Re: No Help From Mormon Bishops on Abuse
Posted: Sun Feb 11, 2018 3:01 pm
I agree with the polygamy part. The "ghosts of polygamy" still haunt this church. The fact that D&C 132 is still canonized points directly to one indisputable fact about Mormon doctrine (at least in my mind): regarding the worth of souls, it takes multiple women to equal the worth of one man. And though the role of Mormon men in the after-life is well-modeled (by God, Jesus, the Brethren, etc.) the role of women is really reduced to carrying spirit children.Thoughtful wrote: ↑Sun Feb 11, 2018 1:11 am Everything seems to come back to tithing or polygamy. This seems to relate to both: culture of shame and silence, male domination and control, quiet wives not rocking the boat stay in church and continue to pay tithing.
The great brotherhood of the priesthood is a good old boys club, and fellow priesthood holders will take the man's side if they see one of their outwardly pious brothers attacked by allegations of spousal or child abuse. So there's also that.
No matter how "benevolent" the sexism of the Church tries to be, it can't get away from the ghosts of its past. And I think this is one of the reasons why it is so difficult for women to believe rhetoric about how important they are (coming from the Brethren).
I can't believe I used to think D&C 132 was such profound, mystical doctrine. It's not. It's gross and sexist and needs to go in the trash bin of history.