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Most Helpful Customer Reviews
6 of 7 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
Heavy and detailed - however empowering,
This review is from: God the Mother: And Other Theological Essays (Paperback)
I bought Allred's book because I miss writings by women in LDS and also because I have read about Allred and her excommunication (henceforth shortened excomm'tion). I thought that the book was a compilation by several authors (yes, I should have checked it more before buying it!) but it wasn't, and it was not at all disappointing. The book contains essays written by Allred both when in the church and outside. Reading them I could not understand why she was excomm'ed, maybe because I am not LDS, but she wasn't the kind of "apostate" which has denounced the truths of LDS. On the contrary, the whole book cites the teachings of the prophets, modern and ancient, mostly Joseph Smith. The book has lengthy quotes from Book of Mormon and Doctrine and Commandments. It has some quotes from non-LDS theologians, which fit into the context. This is a faith promoting book for anyone, being LDS or non.
What she does with every essay - I am not going thru them, cause 1) they should read ben not rendered 2) I have to read them once more - is to break up conventional understanding of concpets, such as orthodoxy, faith, doubt, god, equality, difference, women-/manhood etc. She does it very well in the first essay, the one about orthodoxy, which I felt so happy about. Her essays are so constructive, they are written in a welcoming way, whatever your religious colour maybe (ie conservative, liberal, atheist) you follow her reasoning and she is so careful not to be misunderstood. This is very good done, but I did get bored, when I read quote after quote, and especially when some essays like those about pride, feels so wordy - as Book of Mormon can be or a review by FARMS! - you get tired and want to come to the point. However, she has to do it, because she is dealing with very sensitive issues! I am Swedish Lutheran, I have a female priest and bishop in the congregation and don't believe in virgin birth nor resurrection, but I am accepted just as I am, when my priest is just so conservative she can be. The LDS church doesn't want - it seems - to be enrichened by its members, but being like the Zoramites of Book of Mormon, having enchanting melodies and liturgies adn dogmas .... (Book of Mormon, Alma 31:12 -24) Jane Allred has a positive view of theology, of faith and of creating a relationship to god without having it created. She is encouraging every one of us to go inside ourselves, look for the spirit of the words and not their literal dictionary definition - always following the teachings of the prophet, read for example Joseph Smith's King Folett speech which illumines this side and which Allred also quotes from. Her effort to open a theology about God the Mother, which put her in an awkward position and finally got her excomm'ed, is brave. She uses a very strong symbolism in her argumentation and I felt reading the minutes of the council of Nicea, 325 AD/CE, when theologians tried to define trinity. The outcome of her essay is that we should distance ourselves from a male-influenced language and view of divinity. Because the LDS believe in a humanlike god-couple, it is easier to find Mother God in it. For me as protestant, who believes in a fuzzy sort of a divinity, gender doesn't matter, but language does. This is a very theological essay about woman-/manhood and divinity, I felt empowered as a man to read it. She has good points. It is a pity that LDS couldn't embrace Allred among its 15 millions members. LDS history is filled with excomm'tions of very intelligent and god-loving people (besides Fawn Brodie :-) and what it shows is that there are a few among the council of seventy, the twelve apostles who are welcoming people like Allred, but in a consensus driven church it is not always easy. The church has changed, when David O McKay was president, being evolution-friendly or supporting open priesthood wasn't that fashionable, but he himself was a evolution-friend and a supporter of open priesthood. There are I believe men in these councils who have been touched by Mother God and her prophetess, Jane Allred. The question is when will they dare come out? Thank you Jane, I think that even though you are excomm'ed, the temple blessings, the faith and support of Mother and Father god has never left you and never will!
5.0 out of 5 stars
A CHALLENGING WORK OF "MORMON FEMINISM",
By
This review is from: God the Mother: And Other Theological Essays (Paperback)
Janice Allred was one of the "September Six" who were excommunicated (or in one case, disfellowshipped) from the Mormon Church in September 1993; this book is the main incident which resulted in her disciplinary action being taken.She wrote in the Introduction to this 1997 book, "In the essays that follow I take a new approach to theology, which I call constructive theology... To characterize constructive theology, I will compare and contrast it to orthodox, scholarly, and philosophical theology... For orthodox theology revelation is authoritative; for constructive theology it is a resource for exploration... It should be apparent that the scholarly approach is integral to constructive theology... What I am implying is that every Mormon should be a constructive theologian... The essays collected in this book were written over a period of about sixteen years... to explore and answer questions that have engaged and troubled me... My reason for writing them was to explore and give form to my own understanding and to offer my insights to others in the hope that someone might find them helpful." Here are some additional quotations from the book: "I reject the idea that women's traditional roles are God-given..." (Pg. 23) "I believe that God the Mother is equal to God the Father in divinity, power, and perfection. I believe that God, both Father and Mother, are deeply involved in our mortality and immortality." (Pg. 43) "Should we pray to the Mother? Although we are not commanded to pray to her, we are commanded to pray with her." (Pg. 67) "I fear that we Mormons are uncomfortable with the idea of self-abasement... We have aspired to be God so long that it is hard to remember how wide the gap is between us and him." (Pg. 126) "I believe these words constitute the essence of what Protestants mean when they ask if we are saved, but the questions we are more likely to hear as Mormons are, 'Are you active?' 'Do you keep the commandments?' 'Do you hold a temple recommend?' 'Do you sustain the Brethren?'" (Pg. 146) "I have tried to show that authoritarianism is incompatible with the principles of freedom and grace and that a church founded on the gospel of Jesus Christ is connected to him primarily through his spirit in the hearts and minds of each member." (Pg. 218)
9 of 14 people found the following review helpful:
4.0 out of 5 stars
Great book for any Mormon or spiritualist-thought provoking!,
By
This review is from: God the Mother: And Other Theological Essays (Paperback)
This text covers many subjects and topics that are very relevant to me both as a Mormon and a woman. I think anyone interested in theological studies would enjoy it although it does rely heavily upon the Book of Mormon so traditionalists may be turned off. It is written at a high-level of language, which is the only reason I did not give it 5 stars. You really have to work and think to read this text, it is not a light or "fun" read by any stretch of the imagination. It is however, worthwhile. Very challenging and made me reassess many of my preconcieved notions of truth about the church but in a completely positive and not "anti" Mormon way. It is clear she has deep faith as well as courage to say what she believes.
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