Sunday, August 2, 2020

A Place to Belong: Reflections from Modern Latter-day Saint Women

These collections of essays from women were so inspiring. I've wondered, if I was given the opportunity to write my story, what would it look like? What would be my contribution? 
I really appreciate each stories' journey and how listening to the Spirit is the number one thing. Every woman's experience is unique and only she can know what the Lord wants from her. That could mean working outside the home, pursuing more education, or staying at home. If anything, it forged a desire to 'Hear Him' more. They not only gave me the push to learn but also to fortify my faith. Because in each one, their faith in God was everything to them. 

Since this was only compatible to read on my phone rather than my kindle, I want to jot down the quotes so I don't forget. 

"When unattainable stereotypes are replaced with flesh-and-blood lives of complexity, struggle, and faith, the potential for real connection and for confidence in our individulatiy is multiplied." Intro p. 17

"Ambiguity is a cause for celebration becasue over and over it invites us to seek revelation from God." Virginia Pearce Cowley p. 25

"I called myself a feminist and felt divine approval for doing so....Today I define feminism as a dedication by women and men to pursue changes that will acknowledge the full humanity of women, promote women's educational and spiritual development as agents, and encourage women's full participation in society. I plant myself hopefully within this feminism's borders." Kate Holbrook p. 65 and 69

"And that is the irony-the very things that might keep us out of some circles of religious fellowship are the very things needed for pulling others back in." Andrea G. Radke-Moss p. 120

"We must strive to choose the culture of Christ...If we are not careful, society will influence our Church culture and the way we treat each other." Alice Brobbey p. 130 and 131

"Here is the wisdom of the tree: some branches must push away from the trunk to find the sun." Rosalynde Welch p. 141

"I am bolstered by the image of them. These imagined women who are not named, not even hinted at in word, are notable to me in part becasue I have to believe that in all my own plainness in this world, I am still notable to my Heavenly Parents...I am continually moved when I read the scriptures at the ability and insistence that Christ had for making what was typically not notable, notable...Again and again Jesus offers dignity to people in situations where the law offers only judgement." Ashley Mae Hoiland p. 150, 152, 153

"I hope that you, like Wells, will see the beautiful 'and' at the center of your spiritual life. That you are a daughter of God and an independent spirit. That you may choose to be a future mother and a future business owner and artist and medical professional and writer and politician and teacher and accountant. That you can choose to do one of those things or several or something else entirely." Neylan McBaine p. 197

"As it turns out, nurture encompasses more than motherhood. It also includes nurturing our dreams." Jeanette W. Bennett p. 210

"We have the privilege to seek our own illumination about how to conscioulsy 'make it your own' when it comes to family, career, and so many other aspects of life." Kate Harline p. 252

"Rilke implores his protege to 'have patience with everything unresolved in your heart. Try to love the questions themselves, like locked rooms and like books written in a foreign language...It is a question of experiencing everything. At present, you need to live the question. Perhaps you will gradually, without even noticing it, find yourself experiencing the answer, some distant day.' I recognize in Rilke's words something of the same God who spoke to me that night. To truly live the questions means not only tolerating the anxiety of the unknown, but actively leaning into it with both acceptance and hope." Michelle Lee p. 257

"I am deeply grateful for the ways that Latter-day Saint culture decentered me simply because that experience motivated me all the more to seek the Savior and to establish a relationship to the divine that I might never have felt I needed or known was possible if I had the comfort of fitting in easily to Church social life. Deidre Nicole Green p. 281 

'''The Lord can only teach an inquiring mind.''' Norma Calabrese Salerno p. 309

The book can be summed up with this quote from Sis Beck that was used so often: "The ability to qualify for, receive, and act on personal revelation is the single most important skill that can be acquired in this life."

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