BYU needs the Women’s Research Institute. There are many feminists at BYU, male and female, who find that their religious beliefs complement and strengthen their social beliefs.
During my time at BYU I have found myself, as an LDS woman and a feminist, realizing that these things are perfectly compatible. Feminism is not something to sweep under the rug or “restructure” or slap another name on to avoid scaring the more conservative in the LDS community. We need more research and education at BYU and within the LDS community to de-stigmatize the “F” word.
Shutting down the WRI sends the message that feminism is a bad thing, when this is in no way true. Feminists consistently defend those who cannot defend themselves, and point out injustices in our society and world.
With the atrocities being committed against women in Africa right now, brutal gang rape as a war tactic and the medieval treatment of women in Afghanistan, it is ridiculous to think that the limelight on women’s issues should be turned off.
Lauren Cooper
Bakersfield, Calif.
Feeds 
I appreciate the desire that you and other friends of mine have expressed to protect women's studies and research and the genuine motives behind them.
However, as an LDS woman, I have grown to love and respect our priesthood leaders and I am extremely grateful for the respect and admiration they've modeled and that my brothers in the gospel have followed. Never have I felt more loved and valued and empowered as a woman as when I have been surrounded by good, faithful brethren living the gospel. I grew up as an LDS minority in a rural town, and while I loved "the boys" I went to school with, I always felt slightly second class in their presence as they talked about "hot girls" and physical attributes and I learned to realize that without the body and the clothes that attract the carnal mind I would never be up to their standards and as long as I was being evaluated by those standards I would never be quite human.
I did my undergraduate work at a university where, again, I was an LDS minority. Being around smart, capable women was a great opportunity and I made many friends, but I learned that the secular feminist agenda only leads to heartbreak and disappointment because it supports a rootless and amoral sexuality and a devaluation of my potential to be a mother. Even in my courses on women's issues in the arts, I felt like again, my body was all that mattered, that my chaste spirit didn't amount to anything.
I appreciate attending a university sponsored by the Church I love and cling to, and I trust those who are in leadership positions and who have a unique blend of intelligence and priesthood inspiration to lead us in the direction we need to go. They are not shoving us under the rug - they love and appreciate us as daughters of God, in a way that men of the world do not. The restructuring of the WRI provides even more funding for women's studies that was not available before, and more importantly, it sets a higher standard to the world: we don't need to segregate our women scholars. We integrate them in an academic environment where THEIR issues are OUR issues. Where there is no need for feminism because we live together and treat each other as brothers and sisters - equally valuable children of God.
The LDS church has upheld women's rights from the outset - in an age where the rest of America was clamoring for women's suffrage, Utah Territory women were voting, attending medical schools, and promoting their own interests across a national sphere. I trust our priesthood leaders and the employees they've hired in the secular realm to continue upholding our rights and dignity and setting a standard of respect for the rest of the world.
It has been my observation that NOW is nothing more than a liberal agenda driven organization. The proof of this statement is evident. NOW supports women with agendas that match their own. Many of those agendas are contrary to Christ's teachings. A true women's organization would support all women.
As women we have an incredible ability to rise up and do good in the world for ALL people. We can be educated and powerful and still fulfill our divine callings as women what ever they may be.
I am old enough to remember the days when the feminist movement wanted to abolish marriage and family. This is obviously a satanic belief contrary to God's plan for us. Many feminist groups still actively promote this idea. That one ideology speaks volumes about the feminist movement.
Please do not confuse Equality with Feminism.
I think you are helping Lauren make her point, and I don't say that in a mean-spirited way. I don't think it's too big a stretch to say that all respondents in here agree on a core set of principles - that men and women are equal in the eyes of God, and that we should be concerned about our fellow humans.
What's going on in here is really nothing more than a dispute over the meanings a word carries. For some, the words "feminist" and "feminism" carries a lot of negative baggage, and conflict with Gospel teachings by their very existence. For others, these words are merely representative of things they've been taught in the LDS Church.
The meanings of these words have surely shifted over the years. There are NOW feminists, men-hating feminists, and other feminists of every variety, but to me, a real feminist is someone who is concerned simply about social equality of men and women. Don’t lose sight of this principle - which, I submit again, does not conflict in any way with Gospel teachings – by getting caught up in what certain words mean. And finally, we may believe that Gospel truth overrides all, but it doesn’t mean that the Church has cornered the market on the one authoritative way to deal with social issues.
Apparently one fact you seem to not realize, Lauren, is that The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints is not a one-trick pony. You do not say in your article, at all, what the feminist movement is about, nor can you. The feminist movement has its extreme side and more moderate side, but guess which one is always at the forefront of national attention? The Church is, in my opinion, one of the greatest humanitarian organizations ever established. The Church is the first to respond to some of the worst natural and human-caused disasters, delivering food and aid even before organizations such as the Red Cross are able to mobilize. That says something about the love and devotion this Church has for ALL people.
This being said, you end your article with women's issues that are strictly political. As you know, and as you should demand, the Church attempts to remain outside of the political realm as much possible. The Church knows that these events are going on in the world, and that is why they send the message of the Gospel, rather than political diplomats, all around the world. Before you tout political activism within our faith, and become blinded by the worldly standards of equality and unity, try the equality of the Gospel. There is not a more powerful tool in all the world to change human behavior than what the Church has to offer the human family.
Wow! I cannot believe that anyone thinks that gang rape as a tactic of war and the oppression of women in Afghanistan is a "political" issue. I don't care what your political affiliation is, any decent human being should be able to look a those events as moral tragedies. And from my recollection, I seem to think that church leaders are on the record as being anti-sex abuse. That kind of ignorant comment shows the exact need for the Women's Research Institute. If you think that rape and brutal oppression is a "political" issue, then I don't know what you think of as being a moral issue.
All over the world women are marginalized and abused. And yes, I don't care what you say but that is a moral crisis. And yet, study after study has shown that when we focus on educating women, that society as a whole, not just women, benefits broadly.
We owe it to our sisters around the world to care about them, to want to help them. The great thing is that there are so many ways to reach women around the world today, to listen to them and to try to understand what they need. Herein lies the great value of the Women's Research Institute.
I find it shocking that you really don't realize how gang rape in third-world countries is not political, because it is. Plain and simple. Men in these areas do not wake up and say "hey, lets go gang rape some women, that sounds like fun!" They use fear, intimidation, rape, and murder to press political agendas and the rule of warlords, so your inability to see this FACT shows your arrogance.
What an excellent response. You stated exactly what I was thinking while reading this young woman's post. As a woman, I have NEVER understood the need for women's studies. Are we not ALL important in our Father's eyes? Each is a child of God and equal in His eyes. I simply cannot place my brothers in one group and my sisters in another. I find it interesting to note that we're all told to follow the Savior's example -- men AND women. If it were necessary to "study" women's issues -- as though they are any more important than men's issues, don't you think women would have been given a female role model to pattern their lives after? Maybe this seems confusing in light of the topic, but in my opinion there is absolutely NO need for women's studies programs at all. Study the gospel and you've got all the "programs" necessary for ALL of God's children -- male and female. By the way, I grew up during the "feminist revolution" and believe me; the word feminist -- as used from that era -- has absolutely NOTHING to do with anything the gospel stands for. I would caution all young women of the church regarding “feminism”.... changing the packaging does not change the original design of these lost souls of the 70s who called themselves feminists.
Anonymous, Let me ask you the following questions:
- Do you vote in local and national elections?
- Do you go to a doctor when you get sick?
- Do you believe in an organized government, even though we have President Monson as prophet of the Church?
- Do you believe in a formal education, or assume that Sunday School will care for all those needs?
If you go outside the church in all these instances, don't criticize feminists for doing the same. There is great work to be done both inside and outside the Church.
-
"If you go outside the church in all these instances, don't criticize feminists for doing the same. There is great work to be done both inside and outside the Church."
Emily, then why do you believe the Church should be injected with feministic ideologies when the Church already stands on a moral and ethical high ground? You are literally comparing apples-and-oranges. You talk about going outside of the Church for services and leadership, but then you advocate that this movement should be allowed to enter our Church to go "great work"? The feminist movement, in all of its pomp, cannot touch the example, teachings, doctrine, and influence of Christ's Church. All of the self-proclaimed 'feminists' in this board need to take a closer look at how the doctrines of our faith view women and their temporal/eternal purposes in life. The feminist movement could learn a lot from the Church, not the other way around.
If she were LITERALLY comparing apples and oranges you would be getting after her for changing the subject.
"Emily, then why do you believe the Church should be injected with feministic ideologies when the Church already stands on a moral and ethical high ground?"
I never said anything of the sort. Please don't set me up as a straw man by putting ridiculous words in my mouth. You claimed that having the church negates the need for women's studies. I responded by saying that we need many other political organizations and services despite the church. I said nothing about bringing feminism *into* the church.
If you're assuming I want to bring feminism into the church by bringing it to BYU, then you're forgetting that BYU and the Church are not one and the same. In the same way we bring science, capitalism, and politics to BYU without bringing them into church, we can also bring various branches of feminism to BYU.
The church may be a great humanitarian institution, but only so far as its individual members make an effort to serve others and fight injustice in the world. Although "The Church" attempts not to take stances on political issues, its members certainly should! In any case, the mass rape of women in the Congo is not a "strictly political" issue, it is a human issue, a moral issue, and a spiritual issue. The gospel cannot grow where political conditions make it impossible; trust me, there are no missionaries in South Kivu teaching warlords not to assault women. God had to raise up the United States as a free democracy, just to restore his church. Even then, early members were marginalized and persecuted (and trust me, The Church took a very strong political stance on THAT). If we, as members of the church, are going to spread the gospel as he demands, that means we need to actively counter injustice and work for the political changes necessary so that the gospel can be taught to all nations. This is precisely why the Women's Research Institute is so important.
God will open the doors of nations when we as a people are ready to enter. You do not need to put your trust in the arm of flesh in order to prepare countries to receive the gospel. Rather, you need to let go of the idea that politics and "social justice" will be achieved through any other means than by that what we've been counseled to do all along.... prepare to serve the Lord, pray for his influence in places where His gospel has yet to be shared and then be prepared to enter these countries once God has opened the doors for His work to proceed. He will decide when all his children will receive the gospel. I think the brethren in Salt Lake City know what they're doing and I believe they are setting a good example for the rest of us to follow.
Tell me... just how is it that being concerned about womens' issues constitutes putting one's trust in the arm of flesh? And why is it that no one has responded to Lauren's point? If you'll all recall, it was this: "We need more research and education at BYU and within the LDS community to de-stigmatize the “F” word."
That observation seems completely justified by the display of religious pique that's erupted in here. I defy any of you to tell me what in the Gospel is so incompatible with the idea of social equality of men and women... and don't muddy the waters with knee-jerk platitudes like abortion and the ERA. I suspect that if any of you spent any time at all with the majority of those who label themselves "feminists" at BYU you would forever shed yourselves of the notion that a feminist is militant rabble-rouser who believes that men are pigs and that abortions should be as available as aspirin. Equality of the sexes is a much more fundamental issue than those are. It’s not a “worldly” issue and it’s as relevant today as it ever was. You say we need to pray for God’s influence in those places where the Gospel has yet to be spread. Where do you get this idea that we are not ready to take the Gospel to all the countries of the world? What, we’re just supposed to wait on God to wave his magic wand in countries where women are viewed as chattel and all of a sudden it will be all better? In case you haven’t been paying attention in Church or General Conference all these years, it’s through the members of the human family that God does most of his ministering.
There are way too many Mormons who think that certain social issues and the Gospel are incompatible, and so they raise themselves up on judgmental pedestals of inaction, hiding behind half-baked interpretations of doctrine and twisting the admonition to “be in the world, but not of the world” to meld with their own priorities and opinions. I’ve got news for you all – ugliness and injustice abound in the world. I don’t think we should just sit tight and shut our eyes to it. Is that the example that you think the “brethren in Salt Lake City” are setting?
Amen, Ian. These "Anonymous" comments make me ill and I sincerely hope these views are not representative of the LDS population in general. How many lessons have we had on "being instruments in God's hands?" How many lessons about Ammon serving the Lamanites before preaching them the gospel? How often do we read Alma 60:11 where Moroni says in no uncertain terms that we can't trust in God's goodness if we fail to take action ourselves? If our next-door neighbor needs help, do we sit back and wait for a miracle? Then why can't we reach out to help our sisters around the world?
Lauren makes a great point. She's saying that because "feminism" encompasses things that are not bad and extreme-- but are in fact gospel truths (such as the absolute equality of the sexes)-- we shouldn't stigmatize feminism wholesale. Undoubtedly, some elements of "feminism" are untrue in the gospel sense; however, only careful study with a gospel perspective will allow us to delineate truth and untruth in this messy, complicated world. Hence the WRI.
Behaving as if everything that feminism encompasses is evil, stupid, or unnecessary is terrifically harmful. I am personally acquainted with several cases in which the abuse of women in LDS homes has been falsely justified on the grounds that women do not hold the priesthood or decision-making power in the church and are therefore spiritually inferior. I don't believe this is a common view; however, it can be exceptionally hard for these women to find help within the church. Well-meaning leaders have assured victims that family members might make mistakes but would never intentionally hurt them: church leaders need to be better equipped to recognize and address such serious situations. It is also relatively rare for a church meeting to include a clear statement that women are equal to and not subordinate to male priesthood holders. These omissions have led to a loss of self worth or testimony for some otherwise faithful LDS women. In short, there is a dire need for visible feminism within the church.
That's right "feminist", I'm sure all of these opinions from "anonymous" individuals are making your blood boil. Yet, here you are behind an ambiguous, 'anonymous' title: "A Feminist." Perhaps you should read what you have written and, like many people on this board have stated, compared your beliefs with the beliefs of the LDS Church. What you are advocating in your post is contrary to the actions of the Church; we can be instruments in God's hands, but we do so under the leadership of the Priesthood of God. Somehow I get the feeling that you have trouble acknowledging that fact, because anyone who gets that fundamental principle of the Gospel is, in your opinion, making you "ill."
Where exactly did "Feminist" try and undermind priesthood leadership?
You're so right! I've been wasting my life away trying to improve life for rape victims in war zones when The Gospel clearly states that I should be living in Utah, cooking steaks for my Hunky Husband every night and driving my kids to church activities in our sweet BMW SUV. Well, maybe I can at least volunteer at the local women's shelter for a couple hours each month--if my Hunky Priesthood-holding Husband permits. Why do they have those shelters anyway? I sure don't know.
If only there was some place at BYU where I could use a gospel perspective to learn about the correct relationship between men and women in the world. That might set me straight on a lot of things.
Ian,
Neither you or Lauren understand what stigma is all about. Stigma is not placed upon a person, it is accepted. A person has to accept a stigma in order for it to have any affect; some stigmas might be held deeply by society, and that is because the class so affected has accepted the stigma to take place upon them. Feminism is not about 'getting rid of stigmas', but is about the transferance of stigma onto others that do not agree with their platforms, ideologies, or principles.
Yeah, Jeff, you're right. If the Jews hadn't accepted the Nazis' stigmas, the Holocaust wouldn't have happened.
And what's with all the talk about the Church? The letter was about BYU closing the WRI. The distinction may occasionally be blurry, but BYU is not the Church.
Steve, your comment shows your ignorance. Maybe you should read a little more into what caused the Holocaust and how the Nazis killed millions of Jews. Stigma was not the deciding factor in the murder of Jews; your illogical leap between these two events is saddening. Try reading 'Modernity and the Holocaust' and educate yourself about this event before you try to use it as a platform for your senseless bantering.
ditto