", in Marie Cornwall et al., eds., Contemporary Mormonism: Social Science Perspectives, 239-64 (Urbana: U. of Illinois Press 1994)
• Hanks, Maxine, ed. Women and Authority: Re-emerging Mormon Feminism (ISBN 1560850140).
• Iannaccone, Laurence R. & Miles, Carrie A. "Dealing with Social Change: The Mormon Church's Response to Change in Women's Roles", in Marie Cornwall et al., eds., Contemporary Mormonism: Social Science Perspectives, 265-86 (Urbana: U. of Illinois Press 1994).
• Jorgensen, Danny L. "The Mormon Gender-Inclusive Image of God", 27 J. Mormon History 95 (2000).
• Snow, Eliza R., "To the branches of the Relief Society", Woman's Exponent 13 (15 Sept. 1884).