Send us a Positive Review!

Series Title: Analysis of Ezra Taft Benson's "To the Mothers in Zion" Infamous Address [Part I of II]

This week on Latter Day Struggles we are diving into an address that rocked the worlds of many women in The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints.  The talk?  “To the Mother’s in Zion” given by Ezra Taft Benson clear back in 1987.  This talk became a sort of priesthood-directed “Mormon motherhood position statement” for all women of the church for several decades.

To say the very least, it made its mark on thousands of women during this era and beyond.

In today’s episode Valerie offers a truckload of VERY SIGNIFICANT context that will help each of us better understand the reasons for this heavy-handed mandate for women to stay in the home.  Some of the context addressed in this episode includes:

•  Historical issues that informed Benson’s stance (the Red Scare, the sexual revolution, the feminist movement, the civil rights movement)
•  The LDS church’s longing to achieve “in-group” status with the Christin conservative Right after a century of polygamy-induced shunning
•  The LDS church’s commitment to codified gender roles in an effort prevent the spread of homosexuality 
•  Benson’s own involvement in the ultra-conservative John Birch Society 

In FRIDAY’S episode, Valerie and friend and colleague Julie Hanks together walk through their own formative years as LDS girls and how this talk impacted them personally. They also jump into the address itself and talk about several sections from a psychological, spiritual, and relational health standpoint.   Link to "To the Mother's of Zion" talk: https://emp.byui.edu/satterfieldb/pdf/tomothersofzion.pdf

Support the show

**More sensitive or more psychologically advanced themes are saved for paid Friday episodes to protect the content creators from being mischaracterized by less familiar consumers.**

LEARN HOW TO SUBSCRIBE TO FRIDAY EPISODES
(Watch a 2-minute how-to video)

THEN subscribe to Fridays here.

TROUBLE WITH YOUR SUBSCRIPTION?
Email: support@buzzsprout.com

CONSULTING: Interested in doing individual or couples work with Valerie or a member of her trained team? Time-limited packages with Valerie and extended work with her team of coaches and therapists are available ⁠⁠here!⁠

SUPPORT GROUPS: Next support & processing group coming March 2025. To register/learn more, visit here.

OFFICE HOURS FOR FRIDAY SUBSCRIBERS: Register here.

CLASSES: Visit our library.

SUPPORT: Make a one-time donation to ⁠her business Venmo...