I am a mother, wife, and professor. My family, both immediate and extended, means everything to me. I married a wonderful and faithful Catholic man, and have one daughter and another on the way. I was raised in a faithful LDS home—My dad’s family descended from Utah pioneers, and my mom converted in her teenage years. Faith was an important part of my growing up years and continues to be so.
To me, Mormonism means community and family. As my faith has evolved, one thing has remained constant— my faith in Jesus Christ as my Savior, brother and friend. This faith has sustained me through the years as I have felt the sting of gender inequality and the sense that I do not fit the role assigned to me by the gender essentialism of the Church.
In professional and community contexts outside of church, I feel empowered by my womanhood. In church contexts, I noticeably shrink within myself. I do not believe this is what God wants for me. I believe that men and women complement each other, and that together we can be vessels of God’s love. I believe women should be ordained.