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Tabernacles of Clay: Sexuality and Gender in Modern Mormonism
Awards and Distinctions
2021 Best Book Award, Mormon History Association
Finalist, 2020 Association for Mormon Letters Award (Religious Nonfiction)
A 2020 Choice Outstanding Academic Title
Starred Review, Publishers Weekly
Starred Review, Library Journal
Taylor G. Petrey's trenchant history takes a landmark step forward in documenting and theorizing about Latter-day Saints (LDS) teachings on gender, sexual difference, and marriage. Drawing on deep archival research, Petrey situates LDS doctrines in gender theory and American religious history since World War II. His challenging conclusion is that Mormonism is conflicted between ontologies of gender essentialism and gender fluidity, illustrating a broader tension in the history of sexuality in modernity itself.
As Petrey details, LDS leaders have embraced the idea of fixed identities representing a natural and divine order, but their teachings also acknowledge that sexual difference is persistently contingent and unstable. While queer theorists have built an ethics and politics based on celebrating such sexual fluidity, LDS leaders view it as a source of anxiety and a tool for the shaping of a heterosexual social order. Through public preaching and teaching, the deployment of psychological approaches to "cure" homosexuality, and political activism against equal rights for women and same-sex marriage, Mormon leaders hoped to manage sexuality and faith for those who have strayed from heteronormativity.
2021 Best Book Award, Mormon History Association
Finalist, 2020 Association for Mormon Letters Award (Religious Nonfiction)
A 2020 Choice Outstanding Academic Title
Starred Review, Publishers Weekly
Starred Review, Library Journal
Taylor G. Petrey's trenchant history takes a landmark step forward in documenting and theorizing about Latter-day Saints (LDS) teachings on gender, sexual difference, and marriage. Drawing on deep archival research, Petrey situates LDS doctrines in gender theory and American religious history since World War II. His challenging conclusion is that Mormonism is conflicted between ontologies of gender essentialism and gender fluidity, illustrating a broader tension in the history of sexuality in modernity itself.
As Petrey details, LDS leaders have embraced the idea of fixed identities representing a natural and divine order, but their teachings also acknowledge that sexual difference is persistently contingent and unstable. While queer theorists have built an ethics and politics based on celebrating such sexual fluidity, LDS leaders view it as a source of anxiety and a tool for the shaping of a heterosexual social order. Through public preaching and teaching, the deployment of psychological approaches to "cure" homosexuality, and political activism against equal rights for women and same-sex marriage, Mormon leaders hoped to manage sexuality and faith for those who have strayed from heteronormativity.
290 pages, Kindle Edition
First published June 15, 2020
55 people are currently reading
474 people want to read
About the author
Taylor G. Petrey
6 books37 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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July 6, 2020
I have a reputation in my family for bringing deep dives on our yearly beach trip. One year-- Descartes. This year when I arrived, and plopped my “beach book” down on the table, my father took one look at the rainbowed temple and said, “Well, we know what that’s about!”
He was absolutely right, and yet completely wrong.
Taylor G. Petrey’s new book, “Tabernacles of Clay,” is indeed a deep dive, dense with information and bright with insights into gender and sexuality in the modern church. I have always been a nuanced LDS woman. You cannot raise a kid ten years in musical theater and have them not have many LGBT+ friends. I grew up just after the Priesthood ban, and I’ve always sought more info about it. I’m telling you this because not every Mormon woman actively searches out history and knowledge in all the odd, uncomfortable things.
I do. I don’t love discomfort. However, I feel robbed when history is mangled into a nice, pretty thing. For me, real history increases my testimony. I feel more comfortable with an imperfect, nervous prophet like Jonah, who waited for fire to rain down on a repentant city, who was reigned in by a loving God who knew his humans are imperfect things. If you, too, are such a human, imperfect and filled with questions, Petrey’s book is a gift for you.
Petrey’s well supported premise is that we, as a religion, are far more nuanced in our doctrines than we suppose. He draws a firm line between gender essentialism and fluidity. If gender is essential and eternal, he theorizes, why do we spend so much time enforcing it? If there is a fixed binary between binary genders, there is no thing which can or would change your performance of, nor the nature of your gender. However, Petrey explains, in Mormonism, we believe that gender is fluid, and must be strictly enforced in order to apply that heteronormative distinction. “In Mormonism,” he explains, "gender is perpetually liminal, never being fully accomplished.”
Stay with me, here. We believe that our bodies are not static, nor are our minds, as we continue to learn and grow within the plan of God. Petrey explains that he is not attempting to “suggest a compatibility of queer theory and Mormonism,” but rather to document and provide explanations for the last roughly eighty years of shifting gender related thought and discussion in the church.
Humanity loves its little boxes in which to place people. We are never quite sure what to do with those who do not fit neatly into whatever framework our cultural upbringing has given to us. As LDS readers, we have a tendency to turn away when information shows the imperfections of the human experience, especially those of leadership, in an unfamiliar light.
I encourage you to lean into this discomfort.
It gets better.
Petrey details the church’s search for a “cure” for homosexuality, enlisting parents to “prevent” it, encouraging Mixed Orientation Marriages, especially in the 1960’s-2000’s, in order to “cure” young men of homosexuality. He details how homosexuality was seen to be a danger to the Priesthood of God, as mixed race marriages had once been thought. He explains how the rise of the Religious Right influenced our doctrines, and how this mingled with rejection of the Equal Rights Amendment, in the erroneous attempt to block divorce levels from rising (Oops-- Please don’t stay in abusive marriages, ya’ll), and how this was connected to blocking Transgender and Nonbinary folks from having those same equal protections under constitutional law. Thankfully, SCOTUS is fixing that.
It’s not a “jump in and read in one or two sittings” sort of book, and not only because Petrey is brilliant and researches carefully.
Petrey begins one section about the frustration leadership were feeling after several official letters and policy changes in the 1970’s: “Not only were Mormon women using birth control and engaging in oral sex in spite of official prohibitions in the 1970’s, they were also working outside the home…” Now, reading this as women in 2020, we can, of course, see the humor. A whole generation of LDS women have been raised not knowing about either prohibition, unless you, like myself, had an orthodox minded spouse who enforced old, rescinded doctrines. Birth control is one of the best innovations of the last 400 years! Likewise, I hope my children grow up not even questioning if a woman should gain education or work. I want their thought to be, “Uh, did you ask the woman? What has God lead her to do? She gets to choose.”
The focus of fluidity creates a paradox: if we believe that gender is inherent, then we should also believe that performance of gender is inherent. If performance of gender is not inherent, what is gender? If I am told that in order to be a Good Female, I must never use birth control, divorce, or work outside of the home...as a LDS woman who is divorced, deals with severe period cramps alleviated by hormone therapy, and who works, having no alimony or child support...could I then be defined as female or Good? I am no less female for not liking makeup’s feel or polished nails, though I confuse some in the South. If I had a mastectomy, this would take away a visible gender oriented characteristic, yet I would be no less female. I have read that genetics professors no longer have their students test their own DNA in class, as it became too common that one would discover that they were neither XX nor XY, but XXY or some other variant, and perhaps create a mid-semester existential crisis.
Is gender not innate, but something trained into a child in the home and society, as the Church says? Must it be strictly enforced, or it could change? In a church which once rejected the “false tradition” of monogamous marriage, which once taught that homosexuality will be “cured” in the next life, and now teaches that being LGBT+ is, indeed, genetic and inborn...this brings more questions than ever before. What options are there in 2020 for a young person who knows they fall under the LGBT spectrum to, indeed, both live a fulfilling life without shame at their own wondrous making, and yet be included faithfully in the body of Christ?
I don’t have answers for these things, nor does Petrey attempt to provide them. However, I love to be chock full of questions and thoughts, and if you do also, you need this book. I can’t promise a nice sandy beach, far away from laundry, in which to read it. But, keep going, because it’s an comprehensive tome of gender studies, and offers background for basting together your next set of questions. Go get it. Then text me. We’ve got stuff to discuss.
He was absolutely right, and yet completely wrong.
Taylor G. Petrey’s new book, “Tabernacles of Clay,” is indeed a deep dive, dense with information and bright with insights into gender and sexuality in the modern church. I have always been a nuanced LDS woman. You cannot raise a kid ten years in musical theater and have them not have many LGBT+ friends. I grew up just after the Priesthood ban, and I’ve always sought more info about it. I’m telling you this because not every Mormon woman actively searches out history and knowledge in all the odd, uncomfortable things.
I do. I don’t love discomfort. However, I feel robbed when history is mangled into a nice, pretty thing. For me, real history increases my testimony. I feel more comfortable with an imperfect, nervous prophet like Jonah, who waited for fire to rain down on a repentant city, who was reigned in by a loving God who knew his humans are imperfect things. If you, too, are such a human, imperfect and filled with questions, Petrey’s book is a gift for you.
Petrey’s well supported premise is that we, as a religion, are far more nuanced in our doctrines than we suppose. He draws a firm line between gender essentialism and fluidity. If gender is essential and eternal, he theorizes, why do we spend so much time enforcing it? If there is a fixed binary between binary genders, there is no thing which can or would change your performance of, nor the nature of your gender. However, Petrey explains, in Mormonism, we believe that gender is fluid, and must be strictly enforced in order to apply that heteronormative distinction. “In Mormonism,” he explains, "gender is perpetually liminal, never being fully accomplished.”
Stay with me, here. We believe that our bodies are not static, nor are our minds, as we continue to learn and grow within the plan of God. Petrey explains that he is not attempting to “suggest a compatibility of queer theory and Mormonism,” but rather to document and provide explanations for the last roughly eighty years of shifting gender related thought and discussion in the church.
Humanity loves its little boxes in which to place people. We are never quite sure what to do with those who do not fit neatly into whatever framework our cultural upbringing has given to us. As LDS readers, we have a tendency to turn away when information shows the imperfections of the human experience, especially those of leadership, in an unfamiliar light.
I encourage you to lean into this discomfort.
It gets better.
Petrey details the church’s search for a “cure” for homosexuality, enlisting parents to “prevent” it, encouraging Mixed Orientation Marriages, especially in the 1960’s-2000’s, in order to “cure” young men of homosexuality. He details how homosexuality was seen to be a danger to the Priesthood of God, as mixed race marriages had once been thought. He explains how the rise of the Religious Right influenced our doctrines, and how this mingled with rejection of the Equal Rights Amendment, in the erroneous attempt to block divorce levels from rising (Oops-- Please don’t stay in abusive marriages, ya’ll), and how this was connected to blocking Transgender and Nonbinary folks from having those same equal protections under constitutional law. Thankfully, SCOTUS is fixing that.
It’s not a “jump in and read in one or two sittings” sort of book, and not only because Petrey is brilliant and researches carefully.
Petrey begins one section about the frustration leadership were feeling after several official letters and policy changes in the 1970’s: “Not only were Mormon women using birth control and engaging in oral sex in spite of official prohibitions in the 1970’s, they were also working outside the home…” Now, reading this as women in 2020, we can, of course, see the humor. A whole generation of LDS women have been raised not knowing about either prohibition, unless you, like myself, had an orthodox minded spouse who enforced old, rescinded doctrines. Birth control is one of the best innovations of the last 400 years! Likewise, I hope my children grow up not even questioning if a woman should gain education or work. I want their thought to be, “Uh, did you ask the woman? What has God lead her to do? She gets to choose.”
The focus of fluidity creates a paradox: if we believe that gender is inherent, then we should also believe that performance of gender is inherent. If performance of gender is not inherent, what is gender? If I am told that in order to be a Good Female, I must never use birth control, divorce, or work outside of the home...as a LDS woman who is divorced, deals with severe period cramps alleviated by hormone therapy, and who works, having no alimony or child support...could I then be defined as female or Good? I am no less female for not liking makeup’s feel or polished nails, though I confuse some in the South. If I had a mastectomy, this would take away a visible gender oriented characteristic, yet I would be no less female. I have read that genetics professors no longer have their students test their own DNA in class, as it became too common that one would discover that they were neither XX nor XY, but XXY or some other variant, and perhaps create a mid-semester existential crisis.
Is gender not innate, but something trained into a child in the home and society, as the Church says? Must it be strictly enforced, or it could change? In a church which once rejected the “false tradition” of monogamous marriage, which once taught that homosexuality will be “cured” in the next life, and now teaches that being LGBT+ is, indeed, genetic and inborn...this brings more questions than ever before. What options are there in 2020 for a young person who knows they fall under the LGBT spectrum to, indeed, both live a fulfilling life without shame at their own wondrous making, and yet be included faithfully in the body of Christ?
I don’t have answers for these things, nor does Petrey attempt to provide them. However, I love to be chock full of questions and thoughts, and if you do also, you need this book. I can’t promise a nice sandy beach, far away from laundry, in which to read it. But, keep going, because it’s an comprehensive tome of gender studies, and offers background for basting together your next set of questions. Go get it. Then text me. We’ve got stuff to discuss.
June 29, 2020
"[If same-sex marriage were enshrined into law], it would stigmatize us as fools or bigots, akin to racists [and would] impede our full participation in democratic life."
So read the amicus brief signed by the Church in the Obergefell v. Hodges case before the Supreme Court that legalized same-sex marriage. The argument seems like what would be termed a "self-own"; the writers fully realized that there was a moral weight in same-sex marriage that they weren't willing to accept. And they would be right. This February, Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez in a House hearing on civil rights for LGBT individuals said:
I cannot-- it is very difficult to sit here and listen to arguments in the long history of this country using scripture, and weaponizing and abusing scripture to justify bigotry. White supremacists have done it, those who justified slavery did it, those who fought against integration did it, and we're seeing it today.
Taylor Petrey's latest book covers more than just the intersection of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints and LGBT individuals, but rather puts it a larger frame of reference including race and gender. In this respect, even though it covers much of the same material as Prince's Gay Rights and the Mormon Church: Intended Actions, Unintended Consequences, it has a much different approach. One of the biggest differences is Prince's very strong assumption of fixed and determined sexuality. Petrey states one of the central theses of his book in the context of queer theory:
Queer theory takes as its subject something much more fundamental, namely, the categories and distinctions between sexes, genders, sexualities, races, abilities, and so on. This paradigm challenges the idea of the self-evident and instead seeks to historicize and question claims about essential and stable identities by looking at where those boundaries wear thin. This method is the starting point of the present study. The supposed differences of sexes, genders, and races are historical and ideological, not natural and fixed.
Petrey asserts that even the Church itself argues from a point of gender fluidity, rather than a stance of "gender essentialism", caught most succinctly in "The Family: A Proclamation to the World" that gender is eternal. The Church has argued, and still argues to some extent, that sexuality can change. Reparative therapy depends on it. Church leaders have also expressed anxiety about the crumbling of clearly defined boundaries between the roles of men and women, which Petrey describes as the "fragility of gender identity."
This book is hard to read as a faithful member of the Church. It is not a polemic, and in fact the hardest parts to read aren't Petrey's interpretations rather than the words of Church leaders themselves. Especially as a gay Latter-Day Saint who has been affected personally by these doctrines and teachings, it hurts to read such things from leaders who you sustain as prophets, seers, and revelators. Here are a few of the lines I highlighted, as well as some of my notes in the margins:
From the Mormon and Gay website: Identifying oneself as gay or lesbian is not against Church policy or doctrine; however, it may have undesired consequences in the way one is treated. e.g. we will judge you.
From Boyd K. Packer's conference talk I remember hearing on my mission: Some suppose that they were pre-set and cannot overcome what they feel are inborn tendencies toward the impure and unnatural. Not so! Why would our Heavenly Father do that to anyone? Remember he is our father. More concerned with defending God than helping others, even tearing them down.
Not every church leader was willing to accept the possibility of an "inborn" set of homosexual feelings, even in the highly qualified form that Oaks had offered. I never thought of Oaks as a progressive thinker.
On the one hand, oral sex was deemed to be explicitly forbidden and disqualifying for entering the temple. On the other hand, church leaders were forbidden from asking about it explicitly and also prevented from explicitly forbidding it. Kimball's instructions here invoked the idea of "anxiety" about sexual acts, even those within marriage, as evidence that they were immoral. And y'all wonder why we're all messed up when it comes to healthy attitudes about sex.
From BYU's President Wilkinson: If anyone of you have this tendency and have not completely abandoned it, may I suggest that you leave the university after this assembly... We do not want others on this campus to be contaminated by your presence. I don't have words.
And lastly In another feature, Andy explained "I'm gay. I hate saying that that doesn't define me because it does. It's a big part of what defines me" ... Andy and his parents talk about the problem of reconciling his identity with church teachings, and his parents admitted they don't have all the answers. They all learned to live with "spiritual ambiguity". No gay Latter-Day Saint can survive without living with spiritual ambiguity.. and a little bit of bitterness too.
I am grateful for Petrey's addition to the discussion of these important in our Church. I don't give up hope, because I have seen the good of Latter-Day Saints on the ground. I have had bishops and elders quorum presidents and friends who have been a blessing to me, even as I struggled. We have set obstacles up that don't need to be there. We still have a long way to go.
October 29, 2024
Surely the history of my people isn’t full of horrors, right? Right? RIGHT???
October 20, 2020
By tracing the evolution of speech, thinking, policy, and even doctrine about gender and sexuality throughout the history of the church, Petrey provides a much-needed analysis of the influence of cultural and societal context on the evolution of thinking about and grappling with these issues in the church. In the end, the book is a hopeful lifeline to members who feel the church is seriously out of step with the mainstream ideas and science about gender and LGBTQ+ issues.
It's clear that the thinking and discussions and strategies regarding these things have been fraught with difficulty and changes, and many disagreements even between top church officials. But the evolution has been steadily, if slowly, towards progressive change and recognition of the full humanity and divine potential of those who do not identify with the traditional heterosexual gender norms. We can expect, and hope for, much more change on these issues in the future.
It's clear that the thinking and discussions and strategies regarding these things have been fraught with difficulty and changes, and many disagreements even between top church officials. But the evolution has been steadily, if slowly, towards progressive change and recognition of the full humanity and divine potential of those who do not identify with the traditional heterosexual gender norms. We can expect, and hope for, much more change on these issues in the future.
October 15, 2020
An excellent exploration of the changes in LDS discourse over the past century with regards to gender, marriage, sexuality and race. It explores the dualities, polarities upon which LDS theology organises a marriage hierarchy. Petrey traces how this hierarchical discourse has progresses from a race-based hierarchy of marriage that preserves lineages, to a patriarchal marriage which preserves gender roles to a soft egalitarian heteronormative marriage which protects society and is superior to homosexual relationships.
There is obvious blurring and conflation of biology, gender performative roles and sexual orientation. A dominant idea is that by defending the home to enable performing appropriate gender roles one could avoid deterioration from normal masculine gender into homosexuality and thus save the deterioration of civilisation.
The book is incredibly hopeful in that it demonstrates a very real human struggle to understand gender, marriage and sexuality within the LDS framework within which LDS leaders themselves are shaped and then lead out from. It offers hope for further evolution, understanding, flexibility and accommodation, not only as leaders reflect and react to American society at large, the religious right but also to the changing attitudes, realities and experiences of members of the LDS faith.
One criticism is the light treatment of the connection between priesthood and gender roles within the LDS church. It seems to me that Priesthood and patriarchal order are tied up with performative gender roles, that acts as a barrier to the LDS church to reconcile homosexuality and women with priesthood. It impedes flourishing of the whole human potential regardless of gender or sexuality within the church. Petrey's book would have benefited from a chapter outlining the contemporary changes in priesthood discourse and gender. An chapter of great interest would have also been on teachings about sex within church curriculum - particularly to the youth and the discourse and relative silence of discourse on sexual abuse/violence.
There is obvious blurring and conflation of biology, gender performative roles and sexual orientation. A dominant idea is that by defending the home to enable performing appropriate gender roles one could avoid deterioration from normal masculine gender into homosexuality and thus save the deterioration of civilisation.
The book is incredibly hopeful in that it demonstrates a very real human struggle to understand gender, marriage and sexuality within the LDS framework within which LDS leaders themselves are shaped and then lead out from. It offers hope for further evolution, understanding, flexibility and accommodation, not only as leaders reflect and react to American society at large, the religious right but also to the changing attitudes, realities and experiences of members of the LDS faith.
One criticism is the light treatment of the connection between priesthood and gender roles within the LDS church. It seems to me that Priesthood and patriarchal order are tied up with performative gender roles, that acts as a barrier to the LDS church to reconcile homosexuality and women with priesthood. It impedes flourishing of the whole human potential regardless of gender or sexuality within the church. Petrey's book would have benefited from a chapter outlining the contemporary changes in priesthood discourse and gender. An chapter of great interest would have also been on teachings about sex within church curriculum - particularly to the youth and the discourse and relative silence of discourse on sexual abuse/violence.
August 18, 2021
Fantastic overview and analysis of changes in the LDS church regarding gender and sexuality since WWII. Although it takes an academic approach, it is also quite accessible to the layperson. One of the most interesting arguments is that the emergence of homosexuality as the dominant threat to the church's teachings allowed for the receding of strict patriarchal conceptions of marriage.
The one thing I wish had been covered a bit more was trans issues. They are discussed in the coverage of the conflation of homosexuality and "gender confusion", as well as in the modern church, and admittedly it hasn't been a subject that the church has grappled with much, but it seems like something that could have been brought out some more.
Overall I really appreciated this book's careful parsing of the history around gender and sexuality. It documents the many changes—and many disagreements among church leaders—around these issues, and clearly compares and contrasts them with each other and with broader cultural approaches. I also thought it did a great job bringing race into the picture, which was the initial issue that the church was most worried about re marriage/sex in the 40s and 50s, and explaining how that concern transitioned into patriarchy and compulsive heterosexuality. Highly recommend this to anyone interested in these issues.
The one thing I wish had been covered a bit more was trans issues. They are discussed in the coverage of the conflation of homosexuality and "gender confusion", as well as in the modern church, and admittedly it hasn't been a subject that the church has grappled with much, but it seems like something that could have been brought out some more.
Overall I really appreciated this book's careful parsing of the history around gender and sexuality. It documents the many changes—and many disagreements among church leaders—around these issues, and clearly compares and contrasts them with each other and with broader cultural approaches. I also thought it did a great job bringing race into the picture, which was the initial issue that the church was most worried about re marriage/sex in the 40s and 50s, and explaining how that concern transitioned into patriarchy and compulsive heterosexuality. Highly recommend this to anyone interested in these issues.
June 1, 2020
A fascinating, invaluable resource for those interested in Mormon ideas of sexuality and gender. I would love to see future work that explores these ideas from less authoritative Mormon sources, since, as Petrey acknowledges, this book is focused almost exclusively on statements from members of church hierarchy AND as demonstrated by the birth control and oral sex anecdotes, there seems to be the potential for a large disparity between what Church HQ/The Brethren teach and what the members believe.
Anyway.
Perhaps the biggest takeaway is that despite many discussions and current rhetoric to the contrary, Mormon ideas of sexuality have changed over time and seem, at least partially, rooted in a belief in sexual malleability/fluidity. Petrey analyzes countless statements from church leaders on gender to persuasively demonstrate this idea (and to me emphasize the relative theological vacuum that Mormonism has surrounding gender/sexuality, particularly in the present tied to a severely under-developed theology of pre- and post-mortal existence).
Highly recommend. Excited to see the work that is sparked by Petrey's scholarship here.
Anyway.
Perhaps the biggest takeaway is that despite many discussions and current rhetoric to the contrary, Mormon ideas of sexuality have changed over time and seem, at least partially, rooted in a belief in sexual malleability/fluidity. Petrey analyzes countless statements from church leaders on gender to persuasively demonstrate this idea (and to me emphasize the relative theological vacuum that Mormonism has surrounding gender/sexuality, particularly in the present tied to a severely under-developed theology of pre- and post-mortal existence).
Highly recommend. Excited to see the work that is sparked by Petrey's scholarship here.
January 23, 2021
A deeply researched, well-written and thorough account of sexuality and gender in the Mormon Church from the mid-20th century to present day. Petrey clearly demonstrates the systematic institutional discrimination against women and the LGBT+ community and outlines the various attempts to combat gay rights in American politics. Petrey also discusses the intersections between gender politics, heterosexuality, homosexuality and the malleable frameworks the church used to understand and impose gender and sexuality norms. This research draws compelling parallels between gender norms, sexuality, and LGBT rights. Particularly compelling are the parallels between the Church’s gender/sexuality frameworks and their frameworks about race, inter-racial marriage, and the priesthood prior to 1978. I highly recommend for anyone interested in the Mormon Church, gender/sexuality, and politics.
July 9, 2023
This book is what’s on the tin: a fascinating dissertation on gender and sexuality in the LDS church. I came at it as a born-and-raised, actively frustrated member by these two very topics and found those frustrations backed up by history.
It was particularly powerful to read about the revelations of church leaders moving in time with broader conservative society in the U.S.: “This history then makes one skeptical of claims about Mormon exceptionalism, which sees a stable Mormon counterculture maintaining a traditional distinctiveness over and against ‘the world.’ While that is indeed a powerful myth of Mormon self-identity, Mormonism actually has followed a number of broad evolutionary trends on key social and theological issues.” I’ve long had this thought, and it raises legitimate questions in my mind about whether the church will stick to its guns re: sexuality and gender (I hope for a progressive change).
My leanings are important to point out, I think, and I’d be curious how someone else less questioning of these doctrines might view this book.
One note: The introduction was intellectually intimidating to read. After that, it became easier to read for me.
Thanks to my friend Laura for the rec! I’ll be mulling this book over for a long time.
It was particularly powerful to read about the revelations of church leaders moving in time with broader conservative society in the U.S.: “This history then makes one skeptical of claims about Mormon exceptionalism, which sees a stable Mormon counterculture maintaining a traditional distinctiveness over and against ‘the world.’ While that is indeed a powerful myth of Mormon self-identity, Mormonism actually has followed a number of broad evolutionary trends on key social and theological issues.” I’ve long had this thought, and it raises legitimate questions in my mind about whether the church will stick to its guns re: sexuality and gender (I hope for a progressive change).
My leanings are important to point out, I think, and I’d be curious how someone else less questioning of these doctrines might view this book.
One note: The introduction was intellectually intimidating to read. After that, it became easier to read for me.
Thanks to my friend Laura for the rec! I’ll be mulling this book over for a long time.
October 11, 2022
Nice overview of the LDS church's evolving teachings and policies regarding gender and sexuality. I especially enjoyed the discussion of gender issues in the church and their relationship with LGBTQ issues.
June 27, 2021
"Tabernacles of Clay" covers the history of sexuality and gender in post-World War II Mormonism (specifically, in the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints), showing how church leaders have evolved in their understanding of sexuality and gender over the years. Instead of an unchanged and complete elucidation of gender and sexuality, the Church has evolved through conservative cultural influences and psychological approaches in its understanding of and teaching of gender and marriage.
Petrey's approach is to elucidate the theoretical approaches behind LDS understandings of gender and sexuality first, and then to show how those approaches changed and evolved historically. Most fascinating, he shows how the concept of gender as an essential and unchangeable feature of one's identity is a modern teaching of the Church that is itself opposed to prior church leader's understandings of gender as well as in conflict with itself in the modern day Church. Former church leaders, for example, sometimes taught that gender was chosen by us as intelligences before becoming spirits in the pre-existence--and Joseph Fielding Smith even taught that those who are not saved in the Celestial Kingdom will become genderless. Today, the seemingly strong stance of the Church in favor of gender essentialism actually veils a practical belief in gender fluidity - gender is not so essential and unchanging that it doesn't need to be protected. Rather, proper gender and gender relations need to be defended against their potential fluidity in the form of homosexuality.
The first chapter connects matters of race and gender in showing how LDS leaders enforced and defended an exclusivist sense of marriage vis-à-vis other types of marriages. In the early post-World War II era, the Church defended racially pure marriage against interracial marriages, but in the years after 1978 the Church downplayed (and eventually changed) its former stance against interracial marriages, now defending the sanctity of heterosexual marriage vis-à-vis same-sex marriage. It is interesting to consider the historical need of church leaders to defend itself against "an other" rather than to more inclusively value and defend all types of marriages.
The second chapter ("Sodom and Cumorah") covers the Church's adoption of psychological approaches to "cure" homosexuality. The Church was heavily influenced by conservative cultural and psychological approaches in its treatment of "homosexuality" (which as an adjective was preferred to the noun "homosexual"). When the American Psychological Association removed homosexuality from its list of mental disorders in the 1970s, Spencer W. Kimball and other church leaders were influenced by conservative critics to keep considering homosexuality a disorder and to attempt to cure it. Petrey shows how this approach relied on the concept of homosexuality as a form of gender failure - the cause usually being thought to be the absence of a strong father figure and a psychological need to compensate by bonding more closely with other males. Needless to say, the decades since have shown just how terribly wrong this approach has been and how damaging the Church's adaptation of outdated conversion therapies has been to LGBTQ members.
Chapter three covers the Church's defense of patriarchal marriage versus more equitable marriage arrangements, including the Church's opposition to the United States Equal Rights Amendment (ERA). Paradoxically, the Church's opposition to the ERA took place at the same time the Church transitioned its own teachings from being more heavily in favor of patriarchal marriage to moving towards a form of soft egalitarianism where husband and wife are theoretically (nearly) equal, with the husband's "presiding" authority coexisting simultaneously with a more cooperative marriage partnership.
Chapter four covers the Family Proclamation and the Church in the 1990s to the 2000s, arguing that heterosexuality had now superseded patriarchy as the defining feature of LDS marriages. Petrey covers the Church's history of political engagement in favor of traditional marriage and opposed to same-sex marriage, a story that has also been told well by Greg Prince in "Gay Rights and the Mormon Church."
The final chapter of the book covers recent shifts in the Church's understanding and teachings around homosexuality. The Church no longer supports conversion therapy, accepting that homosexuality cannot simply be "cured" - at least not in this life, as such a "cure" is still thought to take place in the after-life. Petrey also covers Elder Oaks' admission that our understanding of transgender issues is incomplete and that "we have some unfinished business in teaching on that." He covers other developments, such as the Church's (short-lived) Exclusion Policy, Mormon and Gay website, and other outreach efforts, as well as the switch from defending traditional marriage politically to defending "religious freedom."
Petrey's book clearly shows how the LDS Church's teachings on gender and sexuality are not rooted exclusively in scripture but are very much affected by cultural and historical currents. The book is richly grounded in the theory of not just sexuality but also gender, which makes this book even better and more complete than Greg Prince's otherwise worthy companion book. Definitely a must read for anyone wanting to understand the history of gender and sexuality in the LDS Church.
Petrey's approach is to elucidate the theoretical approaches behind LDS understandings of gender and sexuality first, and then to show how those approaches changed and evolved historically. Most fascinating, he shows how the concept of gender as an essential and unchangeable feature of one's identity is a modern teaching of the Church that is itself opposed to prior church leader's understandings of gender as well as in conflict with itself in the modern day Church. Former church leaders, for example, sometimes taught that gender was chosen by us as intelligences before becoming spirits in the pre-existence--and Joseph Fielding Smith even taught that those who are not saved in the Celestial Kingdom will become genderless. Today, the seemingly strong stance of the Church in favor of gender essentialism actually veils a practical belief in gender fluidity - gender is not so essential and unchanging that it doesn't need to be protected. Rather, proper gender and gender relations need to be defended against their potential fluidity in the form of homosexuality.
The first chapter connects matters of race and gender in showing how LDS leaders enforced and defended an exclusivist sense of marriage vis-à-vis other types of marriages. In the early post-World War II era, the Church defended racially pure marriage against interracial marriages, but in the years after 1978 the Church downplayed (and eventually changed) its former stance against interracial marriages, now defending the sanctity of heterosexual marriage vis-à-vis same-sex marriage. It is interesting to consider the historical need of church leaders to defend itself against "an other" rather than to more inclusively value and defend all types of marriages.
The second chapter ("Sodom and Cumorah") covers the Church's adoption of psychological approaches to "cure" homosexuality. The Church was heavily influenced by conservative cultural and psychological approaches in its treatment of "homosexuality" (which as an adjective was preferred to the noun "homosexual"). When the American Psychological Association removed homosexuality from its list of mental disorders in the 1970s, Spencer W. Kimball and other church leaders were influenced by conservative critics to keep considering homosexuality a disorder and to attempt to cure it. Petrey shows how this approach relied on the concept of homosexuality as a form of gender failure - the cause usually being thought to be the absence of a strong father figure and a psychological need to compensate by bonding more closely with other males. Needless to say, the decades since have shown just how terribly wrong this approach has been and how damaging the Church's adaptation of outdated conversion therapies has been to LGBTQ members.
Chapter three covers the Church's defense of patriarchal marriage versus more equitable marriage arrangements, including the Church's opposition to the United States Equal Rights Amendment (ERA). Paradoxically, the Church's opposition to the ERA took place at the same time the Church transitioned its own teachings from being more heavily in favor of patriarchal marriage to moving towards a form of soft egalitarianism where husband and wife are theoretically (nearly) equal, with the husband's "presiding" authority coexisting simultaneously with a more cooperative marriage partnership.
Chapter four covers the Family Proclamation and the Church in the 1990s to the 2000s, arguing that heterosexuality had now superseded patriarchy as the defining feature of LDS marriages. Petrey covers the Church's history of political engagement in favor of traditional marriage and opposed to same-sex marriage, a story that has also been told well by Greg Prince in "Gay Rights and the Mormon Church."
The final chapter of the book covers recent shifts in the Church's understanding and teachings around homosexuality. The Church no longer supports conversion therapy, accepting that homosexuality cannot simply be "cured" - at least not in this life, as such a "cure" is still thought to take place in the after-life. Petrey also covers Elder Oaks' admission that our understanding of transgender issues is incomplete and that "we have some unfinished business in teaching on that." He covers other developments, such as the Church's (short-lived) Exclusion Policy, Mormon and Gay website, and other outreach efforts, as well as the switch from defending traditional marriage politically to defending "religious freedom."
Petrey's book clearly shows how the LDS Church's teachings on gender and sexuality are not rooted exclusively in scripture but are very much affected by cultural and historical currents. The book is richly grounded in the theory of not just sexuality but also gender, which makes this book even better and more complete than Greg Prince's otherwise worthy companion book. Definitely a must read for anyone wanting to understand the history of gender and sexuality in the LDS Church.
September 20, 2021
It was very interesting to learn more about the history of teachings on gender and sexuality in the LDS church and how they’ve changed over time. It was also interesting how church teachings about feminism and homosexuality were closely interrelated. Around the time when the church strongly opposed the Equal Rights Amendment politically, their teachings gradually shifted from promoting patriarchal, hierarchal marriage to accommodating more equality in marriage. At the same time, this shift away from patriarchal marriage (from polygamous marriage before that) coincided with a shift toward marking heterosexuality as the defining component of LDS marriages, with clear lines drawn against homosexual relationships. While learning history can always be depressing and discouraging at times, I appreciated this book for the understanding it provides of how teachings have constantly changed overtime and the hope it gave me for future changes.
June 5, 2020
This book is a must-read for anyone who wants to understand the evolution of teachings on gender and sexuality in Mormonism. These teachings shifted from a hierarchal ideal between husband and wife (in the ERA era) to one of a soft egalitarian structure focused on heterosexuality when same-sex marriage was the societal focus.
March 6, 2021
Thoroughly researched book about how Mormonism has shifted its views on LGBT members of not only the church but also society. This book shows how gender, race, and sexual identity are all intertwined and not mutually exclusive. I would recommend this book to anyone who wants to learn more about the origins of LDS beliefs when it comes to these issues, and hopefully it can make us more empathetic to our fellow members who are trying to find their place in the church.
May 28, 2020
An engrossing history of LDS discourse, doctrine, policies, and actions regarding race and gender. My only quibbles would be not mentioning or discussing the the sex/gender distinction until page 139(!) -- it would have been useful far earlier in the book -- and some occasional snarkiness (but to be honest, in some instances I admired Petrey's restraint). All in all a remarkable volume that I recommend highly, especially members of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, or as I prefer to call them (and myself), Mormons.
August 6, 2020
Tabernacles of Clay offers a comprehensive look at sexuality and gender during the period of post-World War II “Modern Mormonism” and amidst a “religious revival” (Petrey 6). While I was surprised, maybe even initially disappointed that “plural marriage” syntax from the 19th century was not included, it is not needed. More than enough sexual, gender, and racial baggage developed within this post-war era, rendering this book one of the most fascinating works of academia I have ever read.
Beginning with the analysis of the priesthood/eugenics rhetoric that exists in the church still today, Petrey weaves the social-sexual history of the Church into a text that I found hard to put down. While learning about the origins and influence of the cultural indoctrination regarding sex and gender, I felt I was reading my personal history as a member of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints.
The second chapter progresses to the Church’s history of teachings on homosexuality and sexual identity, examining policies meant to explain psychologically, and possibly biologically (e.g. “accidents of nature” (99)), explain, prosecute, and “cure” “sexual deviants” (56). Deconstructing Church policy, it details doctrine in reflection of beliefs typical within conservative American society. Following, the third chapter focuses on anti-feminist and anti-homosexual teachings which surfaced in the 1970’s and early 1980’s, and manifested in specific gender roles. It introduces the concept of equality between men and women as preferable to the kind of equality emphasised in the ERA movement, while noting the Church as a political force in that period (112-114).
The fourth chapter comprises “The Family: A Proclamation to the World.” This document has been a source of comfort and conflict since presented, making it nearly as controversial a topic in Church history as polygamy. Petrey examines the political move from a strictly patriarchal Church structure to a heteronormative governance—at least within the ideal Mormon family (e.g. still only men hold a “priesthood umbrella”), and how that allowed for a tiny degree of sexual freedom within heterosexual marriage. The final chapter explores the fluidity of Church teachings from moral-political absolutes to a belief that allowed the Church and its leaders to develop new ideologies, including the admission that the Church does not have all the answers yet.
Meticulously researched and well-balanced in structure and argument, Petrey’s book provides new insights into the church’s relationship with gender and sexuality policies. With church rhetoric in regard to men and women being equal through gendered roles, it becomes easy to dismiss with , “Well, it’s the Lord’s plan, so, it’s okay if we can’t comprehend it in this life.” Instead, not only does this book allow for modern doctrinal explanation (if not comprehension), it explores the basis of this dichotomy.
Additionally, though I am normally disappointed in books on Mormonism that focus only on America and Americana, this book is different. Tabernacles of Clay opens academic floodgates regarding research on gender within the international church and is a necessary text for those who want to learn about and study “Modern Mormonism.” Accessible and addictive in content, this book comes highly recommended by me.
Beginning with the analysis of the priesthood/eugenics rhetoric that exists in the church still today, Petrey weaves the social-sexual history of the Church into a text that I found hard to put down. While learning about the origins and influence of the cultural indoctrination regarding sex and gender, I felt I was reading my personal history as a member of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints.
The second chapter progresses to the Church’s history of teachings on homosexuality and sexual identity, examining policies meant to explain psychologically, and possibly biologically (e.g. “accidents of nature” (99)), explain, prosecute, and “cure” “sexual deviants” (56). Deconstructing Church policy, it details doctrine in reflection of beliefs typical within conservative American society. Following, the third chapter focuses on anti-feminist and anti-homosexual teachings which surfaced in the 1970’s and early 1980’s, and manifested in specific gender roles. It introduces the concept of equality between men and women as preferable to the kind of equality emphasised in the ERA movement, while noting the Church as a political force in that period (112-114).
The fourth chapter comprises “The Family: A Proclamation to the World.” This document has been a source of comfort and conflict since presented, making it nearly as controversial a topic in Church history as polygamy. Petrey examines the political move from a strictly patriarchal Church structure to a heteronormative governance—at least within the ideal Mormon family (e.g. still only men hold a “priesthood umbrella”), and how that allowed for a tiny degree of sexual freedom within heterosexual marriage. The final chapter explores the fluidity of Church teachings from moral-political absolutes to a belief that allowed the Church and its leaders to develop new ideologies, including the admission that the Church does not have all the answers yet.
Meticulously researched and well-balanced in structure and argument, Petrey’s book provides new insights into the church’s relationship with gender and sexuality policies. With church rhetoric in regard to men and women being equal through gendered roles, it becomes easy to dismiss with , “Well, it’s the Lord’s plan, so, it’s okay if we can’t comprehend it in this life.” Instead, not only does this book allow for modern doctrinal explanation (if not comprehension), it explores the basis of this dichotomy.
Additionally, though I am normally disappointed in books on Mormonism that focus only on America and Americana, this book is different. Tabernacles of Clay opens academic floodgates regarding research on gender within the international church and is a necessary text for those who want to learn about and study “Modern Mormonism.” Accessible and addictive in content, this book comes highly recommended by me.
August 4, 2020
Probably the best piece of LDS scholarly work I have read yet. Petrey is a well-qualified researcher for the complicated subject of religion and sexuality, and he did a spectacular job. For myself, being raised a Mormon during the 80s/90s, seeing multiple copies of The Miracle of Forgiveness by Kimball on the shelf when being interviewed by a bishop (and given a copy to read as a youth), and remembering the questions and concerns church leaders had for me as both a teenager and adult, I must say that this book was not just therapeutic, but cathartic for me.
Tabernacles of Clay is about what the LDS church stance is/was on matters relating to sexuality, why they held the views they did, and how/why they have changed them. Petrey covers the gambit of sexuality (interracial marriage, ERA, patriarchy, gender roles, hierarchy, masturbation, sodomy, LDS Social Services, American religious culture, political efforts, etc.), and approaches it all strictly descriptively. That said, it is not boring or dull in the least. Petrey masterfully explains the evolution of how LDS leadership engaged sexuality since WWII, through to today, and importantly, leaves judgement, praise, and criticism for the reader.
Here are a couple paragraphs from the authors concluding chapter (where his personal thoughts creep in a little). I thought these were insightful for getting a better picture of what this book is about…
---
What is remarkable about the Mormon tolerance for change (and its limits) is how resistant Latter-day Saints can be to acknowledging that there is really any change at all. Even the reversal of the 2015 policy emphasized continuity: “These changes do not represent a shift in Church doctrine related to marriage or the commandments of God in regard to chastity and morality.”19 This book has explored one example of a set of teachings that are widely believed to be quite stable in Mormonism but have actually been open to dramatic changes. LDS teachings about marriage, gender roles, sexual difference, and sexuality have undergone remarkable transformation since World War II. The teachings and practices of the LDS church in the early twenty-first century would already be unrecognizable to Mormon leaders in the mid-twentieth century.
…
Church leaders once objected to the sociopolitical labels of “homosexual,” “gay,” and “lesbian” because they implied fixity instead of fluidity. As moral theories gave way to psycho-developmental theories, church leaders even tried to accommodate genetic theories, accepting that some feelings might be “inborn.” After decades of resistance to such labels, even declaring such rejection to be a doctrine, in recent years church leaders reversed course on this approach and accepted and adopted these identity categories in new pastoral outreach efforts and reduced their expectations for any “cure” at all. Such changes may be explained, at least in part, by tracking broader changes to religion in American culture. Mormon developments in this period indeed look very similar to what was happening among conservative Christian movements and American Christianity in general.
Tabernacles of Clay is about what the LDS church stance is/was on matters relating to sexuality, why they held the views they did, and how/why they have changed them. Petrey covers the gambit of sexuality (interracial marriage, ERA, patriarchy, gender roles, hierarchy, masturbation, sodomy, LDS Social Services, American religious culture, political efforts, etc.), and approaches it all strictly descriptively. That said, it is not boring or dull in the least. Petrey masterfully explains the evolution of how LDS leadership engaged sexuality since WWII, through to today, and importantly, leaves judgement, praise, and criticism for the reader.
Here are a couple paragraphs from the authors concluding chapter (where his personal thoughts creep in a little). I thought these were insightful for getting a better picture of what this book is about…
---
What is remarkable about the Mormon tolerance for change (and its limits) is how resistant Latter-day Saints can be to acknowledging that there is really any change at all. Even the reversal of the 2015 policy emphasized continuity: “These changes do not represent a shift in Church doctrine related to marriage or the commandments of God in regard to chastity and morality.”19 This book has explored one example of a set of teachings that are widely believed to be quite stable in Mormonism but have actually been open to dramatic changes. LDS teachings about marriage, gender roles, sexual difference, and sexuality have undergone remarkable transformation since World War II. The teachings and practices of the LDS church in the early twenty-first century would already be unrecognizable to Mormon leaders in the mid-twentieth century.
…
Church leaders once objected to the sociopolitical labels of “homosexual,” “gay,” and “lesbian” because they implied fixity instead of fluidity. As moral theories gave way to psycho-developmental theories, church leaders even tried to accommodate genetic theories, accepting that some feelings might be “inborn.” After decades of resistance to such labels, even declaring such rejection to be a doctrine, in recent years church leaders reversed course on this approach and accepted and adopted these identity categories in new pastoral outreach efforts and reduced their expectations for any “cure” at all. Such changes may be explained, at least in part, by tracking broader changes to religion in American culture. Mormon developments in this period indeed look very similar to what was happening among conservative Christian movements and American Christianity in general.
June 15, 2020
Taylor Petrey's thought-provoking work tracks the history and development of LDS doctrines, policies, and cultural ideas surrounding the central issues related to gender and sexual identification. By analyzing the formal doctrines/policies and informal statements by LDS Church leaders, specifically in the period stretching from World War II until the present, Petrey tracks the ways in which church leaders responded to challenges presented by cultural change, scientific discoveries, and developments in psychology.
That history reveals how the doctrines addressing sexual and gender identity have undergone a dynamic process of change and development, inevitably responding to new information that challenged old ways of thinking. Petrey further contextualizes those responses within each of the decades of development, revealing how current doctrinal theories originated, more often than not, from "the fringes of psychology" or "a political discourse of fear from the emergent Religious Right" (p. 119). This study reveals the intense anxiety that LDS leaders have faced, and continue to face, as these issues continue to evolve.
For LDS readers—and anyone else interested in the development of Mormon religious theology—Petrey touches on issues that destabilize the notion of fixed sexual and gendered identities. For instance, he points out a Mormon doctrine that most church members already know about, yet never fully consider or explore: the theological position that our spirits used to be "intelligences," which were sexless and genderless entities, prior to being spiritually "born" as male or female spirit in a pre-existent life, and also prior to being physically born as a human being here on earth (p. 40). Thus, in every individual's soul, there lies an "intelligence" at the core that was neither male nor female (or any other gendered identity).
The ramification, from an LDS perspective, is that every spirit of every individual—without exception—experienced a transition from the state of being an "intelligence" to the state of being "male" or "female." Moreover, that transition does not result in an eternally fixed state. For souls that do not make it to the highest heaven, the Celestial Kingdom, their spirits will return to a sexless state, neither male nor female, in the afterlife (p. 43-45). These doctrines involving such malleability point to the need for a more complex theology than simplified male/female binaries and default positions assuming fixed eternal identities.
While Petrey's work focuses on the historical development of LDS leaders' theories about race, sexual identity, and gender roles/identification, I suspect that his work will also influence future discussions on these issues within the LDS faith, pointing the way for a more sophisticated theology of identity. The importance of this work simply cannot be overstated.
That history reveals how the doctrines addressing sexual and gender identity have undergone a dynamic process of change and development, inevitably responding to new information that challenged old ways of thinking. Petrey further contextualizes those responses within each of the decades of development, revealing how current doctrinal theories originated, more often than not, from "the fringes of psychology" or "a political discourse of fear from the emergent Religious Right" (p. 119). This study reveals the intense anxiety that LDS leaders have faced, and continue to face, as these issues continue to evolve.
For LDS readers—and anyone else interested in the development of Mormon religious theology—Petrey touches on issues that destabilize the notion of fixed sexual and gendered identities. For instance, he points out a Mormon doctrine that most church members already know about, yet never fully consider or explore: the theological position that our spirits used to be "intelligences," which were sexless and genderless entities, prior to being spiritually "born" as male or female spirit in a pre-existent life, and also prior to being physically born as a human being here on earth (p. 40). Thus, in every individual's soul, there lies an "intelligence" at the core that was neither male nor female (or any other gendered identity).
The ramification, from an LDS perspective, is that every spirit of every individual—without exception—experienced a transition from the state of being an "intelligence" to the state of being "male" or "female." Moreover, that transition does not result in an eternally fixed state. For souls that do not make it to the highest heaven, the Celestial Kingdom, their spirits will return to a sexless state, neither male nor female, in the afterlife (p. 43-45). These doctrines involving such malleability point to the need for a more complex theology than simplified male/female binaries and default positions assuming fixed eternal identities.
While Petrey's work focuses on the historical development of LDS leaders' theories about race, sexual identity, and gender roles/identification, I suspect that his work will also influence future discussions on these issues within the LDS faith, pointing the way for a more sophisticated theology of identity. The importance of this work simply cannot be overstated.
June 15, 2020
History matters and it has seldom mattered more than in the case of how religious groups in America came to construct their concepts and teachings about sexuality and gender. This book lays out the convoluted and self-contradictory process by which leaders and members of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints have sought to define and regulate these matters. There is little here to be proud of, and much to be cautioned by. The lessons are as urgently needed now as ever. This is a landmark book of tremendous consequence.
July 11, 2020
Fascinating study of the evolution of teachings on race, gender, and sexuality in the LDS Church with the emphasis on marriage as the driving force in each.
October 26, 2022
Stephen King, in the foreward to his work "Night Shift" (1978), poses the following question, "How many things are we afraid of?" He goes on to describe fear as "an emotion that makes us blind" and "the emotion that makes a stealthy ruin of the thinking process."
How many things are LDS leaders afraid of? As tantalizing as I find that question (particularly with Halloween just around the corner), can I just say far too many to chronicle here? The church's chief boogeyman that rose to prominence in my lifetime has without a doubt been "the homosexual" (though the church has often refused to acknowledge this monster seemingly lurking under its bed as any type of noun). Petrey reveals and then effectively probes the throughline of the perpetual fear and anxiety that shaped the church's playbook for grappling with two of its apparently greatest modern menaces - gender and sexuality (the third being race which Petrey also effectively illuminates in parallel).
Having been raised with, and served for years in, a Mormonism-saturated in the milieu of McConkie and Fielding Smith mindsets, I found myself approaching these topics with elements of my own trepidation. In 'McConkie's Mormonism' (which in my experience is "essentially" synonymous with Modern Mormonism . . . ), gender and sexuality are eternal and unchanging - nothing could be cast as more absolutes in the church curriculum I was fed from childhood.
Petrey's impeccable research reveals the reality of how fluid these concepts have always been within Mormonism, and how dramatically the church's teachings have shifted to accommodate the levels of its perceived threats (internally and externally) throughout the last century. These discoveries represent a striking paradigm shift for me individually (and hopefully one looming for the church "collectively" in the near future - which 'I believe' by LDS standards will be somewhere around 2078 when - to evoke the spirit of the Book of Mormon musical, "God will change his mind about gay people!" but I digress . . . ).
In lieu of seeking further light and understanding by genuinely grappling with the myriad of gray areas these important concepts represent, the church has repeatedly molded its own perspective by getting in bed with the fear-based language of the religious right. Such an approach has not served us well as a people - or as a faith - and I fear much damage has been done. For a church led by "seers," we have too often been blinded by our own ignorance and fears.
In the words of Charles Darwin (another Mormon boogeyman) - "Ignorance more frequently begets confidence than does knowledge: it is those who know little, and not those who know much, who so positively assert ("I know") that this or that . . . "
I believe we can do so much better - I need to believe that. Petrey's work represents a vital step forward on a path toward a greater expression of a truly Christlike love worthy of our faith. A journey toward Christ can be nothing less than radically inclusive and an "essential" rejection of any fear created by culture - or worse, any confidence rooted in ignorance.
How many things are LDS leaders afraid of? As tantalizing as I find that question (particularly with Halloween just around the corner), can I just say far too many to chronicle here? The church's chief boogeyman that rose to prominence in my lifetime has without a doubt been "the homosexual" (though the church has often refused to acknowledge this monster seemingly lurking under its bed as any type of noun). Petrey reveals and then effectively probes the throughline of the perpetual fear and anxiety that shaped the church's playbook for grappling with two of its apparently greatest modern menaces - gender and sexuality (the third being race which Petrey also effectively illuminates in parallel).
Having been raised with, and served for years in, a Mormonism-saturated in the milieu of McConkie and Fielding Smith mindsets, I found myself approaching these topics with elements of my own trepidation. In 'McConkie's Mormonism' (which in my experience is "essentially" synonymous with Modern Mormonism . . . ), gender and sexuality are eternal and unchanging - nothing could be cast as more absolutes in the church curriculum I was fed from childhood.
Petrey's impeccable research reveals the reality of how fluid these concepts have always been within Mormonism, and how dramatically the church's teachings have shifted to accommodate the levels of its perceived threats (internally and externally) throughout the last century. These discoveries represent a striking paradigm shift for me individually (and hopefully one looming for the church "collectively" in the near future - which 'I believe' by LDS standards will be somewhere around 2078 when - to evoke the spirit of the Book of Mormon musical, "God will change his mind about gay people!" but I digress . . . ).
In lieu of seeking further light and understanding by genuinely grappling with the myriad of gray areas these important concepts represent, the church has repeatedly molded its own perspective by getting in bed with the fear-based language of the religious right. Such an approach has not served us well as a people - or as a faith - and I fear much damage has been done. For a church led by "seers," we have too often been blinded by our own ignorance and fears.
In the words of Charles Darwin (another Mormon boogeyman) - "Ignorance more frequently begets confidence than does knowledge: it is those who know little, and not those who know much, who so positively assert ("I know") that this or that . . . "
I believe we can do so much better - I need to believe that. Petrey's work represents a vital step forward on a path toward a greater expression of a truly Christlike love worthy of our faith. A journey toward Christ can be nothing less than radically inclusive and an "essential" rejection of any fear created by culture - or worse, any confidence rooted in ignorance.
August 24, 2020
Wow. Reading this was like watching a train wreck in slow motion. Being familiar with the LDS Church's current position on reparative therapy, namely that "A change in attraction should not be expected or demanded as an outcome by parents, leaders, or professional counselors" it was distressing to read through extensive statements and teachings by past church leaders advocating for reparative therapy. The train wreck finally occurs, after 175 pages of insistence by LDS leaders and therapists that they really can change a person's sexual orientation if the person just prays hard enough, "The therapeutic and political approaches and theories about gender malleability created new problems as they continued to fall short of their promises to change sexual attractions."
Before reading, I listened to an interview in which Petrey gave his motivation for starting this project: the recurring unexamined belief amongst LDSs that the Church's position on homosexuality has never changed. Petrey ably demonstrates that this belief doesn't hold up. The earliest LDS discourse treats homosexuality in purely moral terms (ie as a freely chosen immoral action that should be punished). Under President Spencer W Kimball, discourse transitioned to classifying homosexuality as a mental illness that necessitated pastoral care rather than punishment. In 1995, President Dallin H Oaks "admitted for the first time from a church leader, 'Some kinds of feelings seem to be inborn.'" However, President Boyd K Packer "never seemed fully convinced by the various etiologies of homosexuality that were emerging." In 2000, he "continued to argue that homosexuality was learned especially in teenage years through adolescent sex play." As mentioned above, the Church has settled on an agnostic position regarding the causes of homosexuality, but no longer supports that sexuality can be proactively changed in mortality while maintaining that homosexuality will not be a feature (or a bug?) of the afterlife.
Where Tabernacles of Clay really excels, though, is in contextualizing LDS approaches to homosexuality in connection with changes in racial and gender doctrines. I did not appreciate the degree to which the Church's views on race, gender, and sexuality were interconnected. Church leaders preached against interracial marriage in connection with its priesthood and temple restriction. Moreover, Petrey details how Church policies were shaped both in response to and in accommodation of pro-feminist and pro-LGBT views in broader society. The shift from polygamous to patriarchal to soft-egalitarian, heterosexual marriage is a particularly helpful framework for understanding the Church's evolving stances on marriage.
Before reading, I listened to an interview in which Petrey gave his motivation for starting this project: the recurring unexamined belief amongst LDSs that the Church's position on homosexuality has never changed. Petrey ably demonstrates that this belief doesn't hold up. The earliest LDS discourse treats homosexuality in purely moral terms (ie as a freely chosen immoral action that should be punished). Under President Spencer W Kimball, discourse transitioned to classifying homosexuality as a mental illness that necessitated pastoral care rather than punishment. In 1995, President Dallin H Oaks "admitted for the first time from a church leader, 'Some kinds of feelings seem to be inborn.'" However, President Boyd K Packer "never seemed fully convinced by the various etiologies of homosexuality that were emerging." In 2000, he "continued to argue that homosexuality was learned especially in teenage years through adolescent sex play." As mentioned above, the Church has settled on an agnostic position regarding the causes of homosexuality, but no longer supports that sexuality can be proactively changed in mortality while maintaining that homosexuality will not be a feature (or a bug?) of the afterlife.
Where Tabernacles of Clay really excels, though, is in contextualizing LDS approaches to homosexuality in connection with changes in racial and gender doctrines. I did not appreciate the degree to which the Church's views on race, gender, and sexuality were interconnected. Church leaders preached against interracial marriage in connection with its priesthood and temple restriction. Moreover, Petrey details how Church policies were shaped both in response to and in accommodation of pro-feminist and pro-LGBT views in broader society. The shift from polygamous to patriarchal to soft-egalitarian, heterosexual marriage is a particularly helpful framework for understanding the Church's evolving stances on marriage.
September 1, 2020
Discusses Latter-day Saint (LDS) teachings on gender, sexuality, and marriage since WWII, including such topics as interracial marriage, feminism, and LGBTQ issues. The conclusion: there is conflict in Mormon doctrine between the ideas of fixed and fluid gender and sexuality.
Very well researched, and a good encapsulation of the changes within the Church of the last century or so. Makes me wonder what other changes are yet to come...
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This very well-researched book discusses Latter-day Saint (LDS) teachings on gender and sexuality since WWII, including such topics as interracial marriage, the ERA movement, feminism, birth control, homosexuality, gender identity, and same-sex marriage. Various changes in Church policy over the decades are shown in the context of an evolving American mentality, comparing formal statements on a wide array of topics. Petrey's conclusion: there is ongoing conflict in Mormon doctrine between the ideas of fixed, eternal gender and sexuality, and fluid, malleable gender and sexuality.
What I appreciated most about this book (besides the beautiful cover) is the plain presentation of the facts; Petrey didn't mangle them into a pretty picture, but rather showed them in their tangled, confusing form. It's safe to say that Mormon ideas about gender and sexuality have changed over time. While these shifts may make some members of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints uncomfortable, I believe that it's in this fertile soil of discomfort that empathy and self-awareness can grow. I recommend this book to those ready for a deep dive, replete with fresh insights to gender and sexuality in a modern church.
https://provolibrarystaffreviews.blog...
Very well researched, and a good encapsulation of the changes within the Church of the last century or so. Makes me wonder what other changes are yet to come...
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This very well-researched book discusses Latter-day Saint (LDS) teachings on gender and sexuality since WWII, including such topics as interracial marriage, the ERA movement, feminism, birth control, homosexuality, gender identity, and same-sex marriage. Various changes in Church policy over the decades are shown in the context of an evolving American mentality, comparing formal statements on a wide array of topics. Petrey's conclusion: there is ongoing conflict in Mormon doctrine between the ideas of fixed, eternal gender and sexuality, and fluid, malleable gender and sexuality.
What I appreciated most about this book (besides the beautiful cover) is the plain presentation of the facts; Petrey didn't mangle them into a pretty picture, but rather showed them in their tangled, confusing form. It's safe to say that Mormon ideas about gender and sexuality have changed over time. While these shifts may make some members of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints uncomfortable, I believe that it's in this fertile soil of discomfort that empathy and self-awareness can grow. I recommend this book to those ready for a deep dive, replete with fresh insights to gender and sexuality in a modern church.
https://provolibrarystaffreviews.blog...
March 27, 2022
In this well researched book, Taylor Petrie provides a thorough discussion of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints (LDS) approach to sexuality and gender from the post-WWII era to current times. He shows how certain ideas and political strategies used to justify the ban on Blacks holding the priesthood were carried through to the Church’s anti-ERA efforts of the 1970s and the political efforts in the 1990s and 2000s to block gay marriage.
One of the core concepts that Petrie develops in this book is the approach by LDS leaders to sexuality and gender. He states: “On the one hand, Mormon leaders have embraced the ideals of gender essentialism—the belief that there are fixed differences between male and female, which represent the natural and divine order of sexual difference. On the other hand, Mormon leaders have often taught that the differences between male and female are malleable and contingent, and so they must be guarded with strict social, ecclesiastical, and legal norms and sanctions.” (p. 2) Petrie goes on to elucidate statements, general conference talks, and political actions taken by the church over almost eight decades to justify this statement.
While significant changes have occurred in policies regarding sexuality and gender over time, the LDS Church continues to struggle with the roles of women and men, and sexuality and gender identity issues. I highly recommend this book to anyone interested in these issues.
One of the core concepts that Petrie develops in this book is the approach by LDS leaders to sexuality and gender. He states: “On the one hand, Mormon leaders have embraced the ideals of gender essentialism—the belief that there are fixed differences between male and female, which represent the natural and divine order of sexual difference. On the other hand, Mormon leaders have often taught that the differences between male and female are malleable and contingent, and so they must be guarded with strict social, ecclesiastical, and legal norms and sanctions.” (p. 2) Petrie goes on to elucidate statements, general conference talks, and political actions taken by the church over almost eight decades to justify this statement.
While significant changes have occurred in policies regarding sexuality and gender over time, the LDS Church continues to struggle with the roles of women and men, and sexuality and gender identity issues. I highly recommend this book to anyone interested in these issues.
August 20, 2020
Full disclosure - I am friends with the author. In my defense as a critic, however, I've read some of his other scholarship and found it brilliant and important but also a bit dense, academic and slow going. Tabernacles of Clay is an incredibly interesting and accessible book of history--very deserving of all the rave reviews it's been getting. He lays out the evolution of our religion's theology around sex, gender and family with good documentation, an even tone, and an ability to capture and explore all the internal contradictions. So much of Mormon doctrine and culture has revolved around who gets to marry whom-- evolving from polygamy to racial purity (no miscegeny) to heteronormativity. With the key operative term here being EVOLVED. This is good history--showing us the path that got us where we are today with an understanding that nothing is inevitable or immutable. It's the product of social forces, the decisions of those in power, etc. It reminds us of the agency we have to design the future.
May 18, 2021
An important piece of Mormon history that focuses on the “Why?” behind certain doctrinal decisions and how certain clarifications were often culturally motivated or internally disagreed upon. It’s important that as a member of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints we reckon with our past and with what our past means for the future. No group can build Zion without learning from its past. This book is a good starting place for how we reckon our past and how we can change our future for the better. Highly recommend this book for those within the LDS church and those who are interested in its history.
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January 13, 2023Perhaps naively, I thought I would learn more about the "behind the scenes" at Church HQ regarding issues and events of gender and sexuality in the church. I didn't get the reveal I was hoping for, if you've been following women's issues and the church's involvement with LGBTQ issues, there are no surprises here. Still, the book is well organized and readable.
September 6, 2020
As a much needed and already widely read book in Mormon Studies, I don't really think that there is much that I can say which hasn't already been said, so I'll just say that you should probably read it!
September 2, 2020
Excellent history of gender and sexuality in Mormonism from about WWII to the present. Good attention to race. Lots of focus on the evolving relationship with psychology. Argues that Mormon leaders contradictorily say gender and sexuality are innate (first due to nature, later due to pre/postmortal spirits), but then treat gender and sexuality as fluid constructs that have to be heavily reinforced by social norms. Argues that leaders have consistently defined a pure or ideal marriage, first by banning interracial marriage, then focusing on patriarchal marriage, then heterosexual marriage.
March 3, 2021
An essential telling of important LDS history, right up to the present, that I wish everyone would read.
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