Activist, poet, author, exmormon.

From her book, "When Women Were Birds".

"Love is to life what life is to death. And so we risk everything trying to touch the ineffable by touching each other. Over and over. Again and again… Patterned behavior alternates like shadow and light… We can change, evolve, and transform our own conditioning. We can choose to move like water rather than be molded like clay. Life spirals in and then spirals out on any given day. It does not have to be one way, one truth, one voice. Nor does love have to be all or nothing."

More from The Marginalia.

https://www.themarginalian.org/2024/01/26/when-women-were-birds/?mc_cid=975c495a6b&mc_eid=9a45a1a005

"And so we risk everything trying to touch the ineffable by touching each other"

What do you risk by touching yourself?

The "...over and over.  Again and again..." really spoke to me!  I could almost reach out and touch it.

There's always Levi love.

Tribe of Levi, represent!!

I like this part:


Twinker Wrote:
-------------------------------------------------------
> "It does not have to be one way, one truth, one
> voice."


Thanks for this Twinker. I will enjoy reading it all.

I met her once (2004) and spoke with her when she was visiting the East Coast for a lecture. We shared some stories about common family locations in Utah. She thought it probable that some of her family had worked with some of my cousins. But, most of all, I remember her comment about Mormonism - "It's in your blood." I didn't feel the same, but my family of origin wasn't as immersed in that faith.

Based on her work and writing, I think she keeps a carefully balanced peace with her Mormon history and strongly Mormon family. She has stretched the cord far, but never let it break. She is very gifted and quite remarkable, but not necessarily as a role model for exmormonism.



Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 01/30/2024 06:16PM by fischfrei.

Interesting. It seems that she received some criticism for sounding "brittle" with respect to her faith crises as expressed in her poetry.

It must be hard to be a poet AND a Mormon. How does one express truth?

She and her husband have basically opted out. They decided against kids, which is as defining a distinction as any I can imagine. So far they appear to have been granted a hall pass.

Perhaps because she is famous.

Fame certainly helps to buffer her. And her passion - which I find sincere - is environment. That is a safer controversy than if she had challenged the church directly. I don't think she feels called to that challenge. I think she truly honors her ancestors, particularly the female ones. And her writing is exquisite, but somewhat erudite. I think many garden variety Mormons, if they knew of her at all, would not feel threatened by her.

I remember a recent article she wrote about the Great SLC, the shrinking boundaries of its shore line, and the environmental devastation. Part of the article gave kudos to the LDS church for turning over some of its water rights to the lake basin. Given what they own, it was paltry, but it made them look good. Appearance is everything. (One could question why a church even owns and controls water rights, but the article didn't go there.)



Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 01/30/2024 06:15PM by fischfrei.

I'm a big fan of hers and have written about here a number of times. The book Refuge, a particular favorite, is largely about the wetlands along the shore of the GSL.

And I'm also a fan of her insistence she is Mormon. As EOD sagely observed, those of us who spent decades in the church will always be Mormon culturally if not religiously. And I have no interest in conceding the word to the LDS church.

Lot’s Wife, I agree with you about cultural Mormonism - it is a version of non observant Jews who refer to themselves as secular Jews. Early training always leaves a marker.
Refuge was a wonderful book. When I met her it was at a literary fund raiser in a small city. She also spent time talking to my never mo husband who is a pathologist. She spoke of the cancer in her family. Her brother was then struggling with testicular cancer, and other female relatives has died from breast cancer. Her trauma was visible.
I don’t know if the family medical history is why she chose to remain childless. But being childless protected her from confronting Mormonism in some ways. I know her decision was questioned, but she did not have to face the questions of how one raised children in that community.

I think you are right on all scores, fischfrei.

I read an interview in which she said that the family history was a major reason behind the decision not to have children but that she and her husband also wanted to maintain their personal freedom as well.

Of course, freedom and autonomy are synonymous and, as you note, once a woman or a couple opt out of the most fundamental Mormon behavior they have effectively declared their independence. I suspect that if they'd had some of the bishops and stake presidents that my family has encountered, they would have been forced to act more decisively.

But I respect their choice and am glad it has worked out well for them. This is one of those rare instances in which the church, consciously or unwittingly, have handled matters wisely.

In conversation with fellow environmentalist Tim DeChristopher (yes, the jailed bidder-upper guy), Terry Tempest Williams revealed how her ‘mormon shelf’ broke:

“You know, I was raised Mormon, and a belief in Jesus Christ was an important component of my upbringing—even though there are those religious scholars who say Mormonism is not a Christian religion. But for me there really was a moment. I was teaching on the reservation, steeped in Navajo stories. In doing my thesis research, I came across Marie-Louise von Franz’s book Creation Myths. Among the many creation narratives, there was the story of Changing Woman in the Navajo tradition; there was Kali in the Hindu tradition; and then there was Adam and Eve. And I remember thinking, That’s blasphemous. Those are myths, but the story of the Garden of Eden is true. And then I thought, Really? Is that so? And it led me down this path of inquiry, not so much for meaning, but for understanding: What are the stories that we tell? You know, what are the stories that move us forward culturally? What are the stories that keep us in place? What are the stories that actually perpetuate the myths of a dominant culture or the subjugation of women? In the Book of Mormon, indigenous people are referred to as “Lamanites.” Suddenly, the doctrine I had been raised with was exposed as a form of racism. Or to say that African Americans were not worthy of the priesthood … issues of social justice rose to the fore. And I thought, I cannot, in good conscience, believe this. I felt like the scaffolding had been knocked out from under me.”

—Terry Tempest Williams—
—Erosion: Essays of Undoing—

Thank you, Human.  It was a very enjoyable read.

The notion that "The gospel of Jesus Christ doesn't have to make sense" is repugnant.  Why would a loving ghawd give us 'intelligence' only to insist that we not use it when it comes to judging the bilge we're being asked to swallow?

There's a cartoon somewhere showing a frail, white-haired older woman, with a big butt, dressed 1950s style...  She's standing before ghawd and the angels, being 'judged.'  

The caption reads, "Oh, darn, Gladys!!  You screwed up the Second token, the sure sign of the nail!  I'm afraid you're going to have to spend eternity in a lower kingdom.  Please go see the court clerk..."







please excuse the "big butt" comment...it was for a good cause!

Jesus, those pants look great on you.

Human, I had not read that particular book as I had lost interest in her many years ago. I went to read reviews of this particular book and noticed most of them referred to its focus on environment. I know she is at Harvard Divinity School now. That is big league stuff and would make the LDS leaders proud to own that in some way - if at all. IMO, they would use such a connection to shore up LDS normalcy and prestige.
Since I haven't read the book you quote, I can only comment in a most limited way. But I noticed the focus on former LDS racism which even Mitt Romney has referred to. (For comparison, I wrote an essay on Mormon racism for my college English class in 1965 using , in part, the then still in print book "Mormonism and the Negro.).
I applaud her honesty and struggle. And she refers to the literalness of her belief in your quote. She clearly continued to learn and question.

For those who would like the 1960 point of view of mormonism regarding "The Negro" here's a link to the book:

https://archive.org/details/MormonismAndTheNegro/mode/2up?view=theater


Most of you are aware of the dad-blamed certainty expressed by pre-1978 church leaders regarding the matter.

Here's Gordie Hinckley in January 2002:

Question from a German journalist:  Until 1978 no person of color attained the priesthood in your church.  Why did it take so long to overcome the racism?

GBH:  I don't know.  I don't know.  I can only say that... (long pause) ...But it's here now.  (As he says the last phrase, he is seen twirling his right index finger in the air.) [I made up the finger twirling...it felt like the right thing to do!]

GBH:  We're carrying on a very substantial work in Africa, for instance, and in Brazil.  We're working among their people developing them.  We've had them among the leadership of the Church, and they're able to do a great work and we love them and appreciate them and we respect them and we are trying to help them."


Why did mormon ghawd allow his servants to live, serve, and reign in ignorance and error for so long, depriving so many of his children of their rightful due?

Did ghawd make the mistake or was it simply the unrestrained bigotry of people with no connection to ghawd, if he exists?



Yes, this will be on the RfM final exam...

https://www.exmormon.org/phorum/read.php?2,2468882,2468882#msg-2468882



Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 01/30/2024 11:28PM by Beth.

She's had PBS documentaries, articles in major newspapers a job from Harvard and numerous awards. I've never heard of her either but she doesn't appear to be obscure.

All of which has been discussed above.

But thank you for validating everyone else's contributions.