asriel and alex share notes from 2012 counterpoint conference (part 2)
Asriel: The Counterpoint Conference hosted by the Mormon Women’s Forum held at the University of Utah was a great event, with lots of thoughtful presentations. I didn’t go to the Mormon Women’s Conference that the Counterpoint Conference was intended to provide an alternate perspective to (Hannah’s notes from the conference are available), but hopefully these notes that Alex and I put together will be useful and interesting to some of the blog readers who weren’t able to attend the Counterpoint Conference (audio recordings from the Counterpoint Conference are available online).
(This post includes two parts – The Woman’s Body as a Political Battleground and Joanna Brooks’ acceptance speech after receiving the 2012 Eve Award)
The Woman’s Body as Political Battleground
Alex: Or, “Dominance by sex, medical science, materialism and capitalism, religious dictums on dress and appearance, and rape.”
–Katrina Barker Anderson–
Asriel: There was a story in the Friend about a 4 year old needing to be modest to go to the zoo. A father read this story to his daughter and she became obsessed with what clothes are modest/immodest.
The Friend has a modesty checklist that implies that if the girls aren’t modest, they shouldn’t feel comfortable around Jesus.
This obsession with modesty seems like a recent development—active members didn’t get this barrage a few years ago.
Modesty talk also justifies judging others. Modesty advocates claim girls that dress immodestly have no self esteem or accuse them of using their bodies for attention.
This judgmental attitude is justified by church literature. One Friend story tells of a girl shaming her friend into wearing leggings with her skirts.
Church teachings on modesty separates you from your own body.
Alex: My notes on Katrina Barker Anderson’s presentation were sparse. I enjoyed her sentiments surrounding embracing one’s body and also, yo, fuck the Friend. But there was also a bit of Islamophobia going on here and a few other strange thangs. All in all, respect to her agency but also respect to the agency of those who dictate their own appearance and dress, even if it happens to line up with garment lines.
–Susan Chasson–
Asriel: We need to stop judging rape victims rather than helping them. Are behaviors the disease or are behaviors a symptom? Susan sides with the second option.
Alex: I’ve worked with Susan Chasson before and just want to give shouts out to the Merrill-Gapmeyer Clinic and the Center for Women and Children in Crisis. Both are amazing educative as well as material resources for reproductive health, rape and sexual assault, and personal relationships in Utah Valley.
–Heather Stringfellow–
Asriel: She represents Planned Parenthood. Elder Oaks said abortion is evil, so working with Planned Parenthood in Utah can controversial. 99% of what they do at Planned Parenthood is reproductive health and sex education.
There are social and political benefits of birth control access.
Alex: Shouts out, also, to Planned Parenthood Utah.
Points from the Q&A:
(Each portion of the conference ended with a panel of that portion’s speakers responding to audience questions.)
Asriel: The modesty argument that men are unable to control themselves around “immodesty” becomes self-fulfilling prophecy.
The Eve Award was presented to Joanna Brooks.
The following are Alex’s notes on Joanna Brooks’ acceptance speech.
Alex:
- Mormon feminism is not just an abstraction but a living commitment through relationships and communities.
- Fear is not the end of feminism, nor is it the end of faith.
- Tension is productive and life-giving (in proportion).
- Wisdom, loss, and freedom go hand-in-hand, as do sex, laughter, and experience.
- Our hearts are not treasonous to God.
- As long as I tell the truth without malice, it’s good. It’s what God wants.
- Of course you’ll be afraid but you look the fear in the face and you move on.
- We need more books. We need more writing. We need current resources for the present and next generations.
- It’s time for more people. It’s time for more voices.
- “I’m not representative of anything.”
One Response to “asriel and alex share notes from 2012 counterpoint conference (part 2)”
Accusation #1. Mormons believe all non memrbes to be satanic. Answer: this is false. We believe that there are many hood people all over the world who are not LDS.2: we do not believe God is an alien. We believe he is the literal father of our spirits, as stated in the new testament.3:temples. Um.. You must be a trmple recommend holder to enter the temple. Which means that not even all Mormons can enter unless they are worthy. However, regular church buildings welcome everyone who wishes to come inside. It is even stared in large print on the outside of each chapel.4:no factual basis for book of Mormon claims.Actually, there have been several archaeological findings that support those claims.5:tithing gets you to the highest heaven. No, tithjng gets you the privilege of helpinthose around you, and allows you to enter the temple. (part of getting a recommend.)also, the amount of people that you convert, or not, has no bearing on hour standing in the church’s eyes or in your place in heaven. You do not earnsqlvation by bringing more people into the church. However, It becometh every man who hath been warned to warn his neighbor. . As stated in the old testament.Oh, and God does love everyone.next: god forgives all. This is true, to the extent that they trpent, and obey his laws.he is perfect in mercy, and perfect in justice. If a person has sinned, and not repented. How can god allow mercy to rob justice? Not repenting is like telling Christ that you do t need the atonement. That you are above it. No one except Christ is perfect. God cannot allow the law of justice, punishment for sin, to be robbed by the law of mercy, forgiveness through true repentance and acceptance of Christ through our actions. (answering Jesus’ call to follow me. )When we repent, god forgives us, and forgets it ever happened. But, only on conditions of a true repentance.Next:what do you have against the aLDS church that you slander us by making false accusations as to the church political agenda? Mitt ri.ney is first and foremost a human being. It is Truely sad that you think the church has anything to do with the government. Christ said that his kingdom I’d not of this world. Meaning the world? Secular things. The church of Jesus Christ of Latterday Saints still follows that statement. We abide by the laws, and participate in the political process as good citizens should do. Our choices in that field are our own. In fact, every presidential election the church leadership sends out a letter to the congregations to participate as WE DEEM FIT. They don’t encourage one way or the other, just that we do our duty as citizens of the U.S.. True, the I’m a Mormon ads are meant to show us in a bette might, but only because there seem to be so many people out there who,like you, have many misconceptions about us and think we are not normal people.Next:Mormons view non memrbes as inferior. This is false. Utterly and blatantly false. We view nonmemrbes as children of god, who are trying to live their lives as well as they can, with the knowledge of god that they have. Like I said before. There are many good people outside of the church. As for heaven. Well. The way that we look at it, there are 3 places you can go, as stated in Corinthians, the lowest place is for those who did not keep the commandments of god, and didn’t repent of their sins. The next is for those who lived good lives, and were good people, but did not accept Christ fully, and the last is for those who kept all of god’s commandments and repented and fully accepted Christ and his teachings.Next: Bible and Book of zmormon contradicts.Um Have you ever actually read the book of Mormon? The only contradictions that you could find are ones that you would have had to make up. The teachings live up to a tee in biymth books. I ask you to give a single instance where doctrine taught in one book contradicts fortune in the other.Lastly, the temple garment is a reminder of the covenants or promises that we have made with God. If you made a promise with gos that effected your eternal payh from that time forward, wouldn’t you want something special to remind you? Something that you have with you all day, evey day? The purpose of the garment is just that. And i am truly grateful for it. It reminds me to keep myself moral, and pure. So that God will be pleased withHow i have used his gifts of life and a body.Now, i know that you have your religion, and i respect that, whatever it may be. As stated in The Articles of Faith. (written by Joseph Smit.). Ww claim the privilege of worshiping almighty god according to the dictates of our own conscience, and allow all men the same privilege, let them worship how where, or what they may. As for missionaries, they wish to force no one to believe anything. They just want to share what they have learned for themselves. Again the old testament: it becometh evey man who hath been warned, to warn his neighbor.And to sum it all up, to truly state the integral beliefs of the church: We believe in being honest, true, chaste, benevolent, virtuous, and in doing good to all me; indeed we may say that we follow the admonition of Paul We believe all things, we hope all things, we have endures many things and we hope to be able to endure all things. If there is anything virtuous, lovely, of good report or praiseworthy, we seek after these Things. oh, and I am not mad at you, though my post might seem a tad defensive. I just want to clarify the misconceptions you have. It makes mrme sad to see do many people trying to tear down the church because they just go along with what the people around them say.Thank you for your time.Your friend. +1Was this answer helpful?