I Felt Like Writing an Essay: Women in the Latter-day Saint Belief System
The Role of Women in Latter-day Saint Religion and Society
I have had many questions, accusations and false-assumptions directed towards me in reference to my religion and my role as a woman in my religion. Sometimes these illocutions truly are questions—people just wanted to know. However, sometimes they are prejudgments or negatively charged sentiments that they have disguised as questions. In response to all of these illocutions, I have composed this treatise on the role of women in the Latter-day Saint, commonly known as Mormon, religion. Before we begin, I will let all know that this is an informal treatise, but all the same, an academic one. All my sources will be cited, but I will be sure to let you know the nature of the source at the same time. Not everything stated in this treatise is an official standing of the church. Some of it comes from members of the church, many of the well-learned and well-read. However, those coming from official church publications, canonical scripture or from the mouths of apostles or prophets will be acknowledged. For those not familiar with the Latter-day Saint Church, any public statement from an apostle or prophet is regarded by members of the Church as the words of God and like unto scripture.
The first question that is commonly asked is are women lesser than men in the LDS Church. The answer is no. The answer has always been no. The answer will always be no. As stated by former apostle (official doctrine here), Elder John A. Widtsoe, in 1942:
“The place of the woman in the Church is to walk beside the man, not in front of him nor behind him.
“In the Church there is full equality between man and woman. The gospel … was devised by the Lord for men and women alike. Every person on earth, man or woman, earned the right in the pre-existent life to come here; and must earn the right, by righteous actions, to live hereafter where ‘God and Christ dwell.’ … The privileges and requirements of the gospel are fundamentally alike for men and women. The Lord loves His daughters as well as He loves His sons. …
“This makes individuals of man and woman—individuals with the right of free agency, with the power of individual decision, with individual opportunity for everlasting joy, whose own actions throughout the eternities, with the loving aid of the Father, will determine individual achievement. There can be no question in the Church of man’s rights versus woman’s rights”
(as quoted in “The Church and the Proposed Equal Rights Amendment: A Moral Issue,”)
It is correct to say, however, that in the LDS Church, women are not the same as men. According to an official statement put out by the Church in 1995 which I will cite a lot in this treatise, “The Family: A Proclamation to the World”, “Gender is an essential characteristic of individual premortal, mortal, and eternal identity and purpose” (The Family: A Proclamation to the World). Yes, the Proclamation is an official stance of the Church. In Genesis 1:27, God did not create neuter beings, but “male and female created he them.” (The Holy Bible…, Genesis 1:27). Male and female are together in marriage, and in their missions. According to former prophet Spencer W. Kimball, “Our roles and assignments differ. These are eternal differences—with women being given many tremendous responsibilities of motherhood and sisterhood and men being given the tremendous responsibilities of fatherhood and the priesthood—but the man is not without the woman nor the woman without the man in the Lord” (as quoted in Eternal Marriage, 79). To be simply put by former apostle, President James E. Faust, “In marriage, neither is superior; each has a different primary and divine responsibility” (as quoted in Eternal Marriage, 80).
Man and woman must cherish each other in a marriage and in the family, according to LDS belief. Apostle, Elder Russell M. Nelson states:
“Nothing, absolutely nothing, compares with the companionship between a husband and a wife. And nothing, absolutely nothing, can provide the joy and growth that come from happy children who make a family circle. Throughout my life, I have answered to many titles, including doctor, captain, professor, and elder. But the titles I revere most are those of husband, father, and grandfather.” (Nelson)
In 1872, a prominent woman in the LDS Church, Sister Eliza R. Snow, said that though women in her time were being treated not up to their divine gifts, potential and values, women must be careful to not assume the same disdain and antagonism for men that men had assumed towards women (Snow). Sister Snow also cautioned against women becoming entirely independent from the man and vice versa. In the LDS Church, man and woman are different, but reliant upon one another. According to apostle, Elder James E. Faust, “becoming like men is not the answer; being who you are and living up to your potential and commitment is” (Faust)
This leads to a second common question or accusation: that women are not able to achieve full heavenly reward without being married to a husband. I will not try to lie. This is entirely true, according to Latter-day Saint belief. However, this does not seem to be all that discriminatory after one considers that the converse is also true in Latter-day Saint belief. A man also cannot achieve full reward in heaven without a wife (or wives is also okay, but we’ll get to that later). In one of the books regarded by Latter-day Saints as scripture called “The Doctrine and Covenants,” it states, “In the celestial glory there are three heavens or degrees; and in order to obtain the highest, a man must enter into this order...the new and everlasting covenant of marriage” (Doctrine and Covenants 131: 1-2). So, shortly, yes, but not in the way that it is phrased when usually asked.
The next question, may as well not avoid it: polygamy. Did the Latter-day Saint Church practice polygamy? Yes, it did. Are we ashamed? No, we are not. Do we practice polygamy today? No, we do not. However, some things that you need to know about polygamy. Firstly, not anyone could practice polygamy. He was specifically called and commanded by God to take another wife. Many of those who were commanded to practice polygamy wanted nothing less. According to Brigham Young, second prophet of the church and husband to twenty-seven wives, when he was told to take another wife, it “was the first time in [his] life that [he] had desired the grave” (Young). John Taylor, third prophet of the church and husband to fifteen wives, stated:
“I had always entertained strict ideas of virtue and I felt as a married man that this was to me…an appalling thing to do…Nothing but a knowledge of God, and the revelations of God…could have induced me to embrace such a principle as this…We [the Twelve] seemed to put off, as far as we could, what might be termed the evil day” (Wagoner, 89).
It is also important to understand that in the belief of polygamy, if a man were commanded to take another wife, he would first have to ask his first wife. If she did not consent, than he would not be allowed to follow the commandment. She still had the choice. Further, each time another wife was taken, all current wives and the new wife must consent (Doctrine and Covenants 132: 64-66).
Polygamy, however, was banned in 1890 and has not been practiced by the church since. Any person who is practicing polygamy, has no part in the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. If a member of the Church is practice polygamy, that is grounds for excommunication. In the words of then prophet of the church, Wilford Woodruff, “We are not teaching polygamy or plural marriage, nor permitting any person to enter into its practice” (Doctrine and Covenants: Official Declaration 1).
Next order of business related to that: the marriage of young people in polygamous marriages. Yes, Joseph Smith did at one point marry a girl who was 14-years-old. However, there was never any evidence that they ever engaged sexually, and according to evidence, it was more of an adoptive relationship than anything else. (Compton). Even the woman herself, Helen Mar Kimball Smith Whitney, stated that she did not feel violated, but respected and honored by his treatment of her (Holzapfel, 487). In fact, there is no evidence whatsoever that Joseph Smith ever engaged with any of his wives other than Emma Hale Smith, his first wife and the love of his life. Nine children have been said to have been his children from other women. However, in all six cases where DNA evidence is available, he was not the father. And following this concern: age differences. Quite common for plural wives to be 10-15 years younger than their husbands, but in all honesty, it was the 1840s. That was common in general (Ruggles).
Let us move on now. Are education, employment and civil and political rights important for women in the LDS faith? Yes, they are. In the 19th Century, the territory of Utah was far ahead of its time in women’s rights. In fact, one of the arguments against statehood was that if they were to join the union, they would have to take rights away from women because the federal government did not allow those rights (Ison). In response to this question, prophet Brigham Young stated, “We believe that women are useful, not only to sweep houses, wash dishes, make beds, and raise babies, bt that they should stand behind the counter, study law or physics, or become good bookkeepers and be able to do the business in any countiny house, and all this to enlarge their sphere of usefulness for the benefit of society at large. In following these things they but answer the design of their creation” (as quoted in Olson, 53). Women are needed in education and in all areas of life. Yes, woman’s primary responsibility is “for the nurture of their children” (The Family…). However, in the same way that a father who ignored his children because his responsibility is to provide for them, not care for them would be in grave error, as would a mother who ignored the external world.
Women have been incalculably important to the LDS religion, both anciently with Biblical examples such as Eve, Miriam, Deborah, Esther, Ruth, Hannah, Mary, Elizabeth, Sarah, Anna, Rachel, Leah, Rebekah, Huldah, Lydia and others; through Book of Mormon examples such as Abish, Sariah and the mothers of the Stripling Warriors; and through “modern” day examples such as Emma Hale Smith, Eliza Snow, Amanda Smith, Mary Fielding Smith, Lucy Mack Smith, Amanda Knight, Elizabeth Ann Whitney, Sherry Dew, Marjorie Pay Hinckley, and so many others. I feel this is where I will stop today, but if anyone has any other questions they would like me to address, I would love to do so. Just tell me what you would like, and I will answer it bluntly and with reference. It may not be the next day, but I will do it. And please do not criticize my citations. I tried to write them in pretty MLA format, but I do not really care for that format.
Works Cited
“The Church and the Proposed Equal Rights Amendment: A Moral Issue,” Ensign, Mar 1980.
Compton, Todd. In Sacred Loneliness: The Plural Wives of Joseph Smith (Salt Lake City, Utah: Signature Books, 1997).
The Doctrine and Covenants of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints: Salt Lake City, 1921.
Eternal Marriage. The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints: Salt Lake City, 2001.
"The Family: A Proclamation to the World," Liahona, Oct. 2004, 49; Ensign, Nov. 1995, 102.
Faust, James E. “A Message to My Granddaughters: Becoming ‘Great Women.’” Ensign, September 1986, 19.
The Holy Bible: Authorized King James Version with Explanatory Notes and Cross Refereces to the Standard Works of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints: Salt Lake City,1979.
Holzapfel, Jeni Broberg and Richard Neitzel Holzapfel, eds., A Woman's View: Helen Mar Whitney's Reminiscences of Early Church History. (Provo: Religious Studies Center, BYU, 1997).
Ison, Yvette D. Woman Suffrage Dominated Politics in Utah, History Blazer, January 1995.
Nelson, Russell M. “The Family: The Hope for the Future of Nations.” The World Congress of Families V. Amsterdam, Netherlands. 12 Aug 2009.
Newell, Linda King, et al. Mormon Enigma: Emma Hale Smith, 2nd ed. (Urbana, Illinois: University of Illinois Press, 1994), 136. See also discussion in Danel Bachman, "Plural Marriage Before the Death of Joseph Smith (Master's Thesis, Purdue University, 1975), 140n173.
Olson, Camille Fronk. “LDS Women and Education.” A Twenty-Something’s Guide to Spirituality. Deseret Book: Salt Lake City, 2007.
Perego, Ugo A., et al. "Resolving the Paternities of Oliver N. Buell and Mosiah L. Hancock through DNA," JJHWA, 133.
Perego, Ugo A., et al. “Reconstructing the Y-Chromosome of Joseph Smith Jr.: Genealogical Applications,” Journal of Mormon History Vol. 32, No. 2 (Summer 2005) 70-88.
Perego, Ugo A., et al. "Resolving the Paternities of Oliver N. Buell and Mosiah L. Hancock through DNA," JJHWA, 134-135.
Perego, Myers and Woodward, 2005.
Ruggles, Steven, et al. Integrated Public Use Microdata Series: Version 3.0 [Machine-readable database]. Minneapolis, MN: Minnesota Population Center [producer and distributor] (2004), accessed 8 Oct 2009.
Snow, Eliza R. “Woman’s Status.” Woman’s Exponent, 15 July 1872.
Wagoner, Van. Mormon Polygamy.
Young, Brigham. "Plurality of Wives—The Free Agency of Man," 14 July 1855. Journal of Discourses 3:266-266.
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