"I'm a feminist theologian who was excommunicated and I'd been a Gnostic Christian for 15 years. I didn't know where to start. We let Christ, the living bridge be the bridge between us. We didn't presume to come from our own perspectives. You know, I was saying things like. "Well, you know, I was excommunicated. Do we need to go back and revisit all of that?" And they said, "No, no. All we care about is your relationship with Christ. Tell us about your faith and your relationship with Christ and with God." And so I did and we just turned it over to God and prayed and then it was beautiful. This is what's hard for a lot of my friends and a lot of feminists to understand. Like, was I recapitulating? Was I surrendering? Was I giving up my feminism? No. They never asked me to recant or give up anything. We were exploring a new relationship between feminists and church leaders. I saw them as my brothers. They were like pillars. They were so loving and so kind, and it was just utterly healing."

00:00 Excommunicated over Women's Studies

04:39 Maxine's Historical and Theological Journey

15:00 Excommunication and Its Impact

20:26 Exploring Other Faiths and Gnostic Christianity

32:10 Divine Feminine in LDS Doctrine

35:03 Returning to the Church

38:09 Feminism and Healing

46:58 Experiencing the Body of Christ

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Come Back Team:

Director, Founder, & Host: Ashly Stone

Editor: Cara Reed

Outreach Manager: Jenna Carlson

Assistant Editor: Michelle Berger

Assistant Editor: Britt Smallze

Art Director: Jeremy Garcia

Production Director: Trent Wardwell

Maxine Hanks discusses mormon feminism, excommunication, and finding her way back to the LDS church