LDS Feminism

I am Mormon. And I'm also a feminist.

My two identities do not contradict each other; instead, I am able to rejoice fully in the divine nature of my womanhood because I understand it within the framework of the Gospel.  Ultimately, the Church celebrates the beautiful synergy of man and woman. That is why you cannot attain the highest degree of glory without being in a healthy, loving marriage where both members are equal sovereigns.


But sometimes, when I talk about my feelings as a female in the Church, people hush me and say quietly that I better be careful because I'm started to sound like a feminist. Well I don't want to be silent anymore.

Feminism, the belief that men and women are equal, is a faith-affirming truth. Church leaders have repeatedly stated that men and women are equal but different. However, sometimes it is the lack of adequate discussion regarding this very difference that creates erroneous perceptions of discrimination against females in the Church or generates misplaced feelings of resentment among women. Faithful, righteous LDS women struggle because nobody has pulled them aside and told them that it is ok to ask questions about the priesthood or that it is normal to wonder if they can have a family and a career. They fall away angry and hurt not because they don't want to believe, but because they don't know how to believe and still be comfortable with their feminine identities.

Feminism is not, and should not be, a taboo topic within the Church. Instead, women should be encouraged to have open, honest conversations about what their femininity means to them and how to understand their roles within the greater Plan as mothers, daughters of God, and divine individuals.

The Purple Tablecloth

Today while packing up at Kaplan's free practice test event, I folded a purple plastic tablecloth.

I concentrated on the ridges already there, trying to divine what the original tablecloth folder had in mind. Did she want it folded lengthwise inward first? Or maybe she flipped it outwards along the width. Biting my lips, I folded it over and over again, feeling that I was intruding upon my predecessor's tablecloth-folding territory and making too many of my own grooves.

All of a sudden, one of the Salt Lake Kaplan center ladies came over and eased it out of my hands. She rustled the tablecloth, clumsily connecting corner to corner, and shoved it away in the container. The edges didn't even kiss. She laughed, "Oh my goodness, you're not one of those OCD girls are you?"

I vacillated between shock and confusion.

Me with OCD? What is she talking about?

It just never occurred to me that I could fold this piece of purple plastic so casually, completely disregarding the perfect symmetrical ridges that somebody's flawless folding had imprinted. Her total indifference almost seemed . . . sacrilegious.

So, when her back was turned, I took it out and folded it again.

p.s. Today I learned that I hate selling. But unfortunately, I'm very good at it.

A Satirical Look at the US Immigration Issue

For some reason, the Subcommittee on Immigration, Citizenship and Border Security asked Stephen Colbert to testify about US immigration issues.