Fall 2010 Contents EDITORIAL STAFF Letter from Our Editors
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Exponent II Vol. 30, No. 2 Fall 2010 Contents EDITORIAL STAFF Letter from our Editors....................3 Exponent Generations Co-Editors-in-Chief Trails from our Foremothers............21 Aimee Evans Hickman Sabbath Pastorals Emmeline B. Wells Emily Clyde Curtis Like Eve, All Women Make Choices...4 Lorie Winder Design Editor Sarah Hogan Meghan Raynes Margaret Olsen Hemming In Direct Proportion.........................7 My Search for the Divine Feminine.....25 Copy Editor Laura McCune-Poplin Ryan Thomas Kathleen Gaisford Poetry Editor My Faith’s Journey.........................10 A Path Once Chosen.......................29 Judy Curtis Suzette Smith Catherine Wheelwright Ockey Exponent Generations Editor Deborah Kris Sisters Speak Flannel Board Teaching about Heavenly Mother.....13 Hymn of Welcome..............................32 Goodness Gracious Editor Susan Howe Linda Hoffman Kimball Poetry...............................................16 and Linda Hoffman Kimball My Story by Kathy Weinzinger Sisters Speak Editor Caroline Kline Jershon by Cari Hewlet Movie Review Stay at Home Chemist Thought-Provoking Film Misses Sabbath Pastorals Editor by Dayna Patterson Mormon Efforts at Dialogue.............33 Margaret Olsen Hemming Julia D. Hunter Goodness Gracious Awakenings Editor Jessica Steed Moving Miracles...............................18 Book Review Linda Hoffman Kimball A Call to Care...................................35 Book Review Editor Laura McCune-Poplin Bee Farm.........................................19 Sariah Anne Kell Karen Rosenbaum Staff: Marci Anderson, D’Arcy Benincosa, Global Zion......................................36 Kristy Benton, Sylvia Cabus, Susan Chris- tiansen, Sariah Kell, Kendahl Millecam, Special thanks to Cassandra Barney, D’Arcy Benincosa, Kimberly Brock, Meghan Raynes, Jana Remy, Suzette Angela Clayton, Galen Dara, Sharron Evans, Sharon Furner, Smith, Heather Sundahl, Brooke Williams Aimee Evans Hickman, Evan Tye Peterson, and Sandra Rembrandt for the use of their artwork in this issue. EXECUTIVE BOARD President Submissions to Exponent II Barbara Streeper Taylor We welcome personal essays, articles, poetry, fiction, and book reviews for consider- ation. Please email submissions to [email protected] or mail them to Expo- Historian nent II, 2035 Park Avenue, Baltimore, MD 21217. Please include your name and contact Cheryl DiVito information. Submissions received by mail will not be returned. We are always looking for artwork and photography to accompany our writing. Members: Linda Andrews, Andrea Alex- Please send jpegs or gifs of art submissions to our email. If you are interested in illus- ander, Emily Clyde Curtis, Nancy Dredge, trating articles, please contact us for specific assignments. Judy Dushku, Karen Haglund, Evelyn Harvill, Sue Hawes, Margaret Olsen Hem- The purpose of Exponent II is to promote sisterhood by providing a forum ming, Aimee Evans Hickman, Linda Hoff- for Mormon women to share their life experiences in an atmosphere of trust man Kimball, Caroline Kline, Jana Remy, and acceptance. Our common bond is our connection to the Mormon Church Heather Sundahl, Barbara Streeper Taylor, and our commitment to women in the Church. The courage and spirit of Laurel Thatcher Ulrich women challenge and inspire us to examine and shape the direction of our lives. We are confident that this open forum will result in positive change. We publish this paper in celebration of the strength and diversity of women. Exponent II (ISSN 1094-7760) is published quarterly by Exponent II Incorporated, a non-profit corporation with no official connection with The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. Articles published represent the opinions of authors only and not necessarily those of the editor or staff. Letters to Exponent II or its editors and Sisters Speak articles are assumed intended for publication in whole or in part and may therefore be used for such purposes. Cover Art by Sharron Evans Cover Design by Aimee Evans Hickman Copyright © 2010 by Exponent II, Inc. All rights reserved. and Margaret Olsen Hemming Letter from the editors Remembering our Foremothers For the past two years, I’ve made a daily drive past a house that I desperately want to buy. It’s a 1940s original adobe ranch style home. Because of the adobe walls and the solid construction, the house is 15 degrees cooler than it is outside, even without any air conditioning. As anyone who has lived through an Arizona summer can attest, such insulation doesn’t exist in most of the buildings around here. This old house also has big original windows that look out onto the half-acre backyard, beautiful doorway arches, and mons’ early days of settlement. Sarah Hogan’s sacra- built-in bookcases in every room. Every day I wonder ment talk, “Like Eve, All Women Have Choices,” why no one has snatched up this gem. uses the experiences of Eve, Emmeline B. Wells and I look at it with longing, realizing that as we live Ellis Shipp to illustrate how we, as women, can use in one of the bottom three states for home sales, it’s their examples to better understand and make our own doubtful we could sell our current home so we could choices in our lives. In his essay, “My Search for the move into this one. Even if we could, we don’t have Divine Feminine,” Ryan Thomas looks to writers in the time or money for the renovations that would be scripture to understand Heavenly Mother. As part of necessary on the adobe house—the plumbing, the our regular feature, “Exponent Generations,” Lorie long-neglected landscaping, and all those “little” de- Winder Stromberg’s 1979 Exponent II essay, “The tails that come with ownership of an older home. Sanctity Personality,” describes Edna Ericksen, a trail- One of the other reasons I want to buy this house is blazing Utah legislator in the mid 1930s. (Lorie was a because I fear it will be torn down. It’s the last of its 1970s feminist pioneer in her own right.) kind in the neighborhood, and I can’t help but think These pieces and their historical elements fit about how we’ll lose this piece of history to make way well with our other writers in this issue, women who for three (or four!) of the currently popular Spanish have the courage to share their contemporary sto- colonial McMansions with their impractically high ries, including Suzette Smith’s “My Faith’s Journey” ceilings, shoddy insulation, and nary a built-in book- and Kathy Weinzinger’s poem, “My Story.” In each case among them. of these pieces, we see women in search of ways to I see parallels between this historical house and our authentically experience their faith and ultimately Mormon feminist history. How often do we modern grow spiritually as they work through their personal Mormon feminists want to build something new and struggles. shiny without looking at the battles our foremothers There is power and knowledge to be gained in fought for us? What insight and beauty can be found reading the stories of the past and keeping them in in our feminist history? What “architectural” details mind as we record our own stories to share with pos- could we find in their writings to apply to our lives terity. Aimee and I hope you feel this energy and will today? be inspired to share your experiences (and those of Lately, I’ve begun to fear that I don’t look to the your foremothers) in Exponent II and not let them go past nearly enough, which is why I’ve been so happy the way of my beloved 1940s adobe ranch home. with this issue and its historical components. Cath- erine Wheelwright Ockey’s piece, “A Path Once - Emily Clyde Curtis, September 2010 Chosen” tells the story of her search for peace in the Church as she began to learn about the history of her Have a letter to the Editors or a submission for foremothers who lived in Kirtland during the Mor- Exponent II? Email us at [email protected]. Exponent II Page 3 sabbath PastoraLs Paul’s epistles (often called pastorals) strengthened early Saints and uplift followers today. Sabbath Pastorals highlights women preaching and teaching from the pulpit in wards around the world. Like Eve, All Women Make Choices Sarah Hogan Cambridge, Massachusetts ***** are very different from each other, The goal is a more both in circumstance and personali- Eve entered into mortal life with ty. In fact, I believe it is much more two clear goals: to gain knowledge abundant life. If we all difficult to see the clear path a righ- and to multiply and replenish the achieve that goal, we will teous woman should take than that earth. As her children, however, we all still be unique daugh- of a righteous young man. A young too often experience these as two ters of God, and we will man expects to progress through separate goals women must choose the priesthood, a concrete mea- between. Eve chose between eating all have found different sure of his spiritual development. and not eating the fruit. However, paths to get us there. He prepares to serve a mission at her role as nurturer and her desire nineteen, and “get all the education to grow and develop herself are ***** he can,” preparing for a career that clearly linked. She reflects on her will allow him to better his mind choice in Moses 5:11: “Eve... all; little children do have words and his situation in life. Young was glad, saying: Were it not for given to them many times, which women face a series of difficult our transgression we should never confound the wise and learned.” choices, and yet many of the things have had seed, and never should However, as we turn to the they may hope to accomplish prove have known good and evil, and scriptures specifically for a defini- to be beyond their control. I’d like the joy of our redemption...” And tion of what it means to be a righ- to tell you about a few women of Christ describes his redemption in teous woman, there are challenges.