The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints – it’s certainly a mouthful to say. Commonly known as the Mormon Church, this organization has a unique, and some say biased, view one gender, the woman, and sexuality, and the views of the church on these subjects are not merely opinions, they are doctrine. Written in stone, not-ever-changing dogma.1
The first mention of woman in Mormon scripture is, like Christianity, the story of Adam and Eve from Genesis. Genesis 2:23 says, “And Adam said, ‘This is now bone of my bones, and flesh of my flesh: she shall be called Woman, because she was taken out of man.’” This is the first obvious point that distinguishes the role of woman in Mormonism. Not only is she created from man, but also is created for man, to be his forever. She is his property, because, according to the Bible, Adam was lonely.
But this is just the same as traditional Christian gender roles. What makes Mormonism different? Mormonism sprang up in the 1820’s in Palmyra, New York, with Joseph Smith, Jr. as its founder. His offer to followers was the belief in ancient Jews inhabiting the New World, who made a record that today we know as the Book of Mormon.2 The doctrinal similarities between the Book of Mormon and the Bible are very similar, but as the church pushed on, Joseph felt comfortable enough to start to throw in some new stuff – some controversial material like polygamy.
In the 3rd canonized book of scripture of the Mormon Church, the Doctrine and Covenants, in Section 132, Smith writes, “And again, as pertaining to the law of the priesthood – if any man espouse a virgin, and desire to espouse another, and the first give her consent [which is mandated], and if he espouse the second, and they are virgins, and have vowed to no other man, then is he justified; he cannot commit adultery with that that belongeth to him and no one else."
Obviously, this passage is loaded with a massive amount of discussion material. However, for brevity, let’s just discuss a few aspects of the passage. First and foremost, the most obvious message that sticks out is that man is above women. They are his, they are given to him, like objects, and they must consent to his bid for a polygamous marriage [or be “destroyed”].3 This puts into perspective the two gender roles played out in Mormon culture. Although the Church today officially and vigorously opposes polygamy, the belief that went with the polygamy passage remains unchanged. Women are still beneath the men in the Church.
Because of this one small section in one book, the entire way Mormon men and women live out their lives are written from the day they come into this world. Men will usually go on the mission when they are 19. They will almost always come back, pick a wife, and have more children than the average American. Their job is to work to provide for the family, to be fathers to preside over the household and their children. 4
Mormon women are expected to be first and foremost, mothers and wives. It is church doctrine to believe that the goal of a woman is to get married as soon as possible and bring as many children into the world as possible. They cannot act certain ways, because, according to the First Presidency of the Church, certain acts are unacceptable – homosexual relationships, being a feminist (or supporting for the ERA 5), abortion, pre-marital sex, masturbating, thinking of masturbating, swearing, etc. The list goes on and on – there are plethoras of ‘forbiddens’ in LDS Church. 6
The thing that is bothersome about this belief within Mormonism is the doctrine that forbids men and women to question their roles in society and within themselves. It is completely out of line to question church leadership and doctrine, and many are excommunicated because of it. Excommunicated, in most cases, from an institution that everybody they know is a part of, something that has been probably the most influential institution in their lives. Because the LDS Church paints what woman is and what men are, those who do not fit into that very narrow image are left to the sides, and in Mormon theology, those who do not marry and have children do not go to the highest degree of heaven, and are therefore written-off for eternity. 7
1 “Follow the Prophet” www.mormon.org
2 Testimony of the Prophet Joseph Smith. The Book of Mormon. Copyright Intellectual Reserve, Inc. 1985
3 Section 132:54. Doctrine and Covenants. Copyright Intellectual Reserve, Inc.* 2008
4 The Family: A Proclamation to the World. The First Presidency Copyright 2008 Intellectual Reserve, Inc.
5 Paker, Boyd K. The Equal Rights Amendment. Copyright 1977
6 The Commandments. www.mormon.org. <http://mormon.org/mormonor
7 Section 132:21. Doctrine and Covenants. Copyright Intellectual Reserve, Inc. 2008
