Today I’ve been thinking about women. One day I was teaching Seminary (religious instruction for youth) and a visiting teenaged girl said, “I could never be a part of your church–they oppress and subjugate women.” Her friend next to her burst out laughing and said, “Wow, you know nothing about Sister Boyack!” (that’s me) I told her the following – “I’m serving on the City Council, I’m an attorney and I’ve published many books and speak all over the country. And I have created and lead several organizations. People ask where I learned how to do to all this — and I always say Church!” I explained that I learned how to lead an organization –at Church! I learned how to speak publicly (they started us as 3 year olds!) at Church! I learned how to express my opinions, learned how to make an argument and back it up with fact, learned how to analyze, learned how to work with a team, learned how to deal with people who disagreed with me, learned how to organize events and initiatives and on and on–all at CHURCH.
I belong to the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints where we are taught that women are powerful — they are destined to become Heavenly Mothers (we believe God is married), and to create worlds without number. We are taught that we have a powerful gift to be co-creators with God, that our work matters, that we have a voice. We are given opportunities to lead organizations and people. We are taught that we are part of a worldwide effort to improve mankind. We are taught that our work as mothers and grandmothers and sisters is of immense worth.
Compare that to what the world/society teaches — they would teach me that I came from a monkey! They teach me to avoid motherhood through abortion. They teach me that my work is of no value unless I’m getting paid for it. They teach me that the men in my life are worthless. They teach me that being feminine is bad and weak.
You tell me . . . which message is EMPOWERING. Are you kidding me? My faith teaches me that I am eternal, of immense worth, have an incredible work to do, and that I am destined to be a God.
Oppressed? Subjugated? Downright laughable.
