Neylan McBaine's new book Women at Church appears at a tense moment for LDS church members with regard to gender issues. Some members have advocated for ordaining women to the priesthood while others have asserted that manifesting dissatisfaction with the status quo is inappropriate. McBaine herself loves being a Mormon woman. But she also believes 'there is much more we can do to see, hear, and include women at church' (xiii). Situated between these two poles without disrespect to either, her book has two main goals: First, to identify and acknowledge the real pain felt by some LDS women, and second, to offer solutions to provide a more fulfilling church experience for them—solutions that fit within the Church's current administrative framework.McBaine says the first goal is important because some church members are comfortable with the status quo, believing that their personal satisfaction suggests everyone should be similarly satisfied. She includes personal accounts of a number of LDS women from various backgrounds to convince readers that there are real issues to grapple with and that simply dismissing concerns isn't an appropriate or effective response. 'How can we dismiss others' pain simply because we do not feel it ourselves?' she asks (23). If you've ever found yourself thinking 'I don't see any problems' or 'my wife doesn't see any problems,' the first half of the book (the negativity of which McBaine feels compelled to apologize for in her intro) is required reading.The second goal reflects McBaine's pragmatic and reverent attitude toward the church itself. She doesn't really enter the debate about women's ordination and she doesn't offer scripture-grounded theological defenses of current practices. After a cursory overview of some of the developments in the church with regard to women's roles, she encourages members to become familiar with the church's current policies in order to identify ways to broaden the roles of women in the church without overstepping current boundaries. She includes a number specific strategies already happening in local wards and branches throughout the church in order to prompt more local reflection and innovation. She calls for expanded roles for women in ward councils, more teaching and pastoral opportunities for women, and greater inclusion of women's voices in church talks and lessons. A companion website includes resources members can use to find teachings by LDS women. Practicing what she's preaching, each chapter of McBaine's book includes an epigraph by LDS leaders past and present—all women.Above all, she calls upon members to recognize strides the church has made in the past few years while still hoping for greater alignment between the church's egalitarian ideals and its feet-on-the-ground practices.Women at Church is more devotional and practical than many of Kofford Books's other titles. It isn't an academic book; it's a pastoral book intended to encourage greater compassion and cooperation among practicing church members—especially between women and men, but also between women and other women who, McBaine says, can sometimes pose the largest obstacle to women's fulfillment in the church. McBaine's prose is fluid and familiar. But instead of oversimplifying things (as such accessible writing is apt to do), her style more often makes problems seem more pressing even as McBaine makes practical solutions seem within reach. Bishops and Stake Presidents will begin to better understand and recognize the disconnect many women feel, making McBaine's suggested solutions all the more welcome. Women who read the book will learn how to initiate fruitful conversations with fellow church members and leaders in order to make their church service more fulfilling. I think all readers will walk away with an increased desire to improve gender relations in church culture regardless of where they stand on questions about women's ordination. All readers will likely also find something or other to bristle at, but if read with charity, this book lays out an impressive span of common ground.Women at Church engenders true empathy and inspires faithful action—a powerful combination for those who wish to enrich the experiences of LDS women at church.
Neylan McBaine, Women at Church: Magnifying LDS Women's Local Impact (Salt Lake City: Greg Kofford Books, 2014), xxi+189 pp.