FAIR is a non-profit organization dedicated to providing well-documented answers to criticisms of the doctrine, practice, and history of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints.
Difference between revisions of "Question: Are Latter-day Saint ("Mormon") women taught to be “gratefully subservient to Mormon males” and that women must “not aspire…to independent thought”?"
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| − | Contrary to the criticism, Gordon B. Hinckley, the President of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints at the time of the criticism’s copyright, had this to say | + | Contrary to the criticism, Gordon B. Hinckley, the President of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints at the time of the criticism’s copyright, had this to say to us: |
“First let me say to you sisters that you do not hold a second place in our Father’s plan for the eternal happiness and well-being of His children. You are an absolutely essential part of that plan.” {{ref||Hinckley1}} | “First let me say to you sisters that you do not hold a second place in our Father’s plan for the eternal happiness and well-being of His children. You are an absolutely essential part of that plan.” {{ref||Hinckley1}} | ||
Revision as of 09:33, 31 May 2012
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This article is a draft. FairMormon editors are currently editing it. We welcome your suggestions on improving the content.
Questions
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It is claimed that the Church teaches women to be "gratefully subservient" to "authoritarian" Mormon males.
In an unpublished paper copyrighted 2003 and readily available on the Internet, the idea is put forward that women in the LDS church are taught to be “subservient” to men and are considered “eternally unalterable second-class.” [1] Among some of its more colorful statements are the claims that we are expected to be “gratefully subservient to Mormon males” [2] and that we must “not aspire…to independent thought.” [3]
To see citations to the critical sources for these claims, [[../CriticalSources|click here]]
==Topics
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Statements
Summary: Statements by Church leaders regarding the roles of men and women with regard to each other.Contrary to the criticism, Gordon B. Hinckley, the President of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints at the time of the criticism’s copyright, had this to say to us:
“First let me say to you sisters that you do not hold a second place in our Father’s plan for the eternal happiness and well-being of His children. You are an absolutely essential part of that plan.” [4]
To men who seek to use authoritarian cruelty to control us, President Hinckley said in the same address:
“No man who engages in such evil and unbecoming behavior is worthy of the priesthood of God. No man who so conducts himself is worthy of the privileges of the house of the Lord. I regret that there are some men undeserving of the love of their wives and children. There are children who fear their fathers, and wives who fear their husbands. If there be any such men within the hearing of my voice, as a servant of the Lord I rebuke you and call you to repentance.” [5]
Detailed Analysis
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Answer
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The criticisms made in the 2003 paper suffer from the following defects: • An overarching sexism, both overt and benevolent • A particularly pointed and derogatory sexism leveled at devout LDS women • The misrepresentation of LDS doctrine and clear signs of being out of touch with current Church structures and instructional materials • Poor research methods, the use of unreferenced authority, and misleading terms • Claims that contradict official statements of Church leaders and ignore the experiences of devout LDS women
These flaws are fatal to the arguments. The 2003 paper is not useful in an analysis of gender politics within the LDS Church. Instead, it is misleading, unduly inflammatory, and ought to be disregarded.