Deidre GreenDeidre Green would like to see more women in the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints thinking about theology. Not only thinking about it, but also contributing to it. As a scholar of Danish Christian philosopher Søren Kierkegaard, Green understands the value of individual perspectives in a community's efforts to understand God:
'Women’s experience is not ancillary to, but rather foundational for, the articulation of theology...Lifting up women’s experience seems fitting of an LDS framework, in which revelation and doctrine often derive from questions that arise from embodied encounters with the world.' ((Deidre Nicole Green, 'Becoming Equal Partners: Latter-day Saint Women as Theologians,' Mormonism in the Academy: Teaching, Scholarship, & Faith, June 8, 2016. Watch her presentation here. This paper is scheduled for publication in the forthcoming book based on this colloquium.))
For Green, understanding God's purposes requires the mutual participation of women and men, everyone involved offering and learning from diverse perspectives. The Maxwell Institute is grateful that Green brings her perspective as one of this year's visiting fellows. Having completed a PhD in Religion from Claremont Graduate University, she also currently teaches part-time in BYU's Religious Education department.Green is encouraged by historical examples of women contributing to LDS theology, as well as by current efforts by the LDS Church to increase the participation of women:
'As women increasingly feel confident in their knowledge of LDS doctrine, appropriate it, and assume the authority both to teach and shape it, they can better fulfill the imperative given to them by Russell M. Nelson, president of the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles, to 'speak with the power and authority of God!'' ((Russell M. Nelson, “A Plea to My Sisters,” General Conference of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, October 2015.))
We're thrilled to have Green with us at the Institute. You can read more about her historically grounded and philosophically informed ideas about women and LDS theology in a forthcoming book based on last year's Bushman colloquium. Her contribution is called 'Becoming Equal Partners: Latter-day Saint Women as Theologians.' Stay tuned for more information.