Episode 11: Women on the Edge of Inside
Where do you sit at church…metaphorically speaking? Cynthia and Susan are joined by Jeralee Renshaw for a discussion of the phrase “the edge of inside,” and how and why many Mormon women choose to be there.
Notes & Quotes:
At The Edge of Inside, New York Times, by David Brooks, June 2016
The Crucible of Doubt: Reflections on the Quest for Faith, by Terryl L. and Fiona Givens
The Sin of Certainty: Why God Desires Our Trust More Than Our “Correct” Beliefs, by Peter Enns
Gospel Topics Essay on Plural Marriage in Kirtland and Nauvoo
“A doorkeeper must love both the inside and the outside of his or her group and know how to move between those two loves.” —Richard Rohr, The Eight Core Principles
“The body of Christ needs its full complement of members – the devout, the wayward, the uncomfortable, the struggling.“ —Fiona and Terryl Givens
“Ambiguity and contradiction are part of life. Truth is elusive and malleable. Accepting that condition is a necessary part of maturity.” —Claudia Bushman
“Doubt enters when the need for certainty has run its course.“ —Peter Enns
“We’re all carrying crosses. As we enter the waters of baptism, we covenant to bear one another’s burdens. Picture that with me. You are struggling along under the weight of your cross, and your friend beside you, or perhaps somebody completely unknown, collapses under the weight of his or her cross. As you bend down to help that person with the burden, of necessity you must touch that cross. It is only then that you understand the nature and the depth of the pain that person is carrying. It is only then, when we touch the pain, that we are in a position to be able to mourn, to enter that second covenant to mourn with that person. It is only then that we can truly comfort.” —Fiona Givens, Affirmations Conference, 2015
“Our undoing is also our becoming.” —Terry Tempest Williams
The Church must acknowledge and repent for its role in establishing a polygamous social structure and mindset within the church and acknowledge its following harmful effects:
1) Forced bachelorhood on a third of the men in the church. Many of whom had to leave the church to find a wife.
2) Abandoned wives.
3) Burdened husbands.
4) Abuse of authority and position.
5) Manipulation.
6) The collapse in convert baptisms after it was publicly acknowledged in 1852.
7) The fleeing of 6000 active members of the church from Utah in 1852 after it was publicly announced.
8) It led to the Nauvoo Expositor and Carthage. The scriptures say it is the wicked that generally punishes wicked deeds. I hold Joseph as a righteous prophet who overstepped his bounds near the end. Possibly due to personal deceptions that grew over time in a traumatic and stressful environment.
9) Joseph F Smith was told he would only be called as an apostle if he took more wives. Many others were pressured into polygamy to maintain their social status within the church. Regardless of their spouse's feelings.
10) It is directly responsible for the tens of thousands of victims who practice it today.
11) It is directly or indirectly responsible for the departure of thousands from the church each year.
12) Polygamy culture in the church still exists today. Where men are to preside over women in an unequal relationship. The word "preside" is not once used in the Bible. The term "rule over" in Genesis 3:16 was mentioned as one of the curses (not blessings) of the fall.
13) This inequality is further evidenced by living widowers being able to be resealed to new spouses but not widows (although dead ones can!). Resulting in the phenomenon of widow rejection in the Church.
14) It minimizes Jacob 2. It falsely claims "these things" in Jacob 2:30 referred to Jacob's entire sermon. Whereas the other 4 times the phrase "these things" were used in the chapter referred to the abominations of the Nephites, which especially included polygamy. (Wasn't the Book of Mormon written for our day?)
15) The 132 claim Emma would be destroyed if she did not accept polygamy contradicts 121 that says the priesthood does not operate by force. But rather by persuasion and gentleness and long suffering, etc. Ironically, Wilfred Woodruff said that the Lord showed him that it was the Church that would be destroyed if it did not give up polygamy.
I could write much more.
But my main message is the church needs to come clean about this.