by Sumer

Sorry I haven’t posted in a while, everyone. Crazy times, new job, but I’ll try to do better.

In my stake temple recommend earlier this month I was told that if I do not agree with the church’s position on gay marriage, that I am not worthy to attend the temple. At the time I told the interviewer that I really didn’t care if homosexuals got married or not, but I wasn’t going to be out protesting over it. It was quite a long discussion, with me over and over again saying that I didn’t care about the issue. (If you’re curious, it occurred around the question of you affiliate with or agree with anyone whose practices are contrary to the teachings of the church).
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Calling all fMh goddesses! In honor of exploring and celebrating our divine nature, please take the following quiz and report back here. Disclaimer–anyone coming up with a ‘Hera’ designation will defer to fMh Lisa, the True Hera, and the Supreme fMh Goddess Queen. We must not invoke her wrath.

Greek Goddesses: Which Goddess Are You Ruled By?

If you don’t want to be a Greek goddess, necessarily, then take this quiz: The Love Goddess Personality Quiz
(I was Oshun on this one)

And, so the guys don’t feel left out:

Greek Goddesses & Gods: So You Want to Be Divine?

I’m off to see my mom again. Gone for a week or so.

Taking the punks and the wagon and the kitchen sink. (leaving the dh, boo hoo) Maybe I’ll get a day or two locked in the basement without kids! I can dream, right?

I should be able get internet access at Mom’s so I’ll drop by but probably won’t be posting much. Luckily there will be plenty of fMh goddesses to keep things alive and kicking. (well, as alive as a body can be in the dreaded month of August)

I’ll be driving through SLC and may be able to hook up with a few of you! Woo Hoo, Good times ahead!

I was reading the Salt Lake Tribune today, the journalistic anti-christ of Utah Mormons until a few years ago, when they were bought out by new management. In honor of Utah’s celebration of Pioneer Day, they’ve been doing a number of LDS-related articles, with one rather thought-provoking one (for me), entitled “Keeping members a challenge for LDS church.”

The article begins:

The claim that Mormonism is the fastest-growing faith in the world has been repeated so routinely by sociologists, anthropologists, journalists and proud Latter-day Saints as to be perceived as unassailable fact.
The trouble is, it isn’t true.
Today, The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints has more than 12 million members on its rolls, more than doubling its numbers in the past quarter-century. But since 1990, other faiths - Seventh-day Adventists, Assemblies of God and Pentecostal groups - have grown much faster and in more places around the globe.
And most telling, the number of Latter-day Saints who are considered active churchgoers is only about a third of the total, or 4 million in the pews every Sunday, researchers say.

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A Few Days ago Aleesha asked:

I’m the personal progress leader in my ward. I think the projects that
are already in the manual are good and worthy to accomplish. What are
some ideas and projects you would suggest for each of the values. I
would love to get more ideas for my benefit and the girls. Thank You!

We decided wouldn’t it be fun FMH group project to make a Feminist Personal Progress?

This Week’s Value is Faith.

Oh! Oh! This is going to be good!

One of my daily treats is listening to NPR news on the way to the Gym in the morning. It only works about half the time, the other half, I’m roped into telling “Bad Guy Stories” or the kids demand TMBG No!

Other than an occational web news surf, NPR is my only contact with the outside world.
Hearty doses of news are just one more thing that have been cut in my effort to survive.
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I knew I’d been living in my own little world lately, but I’m ashamed to admit, I’d heard nothing about this famine in Niger until today.

“The situation is desperate. Even the limited food that is available has soared in price, rendering it unaffordable for most families, and there is no hope of any harvest for at least three months,” said Natasha Kafoworola Quist, an Oxfam spokeswoman.

The United Nations first appealed for assistance for Niger in November and got almost no response. Another appeal for $16 million in March got about $1 million. The latest appeal on May 25 for $30 million has received about $10 million.

Every day that the world’s richest countries look the other way, more people face starvation. They have to put their hands in their pockets before it’s too late,” added Quist.

Please Donate to Unicef or Oxfam

Over the last two days, my life has been filled by my friend’s tragedies. One friend’s son was injured in a freak accident and his life hangs by a thread. Another just separated from her husband after years of struggle. Another just found out that his wife has a life-threatening disease and the odds are against her.

My question is to those of you who have been through things like this looking back . . .
What do I say?
What helps?
What doesn’t?

I have been thinking, again, about why ‘feminism’ is such a bad word to so many people. One reason is, obviously, the residual reputation of belligerent feminists across the decades, and that reputation has become a recognized face, if not the only one, of the movement. It also makes for a nice, easy target for other belligerently-minded people to aim for.

Some of it is misunderstanding or polarization of what feminism is (which, of course, varies by feminist): what its goals are, what it does for women, what it does to women, how it affects society, how it affects families, and how it affects the lives of men, who’ve been pretty well running the show for time immemorial. Pretty well running, at least, by some people’s perspective….

However, I think a big part of the issue is the ‘strong woman’, which, whatever your take on the f-word, you probably associate it with strong women. (more…)

All you really need to know about Artemis is that she is a powerful and vengeful goddess and she will slaughter your children if you brag about them too much. No wait . . . wrong Artemis.

Har. Why do I think I’m funny?

Anyway, I’ve invited Artemis to join us. FMH will be her first bloggern experience, ah the innocence lost. Yes, I am proud to corrupt, thank you. (more…)

Whereas: It is already the middle of July.
Whereas: August comes next
Whereas: It is impossible to say anything good about August

Be it now resolved that bookclub will held next on the First Tuesday of September.

Whereas: Getting a hat and snips of paper takes work.
Whereas: I’m too lazy to do more work.
Whereas: Artemis is a frightening and powerful goddess.
Whereas: Artemis wants to read Mama Day!! by Gloria Naylor.

Be it now resolved that we will read Mama Day. (245 copies from $.45 at Amazon.)

Artemis will be in charge.

(J, will you show me how to put up a picture?)
Thanks J, You’re a peach!

This is just a gentle reminder to read and follow the “FMH comment policies” before you comment. LB

It’s a lot like being short.

No matter how hard I try, I can’t really hide the fact that I’m short.

All my life, people will look down at me for it, except those people who realize how truly immaterial it is. I’m sure, with some people, it’s the first (or only) thing they think of when they see me, but they never mention it, and I feel as if I’m not allowed to talk about it. If I did, the widows would gasp, the young mothers would cover their childrens’ ears, and someone in the bishopric would stiffen his lip, shake his head, and hastily scribble something in his notebook. I would get approached by at least half a dozen people afterwards, politely correcting my rudeness, or impolitely correcting my beliefs.

I’m sick of not being able to talk about it.

Some people think I’m short because of my genes; others think it’s
because I didn’t drink enough milk as a kid, or I had some kind of sports injury, or my parents smoked and stunted my growth, or what-have-you. But the truth is, it doesn’t matter. As an adult, there is nothing I can do to get those inches back. Nothing. Being gay is a lot like being short.
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I got two guest-post submissions about stay at home dads, so I’m going to post them both together!LB

Jenna Writes:

This is my issue {and I am sure many other people have it too}.

It turns out that I am not so good at staying at home with my one child. It turns out that my husband is. I have ambition, am worldly, and he is too much of an idealist to function outside of any rarefied world. (more…)

Not a lot of participation. But still, I had fun.

Dead or Alive?

I’ve been highly annoyed by various commenters, (deleted) at Rebekah’s Mormon Feminism Post.

I should be used to it already. Their opinions are the exact same ones I’ve been hearing my whole life, raised by conservative Mormons in Utah. Surrounded by conservative Mormons everyday of my life. Having even been a conservative myself back when I was young, smug, and ignorant. (not that they are necessarily related.) (But then again . . . )
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J’s must-read Mormonism and feminism post at BCC.

My little Sunbeam Blossom, my oldest, is giving her first talk in Primary on Sunday. Sorry to say we have not written it yet and every time I think about writing and practicing it I feel overwhelmed and ignorant. (everything makes me feel this way at present)

Well it’s Friday and there’s no avoiding it any more.

I know there are tons of you out there who’ve done this a million times.

How do we write a talk on Baptism and Repentance that a four-year-old can both understand and give? What stratigies do you use to draw your child into the process? Are there any tools for helping her become (at such a young age) comfortable and confident in front of an audiance? I’d also really love specific pointers for content.

Another letter to the Ensign — don’t worry I didn’t write it … (more…)

Spoiler Alert: If you have not finished this book and would like the twists at the end to remain a mystery then avoid this discussion.

Oh yeah, and hurry up. This is going to be fun!

S

P

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I was too young to remember Ronald Regan appointing O’Conner to the Supreme Court. But I do remember quite clearly zeroing in on her picture in my seventh grade civics book.

Just the idea of her was that important to me. As a politically-minded (but still woefully ignorant) teenager, my awareness of the Supreme Court focused on her, for most of my young life she was the only Supreme Court Justice I could have named. (more…)

Tuesday the 5th will be our discussion of Tepper’s Gate to Women’s Country.

Get reading people.

Also . . . if you have any discussion questions, please submit them here! See ya Tuesday.