The Mormon Women Project

As many of you know, I'm a member of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints (otherwise known as the Mormon Church).  I love my church.  I love what it teaches.  I love what it inspires me to do and be.  But one thing I don't love about being a Mormon is the deceptive idea that all Mormons (especially Mormon women) embrace - or should embrace - some things that really aren't part of our church doctrine.

Our church teaches us the importance of family, but that doesn't mean we all strive for large families.  We're not all conservative - politically or otherwise. We're not all white and middle class.  We don't all sew and scrapbook and bake bread.  We don't dress the same or like the same music or enjoy the same activities. Sharing the same faith, church leaders and ideology doesn't mean we share the same hobbies or get the same answers from the Lord about what is uniquely right for us and for our families.

Anyway, I was SO excited when my dear friend, Neylan McBaine (who helped me start CareerMothers which merged into Power of Moms) recently started a wonderful website called the Mormon Women Project.  Neylan and her team of excellent interviewers have talked with scores of wonderful Mormon Women about their choices, their challenges and their faith.  Each week, a new interview is posted.

I've loved reading about the lives of valiant Mormon women who've faced a huge variety of challenges and made very different choices in their lives while sharing the same religion.  I love that the website seems to say "it's OK - no wonderful - to be different and it's so great to learn about each other and embrace our sameness and our differences."

I was interviewed by MWP a couple months back and my interview posted last week.  Check it out here if you like.  I think they did a great job with it.