Contemplative Dexterity

In the LDS faith, the word “divine” is thrown around a lot, especially in association with women. Women are taught that they have a “divine role” within the church. This phrase is employed by countless leaders in the Church to alleviate the contentions that some women have in regards to their status within the church. A woman’s role in god’s plan is to have kids and raise them to be righteous followers of god while a man is endowed with the power of the Priesthood, which allows him to heal people, perform special blessings, preside over meetings and make all decisions in the Church (this last one will not be admitted outright by most men). If a woman expresses her displeasure in her role, she’s told that hers is a role of “divinity” which is supposed to somehow elevate her to the same level of a man. Well, it doesn’t. From the age of 12, young women are taught about Divine Nature, which is one of the 8 values in the Personal Progress program. In this program, those who participate...

One of the biggest downsides to being raised within a religion was being a girl. From a very young age I recognized that boys and girls were treated differently, and to my four year old mind, the most obvious evidence of this was in the way we were expected to dress. I was expected to wear a dress or skirt with a nice blouse, clothing of which I loathed, especially when accompanied by tights and headbands. I thought I was very clever at one point when I discovered the skort, which is a pair of shorts with a wrap around it to make the shorts appear as a skirt. I wore that thing every Sunday until I outgrew it. Boys could wear trousers, the occasion nice pair of shorts, and a pressed shirt. They weren’t really expected to wear ties until they turned 12.                  As I grew older, I began to recognize the differences in our church activities from those of my guy friends (i.e. Achievement Days versu...