A Mormon Woman

I've been having lunches with my dad for the past two weeks and it's been great to learn more about his life and also to hear about what he thinks about various aspects of my life. We've woven in and out of discussions of religion and it's been really eye opening to hear what knowledge or assumptions he has about the LDS church (which I've been a member of my whole life). I feel a little guilty that we've never really broached the subject in any depth before, but discussions of religion aren't always the easiest to have so I've shied away from them in the past, at least with my dad.

Anywho he seamed to be under the impression that women are somehow of less value in our religion than men. I was genuinely surprised and taken aback by this sentiment, I thought, "doesn't he know me at all?" The sentiment he expressed is so antithetical to my own experience as a church member. This isn't to say that all church members are perfect and that some women in the church haven't experienced a feeling of being relegated to a lesser role, which i know sadly does occur, but it simply isn't my personal experience. I went to high school in the Mormon Mecca of Provo, Utah and I was surrounded by strong women who were examples to me of how to dream big and live life with passion and purpose. At the root of this was growing up with a single mom who was the leader and provider in our home, but I also admired women in my church congregation who were professors, musicians, artists, wives and mothers. The role that the church played in my life caused me to dream big and think that I had infinite worth and potential as a daughter of God, and for that I am so grateful. I thought about this today as I watched this video put out by the LDS church about women. I'm usually a little cynical about short motivational videos, but I'm throwing the cynicism aside for the moment and saying that I really enjoyed watching this so I thought I'd share.