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Queering Kinship in the Mormon Cosmos
Exploring the intersections of gender, sexuality, and kinship within the context of Latter-day Saint theology and history, this provocative book theorizes the Mormon faith's complex relationship with heteronormativity and its history of anti-LGBTQ teaching and practice. Taylor G. Petrey delves into both traditional and contemporary interpretations of Mormon teachings, challenging conventional views by proposing that Mormonism, despite its conservative leanings, contains elements that can be reinterpreted through a queer lens. Petrey reexamines and resignifies Mormon cosmology through the lens of queer theory, offering a fresh perspective on divine relationships, gender fluidity, and the concept of kinship itself. Petrey's work draws together queer studies and the academic study of religion in new ways, providing a nuanced understanding of how religious narratives and doctrines can be reimagined to include more diverse interpretations of identity and community.
- GenresReligion
214 pages, Hardcover
Published October 1, 2024
11 people are currently reading
61 people want to read
About the author
Taylor G. Petrey
6 books38 followersTaylor Petrey is an American scholar of religion with specialities in Mormonism, Early Christianity, and Gender Studies. He is a professor of Religion at Kalamazoo College. He was Visiting Associate Professor of Women's Studies and Sexuality at Harvard Divinity School and Research Associate in the Women's Studies in Religion Program in 2016-17. He was also the Lucinda Hinsdale Stone Associate Professor of Religion at Kalamazoo College and Director of the Women, Gender, and Sexuality program. Dr. Petrey received his ThD from Harvard Divinity School, MTS from Harvard Divinity School, and BA in Philosophy and Religion from Pace University.
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Displaying 1 - 11 of 11 reviews
December 23, 2024
What a great book and a step forward in gathering sources that query and queer the doctrines that I was taught growing up as fully revealed and definitive. I love books that help me see(with sources) what I do and do not know. I was literally talking to my ward’s primary presidency the other day about how there are questions about the gender of the Holy Ghost and I knew I could say “I could give you sources if you like” knowing I had the book right on my virtual shelf. Our Heavenly Parents have so much yet to reveal about gender, sexuality, and relationships in the next life… I’m praying for revelation that can only come from a foundation like this book.
January 5, 2025
This book provides life-giving, life-affirming interpretations of Latter-day Saint theology, pointing ways to how historical Mormon views of the cosmos could be “resignified” — in the vision of Judith Butler’s queer theoretical approach — to create systems of meaning that are “less violent” and “more inclusive.”
This book’s greatest achievement is in destabilizing common current claims (those emanating from leaders in the official church hierarchy and those extant in the cultural imagination of church members) about the fixity or definitiveness of Mormon doctrine about gender, sexuality, marriage, and materiality. In so doing it opens up great potential and possibility for reimagining what a more expansive vision of human kinship could entail.
And yet, I found myself wanting more exploration of what such kinship practices actually are and how queer resignifications of Mormon theology could inform those practices. Despite Petrey’s many references to kinship as a set of repeated practices of care, community, and connection, he doesn’t actually explore those practices in great depth. And I suppose the exciting prospect is that others may now pick up where Petrey leaves off. His work opens the door to possibilities — the kind of possibilities that are actually explored in greater depth in books like Blaire Ostler’s Queer Mormon Theology, which Petrey briefly and approvingly cites (at least its article form) in his (excellent) discussion of queering Mormon polygamy in chapter 6. I pray many of us will have the courage and creativity to walk through that door.
This book’s greatest achievement is in destabilizing common current claims (those emanating from leaders in the official church hierarchy and those extant in the cultural imagination of church members) about the fixity or definitiveness of Mormon doctrine about gender, sexuality, marriage, and materiality. In so doing it opens up great potential and possibility for reimagining what a more expansive vision of human kinship could entail.
And yet, I found myself wanting more exploration of what such kinship practices actually are and how queer resignifications of Mormon theology could inform those practices. Despite Petrey’s many references to kinship as a set of repeated practices of care, community, and connection, he doesn’t actually explore those practices in great depth. And I suppose the exciting prospect is that others may now pick up where Petrey leaves off. His work opens the door to possibilities — the kind of possibilities that are actually explored in greater depth in books like Blaire Ostler’s Queer Mormon Theology, which Petrey briefly and approvingly cites (at least its article form) in his (excellent) discussion of queering Mormon polygamy in chapter 6. I pray many of us will have the courage and creativity to walk through that door.
August 27, 2025
Love this idea of taking translations at their literal word, working with the inconsistencies, to find interpretations in favor of more expansive doctrine. This book is certainly more than just that, but that will definitely stay with me.
April 3, 2025
Insightful and creative. Even if one does not agree with Petrey’s argument, one should read this book to learn about how LDS perceptions of (eternal) gender / gender roles / sexuality / marriage practices, etc. to learn that LDS dogma is exceedingly unstable and continually evolving. It is really anything BUT stable and constant. Does this instability allow for queer interpretations? Very thought provoking work.
Chapters 4-6 on the creation story, embodiment, and patriarchal polygamy, respectively, were the most interesting chapters but especially chapter 4 on creation. One major take away is that a former LDS apostle taught in general conference that God is both male and female and that the adam (not Adam the man but the first human) was also male and female. The fall’s ushering in of binary and dualism was interesting too. In the garden, Adam did not see Eve as a part of a dualism of gender but saw Eve as part of himself. There was unity. Accordingly, it is how LDS authorities view the “curse” of Eve after eating the fruit that is particularly relevant to discourse on gender. Many have used the curse to put women beneath men, while others have claimed it is not a curse but that Eve in her wisdom should be revered, and anywhere in between. These stories from the scriptures (in academic religious jargon, myth) are always evolving to contemporary circumstances. How might the myth continue to evolve?
Chapters 4-6 on the creation story, embodiment, and patriarchal polygamy, respectively, were the most interesting chapters but especially chapter 4 on creation. One major take away is that a former LDS apostle taught in general conference that God is both male and female and that the adam (not Adam the man but the first human) was also male and female. The fall’s ushering in of binary and dualism was interesting too. In the garden, Adam did not see Eve as a part of a dualism of gender but saw Eve as part of himself. There was unity. Accordingly, it is how LDS authorities view the “curse” of Eve after eating the fruit that is particularly relevant to discourse on gender. Many have used the curse to put women beneath men, while others have claimed it is not a curse but that Eve in her wisdom should be revered, and anywhere in between. These stories from the scriptures (in academic religious jargon, myth) are always evolving to contemporary circumstances. How might the myth continue to evolve?
October 27, 2024
Review for the Association of Mormon Letters:
https://www.associationmormonletters....
As the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints approaches its third century, it finds itself with a number of challenges. Some of these are shared by any number of conservative religious organizations which find themselves increasingly at odds with the secular turn of society. Others are unique to the LDS church or, at least if not wholly unique, present their own unique practical challenges and difficulties.
Two of the most visible issues are the way the church limits the participation of women and the way that it treats LGBTQ individuals. There is no shortage of argument and spirited debate about these issues, both within and outside of the church. Depending on who you ask, you might hear that the church is the most progressive of religious institutions for women or that it is one of the most oppressive and domineering. With regard to LGBTQ issues, the church has clearly staked out its position, including historically funding anti-LGBTQ initiatives and doubling down on some of the most harmful rhetoric and ideas (at least by implication) in its recent policy update on transgender individuals. There are many, both inside and outside of the church, who are affected by these issues and seek some kind of policy change or genuine discussion and engagement with these topics.
While there has been historical movement on these issues, and we can expect more in the future, issues related to gender and sexuality have the church in a particularly awkward position due to the issuance of the Family Proclamation by the First Presidency and the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles in 1995. This document, though not officially canonized, has served as the blueprint for discussions and policy around these issues. While some had hoped that perhaps the church would soften its stance on some of the most divisive (or lack of evidence-based) pronouncements and assertions within the proclamation, recent talks have reinforced and doubled down on this document as doctrine.
Taylor Petrey’s new book, Queering Kinship in the Mormon Cosmos, enters the fray at a particularly volatile socio-political moment. But, despite the provocative title, which will surely trigger some people, and contrary to the way Petrey is portrayed by some orthodox members and apologists (his book Tabernacles of Clay provoked a book-length response and attempted debunking), this is not a polemic against the church’s position on LGBTQ issues or an ideological screed. Instead, Petrey has written a patient and generous dissection and exercise in what is referred to in the scholarly tradition he dialogues with as “queering” (disrupting, destabilizing, or critically examining) Mormon theology regarding gender and sexuality. In doing so, he has presented a rigorous and thoughtful framing with which to think on these topics. Those so inclined, like Petrey, to allow these ideas a foothold will find themselves on much firmer and more hopeful theological ground than they likely thought possible.
Petrey’s stated goal for the book is to explore “an interrelated set of questions about the interpretation of gender, sexuality, and kinship in the historical teachings and scriptural texts of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints” (p. 2). The framework he employs to this end is queer theory. As Petrey explains, this is a diverse discipline that is not necessarily about looking for queer-compatible threads in whatever area one is investigating but more an alternative method of analyzing existing power structures from a non-normative perspective, looking “to what is repressed or ignored for clues about to where to begin any analysis” (pp. 5). In other words, queer theory has transcended its original topic material and become a hermeneutic with which to analyze any set of value systems or power structures. So, Petrey clarifies his project as follows:
This isn’t a matter of making queer theory compatible or reconciled with Latter-day Saint thought. Rather, it is a method or approach that may be taken to any system, including Latter-day Saint thought. Such an analysis follows a certain set of rules (or rather breaks them) to discover weak spots within a system so as to analyze heteropatriarchal power and offer alternatives. This book hopes to do so through investigating kinship. (p. 5)
Using the hermeneutic of queer theory and the specific lens of kinship allows Petrey to then explore what he calls the “Mormon cosmos” in order to tease out and disrupt the heteronormative assumptions and historical teachings and interpretations of foundational canonical material to, in fact, show that these sources, while traditionally interpreted in a patriarchal heteronormative fashion, are in fact rich with alternative interpretive possibilities. Specifically, a focus on kinship allows Petrey to move past the explicit focus on sex and heteronormative patriarchy that is so thoroughly ingrained within Mormonism to explore alternative configurations of kinship that are still possible within the LDS tradition.
Each chapter takes a fundamental aspect of LDS theology and explores it for possible non-patriarchal, non-heteronormative interpretations. Petrey explores the nature of the Godhead (Chapter 2), doctrines and teachings related to Heavenly Mother (Chapter 3), supposed gender specificity in the accounts of the creation (both biblical and unique to the LDS canon; Chapter 4), gender essentialism as it relates to material embodiment (Chapter 5), and the patriarchal heteronormative values implied (but not necessarily explicit) in the many permutations of the doctrine of polygamy (Chapter 6).
While relatively brief, the book requires and rewards careful reading and rereading. The analysis is at times dense and may be a challenge to those not used to reading scholarly work, but the ideas here are well worth spending the time and effort to understand. They are carefully and convincingly presented and the book is beautifully written and has hundreds of notes and sources for interested readers to chase up.
Each chapter has its gems. Those familiar with Petrey’s work will recognize some familiar themes in the first half of the book, but there is enough new material to dig into and cast his previous work in a new light. I found the analysis and exegesis in Chapter 4 (Gender Fluidity and Kinship in Creation) to be particularly impressive. At times frankly stunning and revelatory, this chapter explores the creation stories in the Bible and Pearl of Great Price and demonstrates convincingly that the heteronormative and gender-essentialist assumptions that underpin much of the church’s doctrines regarding the roles of men and women and the broadsides against gender fluidity and homosexuality formalized in The Family Proclamation are based on a superficial and in some cases frankly incorrect reading and understanding of the scriptural accounts.
This chapter, the centerpiece of the study, shows the fundamentally transformative potential of Petrey’s project, and the results and implications for understanding the Eve and Adam story are profound. I won’t say any more because half the fun here is how Petrey so patiently and thoroughly dismantles the patriarchal gender-essentialist interpretations of these texts that are focused on the sex act as a reproductive commandment. His analysis had me awestruck and grinning.
Another major contribution of this book is found in chapter 6, where Petrey excavates historical and doctrinal polygamy in order to extract the threads of a broader kinship. He admits that this exercise is fraught with difficulty given the way polygamy played out within LDS history and its clear patriarchal heteronormative foundation. But even here, Petrey finds fertile ground to expand our understanding of this seemingly cut-and-dried case. He is careful not to gloss over the historical and ongoing trauma that polygamy has created but also cautions us against accepting monolithic interpretations of the practical and doctrinal reasons behind the practice.
In this regard, his analysis of adoption practices and theology is most instructive and shows that polygamy was just one of many types of sealing practices in the early church that had at their base a desire to solidify kinship bonds beyond death. He does not shy away from the difficulties. Still, he forces us to really stare at them and consider other possibilities here, which open up a theological path towards greater inclusiveness of LGBTQ realities.
Overall, Queering Kinship in the Mormon Cosmos is a thought-provoking and deeply considered treatment of these topics. The very mention of these ideas will rub some members the wrong way, and Petrey will likely be pilloried in the apologist press for a while (something he is quite accustomed to). But for those who are willing to go there with him, Petrey remains an essential voice on these issues within the church. His rigorous and innovative work here continues to chart a possible path toward greater inclusion.
Crucially, this path is found not in a wholesale rewriting of standards or doctrine to conform to modern mores and ideas but in a careful and curious reading of foundational LDS theology and doctrine. One of Petrey’s greatest accomplishments here is writing a book that is so confronting without being confrontational. He admits that the prospects of the church changing its position on these issues remain unlikely. But should the increasing toll these doctrines and policies continue to take on the lives of LGBTQ individuals prick the hearts of leadership enough to consider a different path seriously, Petrey’s work provides a way forward that embraces, rather than discards, the unique, peculiar, beautiful, even queer aspects of LDS theology.
https://www.associationmormonletters....
As the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints approaches its third century, it finds itself with a number of challenges. Some of these are shared by any number of conservative religious organizations which find themselves increasingly at odds with the secular turn of society. Others are unique to the LDS church or, at least if not wholly unique, present their own unique practical challenges and difficulties.
Two of the most visible issues are the way the church limits the participation of women and the way that it treats LGBTQ individuals. There is no shortage of argument and spirited debate about these issues, both within and outside of the church. Depending on who you ask, you might hear that the church is the most progressive of religious institutions for women or that it is one of the most oppressive and domineering. With regard to LGBTQ issues, the church has clearly staked out its position, including historically funding anti-LGBTQ initiatives and doubling down on some of the most harmful rhetoric and ideas (at least by implication) in its recent policy update on transgender individuals. There are many, both inside and outside of the church, who are affected by these issues and seek some kind of policy change or genuine discussion and engagement with these topics.
While there has been historical movement on these issues, and we can expect more in the future, issues related to gender and sexuality have the church in a particularly awkward position due to the issuance of the Family Proclamation by the First Presidency and the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles in 1995. This document, though not officially canonized, has served as the blueprint for discussions and policy around these issues. While some had hoped that perhaps the church would soften its stance on some of the most divisive (or lack of evidence-based) pronouncements and assertions within the proclamation, recent talks have reinforced and doubled down on this document as doctrine.
Taylor Petrey’s new book, Queering Kinship in the Mormon Cosmos, enters the fray at a particularly volatile socio-political moment. But, despite the provocative title, which will surely trigger some people, and contrary to the way Petrey is portrayed by some orthodox members and apologists (his book Tabernacles of Clay provoked a book-length response and attempted debunking), this is not a polemic against the church’s position on LGBTQ issues or an ideological screed. Instead, Petrey has written a patient and generous dissection and exercise in what is referred to in the scholarly tradition he dialogues with as “queering” (disrupting, destabilizing, or critically examining) Mormon theology regarding gender and sexuality. In doing so, he has presented a rigorous and thoughtful framing with which to think on these topics. Those so inclined, like Petrey, to allow these ideas a foothold will find themselves on much firmer and more hopeful theological ground than they likely thought possible.
Petrey’s stated goal for the book is to explore “an interrelated set of questions about the interpretation of gender, sexuality, and kinship in the historical teachings and scriptural texts of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints” (p. 2). The framework he employs to this end is queer theory. As Petrey explains, this is a diverse discipline that is not necessarily about looking for queer-compatible threads in whatever area one is investigating but more an alternative method of analyzing existing power structures from a non-normative perspective, looking “to what is repressed or ignored for clues about to where to begin any analysis” (pp. 5). In other words, queer theory has transcended its original topic material and become a hermeneutic with which to analyze any set of value systems or power structures. So, Petrey clarifies his project as follows:
This isn’t a matter of making queer theory compatible or reconciled with Latter-day Saint thought. Rather, it is a method or approach that may be taken to any system, including Latter-day Saint thought. Such an analysis follows a certain set of rules (or rather breaks them) to discover weak spots within a system so as to analyze heteropatriarchal power and offer alternatives. This book hopes to do so through investigating kinship. (p. 5)
Using the hermeneutic of queer theory and the specific lens of kinship allows Petrey to then explore what he calls the “Mormon cosmos” in order to tease out and disrupt the heteronormative assumptions and historical teachings and interpretations of foundational canonical material to, in fact, show that these sources, while traditionally interpreted in a patriarchal heteronormative fashion, are in fact rich with alternative interpretive possibilities. Specifically, a focus on kinship allows Petrey to move past the explicit focus on sex and heteronormative patriarchy that is so thoroughly ingrained within Mormonism to explore alternative configurations of kinship that are still possible within the LDS tradition.
Each chapter takes a fundamental aspect of LDS theology and explores it for possible non-patriarchal, non-heteronormative interpretations. Petrey explores the nature of the Godhead (Chapter 2), doctrines and teachings related to Heavenly Mother (Chapter 3), supposed gender specificity in the accounts of the creation (both biblical and unique to the LDS canon; Chapter 4), gender essentialism as it relates to material embodiment (Chapter 5), and the patriarchal heteronormative values implied (but not necessarily explicit) in the many permutations of the doctrine of polygamy (Chapter 6).
While relatively brief, the book requires and rewards careful reading and rereading. The analysis is at times dense and may be a challenge to those not used to reading scholarly work, but the ideas here are well worth spending the time and effort to understand. They are carefully and convincingly presented and the book is beautifully written and has hundreds of notes and sources for interested readers to chase up.
Each chapter has its gems. Those familiar with Petrey’s work will recognize some familiar themes in the first half of the book, but there is enough new material to dig into and cast his previous work in a new light. I found the analysis and exegesis in Chapter 4 (Gender Fluidity and Kinship in Creation) to be particularly impressive. At times frankly stunning and revelatory, this chapter explores the creation stories in the Bible and Pearl of Great Price and demonstrates convincingly that the heteronormative and gender-essentialist assumptions that underpin much of the church’s doctrines regarding the roles of men and women and the broadsides against gender fluidity and homosexuality formalized in The Family Proclamation are based on a superficial and in some cases frankly incorrect reading and understanding of the scriptural accounts.
This chapter, the centerpiece of the study, shows the fundamentally transformative potential of Petrey’s project, and the results and implications for understanding the Eve and Adam story are profound. I won’t say any more because half the fun here is how Petrey so patiently and thoroughly dismantles the patriarchal gender-essentialist interpretations of these texts that are focused on the sex act as a reproductive commandment. His analysis had me awestruck and grinning.
Another major contribution of this book is found in chapter 6, where Petrey excavates historical and doctrinal polygamy in order to extract the threads of a broader kinship. He admits that this exercise is fraught with difficulty given the way polygamy played out within LDS history and its clear patriarchal heteronormative foundation. But even here, Petrey finds fertile ground to expand our understanding of this seemingly cut-and-dried case. He is careful not to gloss over the historical and ongoing trauma that polygamy has created but also cautions us against accepting monolithic interpretations of the practical and doctrinal reasons behind the practice.
In this regard, his analysis of adoption practices and theology is most instructive and shows that polygamy was just one of many types of sealing practices in the early church that had at their base a desire to solidify kinship bonds beyond death. He does not shy away from the difficulties. Still, he forces us to really stare at them and consider other possibilities here, which open up a theological path towards greater inclusiveness of LGBTQ realities.
Overall, Queering Kinship in the Mormon Cosmos is a thought-provoking and deeply considered treatment of these topics. The very mention of these ideas will rub some members the wrong way, and Petrey will likely be pilloried in the apologist press for a while (something he is quite accustomed to). But for those who are willing to go there with him, Petrey remains an essential voice on these issues within the church. His rigorous and innovative work here continues to chart a possible path toward greater inclusion.
Crucially, this path is found not in a wholesale rewriting of standards or doctrine to conform to modern mores and ideas but in a careful and curious reading of foundational LDS theology and doctrine. One of Petrey’s greatest accomplishments here is writing a book that is so confronting without being confrontational. He admits that the prospects of the church changing its position on these issues remain unlikely. But should the increasing toll these doctrines and policies continue to take on the lives of LGBTQ individuals prick the hearts of leadership enough to consider a different path seriously, Petrey’s work provides a way forward that embraces, rather than discards, the unique, peculiar, beautiful, even queer aspects of LDS theology.
December 20, 2024
Dr. Petrey, thank you for such an incredible, insightful, and influential book. This book, as well as your other book, Tabernacles of Clay, will stay with me throughout my life. Thank you for the remarkable work you do!
Read
March 9, 2025Read this for queering religion! I highly recommend
March 21, 2025
I read this cover to cover in one sitting! Really great read for those familiar with queer theory, familiar with mormon theology, or curious about either.
October 21, 2025
Some of the most interesting and thought provoking approaches to mormon kinship I've ever read. A thrill to read I'm always bringing it up.
October 5, 2025
Well damn. I wasn’t planning on actually writing a review but Taylor Petrey liked my review so now I have to. I adore this book. In part because it is so niche in its intersection of thought. The shelf of books on both academic queer theory and Mormon studies is exceedingly small, so this book is a rare gem. As a leftist Mormon with a growing interest in queer theory and a passion for radicalizing and transforming my religious tradition, I found this book so engaging and thought provoking. With this being my first real foray into academic queer theory, I am confident i inly grasped around 80% of the arguments in the book, but that just makes me excited to reread it in a few years when I have read Judith Butler and other foundational queer theory texts, including the many books and dialog articles cited by the author throughout this book. I feel this will be an important stepping stone in my thinking about both Mormonism and queer theory. The thing I appreciated most about this book is that Taylor Petrey doesn’t attempt to provide a coherent and wholistic version of Mormon theology. I found the primary thesis of the book and the approach of interrogating the inconsistencies and instability of Mormon theology to be a beautiful example for how we might examine Mormonism within other contexts such as colonialism, capitalism, and the Christian Nationalism/Christofascism present in so much of modern mainstream Mormon discourse.
May 13, 2025
This extremely rich book provides a novel contribution to Mormon studies in ways that are appreciated. Petrey notes in his epilogue the extent to which the field has prioritized history and sociology, with fewer thinkers this century examining the theological and philosophical underpinnings of Church claims. Here he provides an excellent and thorough reading and most importantly analysis of a number theological and philosophical positions around sexuality and gender in the Latter-day Saint tradition. Notable in my view is the extent and variety of sources he pulls from and examines in this quest, moving beyond looking at only the most conservative and orthodox voices, to an examination of conflicts between views outside of mainstream Mormonism as well. In doing so Petrey treats all the sources with a high-level of intellectual respect, charitably examining the assumptions, and placing them in dialogue with contemporary philosophy and theology.
For myself, the chapter on gender fluidity and kinship was the most enjoyable and readable. Here Petrey examines the creation stories from a variety of Latter-day Saint texts, including Genesis, The Book of Abraham, and The Book of Moses. Giving a close reading of each, he explores the textual elements of each, including their contradictory elements and the way each has been interpreted by laity and leadership in service of cultural beliefs regarding sexuality and gender.
I must also note how readable the book is. Sometimes works engaging in these subjects can get bogged down in jargon that leaves out many readers, speaking to a very narrow audience. Petrey clearly breaks down the terms and sources he uses, leaving plenty of room in footnotes and other sources for those seeking an even deeper examination while leaving the book engaging for a variety of audiences.
Displaying 1 - 11 of 11 reviews