Introduction to the Young Women's manual

I think that teaching girls that they are less than boys is damaging. I think that putting all girls into a one-size-fits-all box creates a culture in which girls do not have all the knowledge and information that they should. I am not saying that the church doesn't do this to everyone accross the board. I'm not saying that the church doesn't have other damaging aspects. I'm not saying that the church is all bad for every female everywhere.

What I'm trying to do with this young women's series is demonstrate a systematic approach on the part of the church (whether it's conscious or unconscious, whether it's god directed, or man made) to delegate young women to a very specific role. The party line is that the church values women the same as men, that women might even be more righteous, that women can have a career and education.

I disagree. I don't think the practices or the materials of the church advocate a variety of values or lifestyles. I think it is constricting, and anyone who doesn't fall into the 'right' pattern is subject to self and institutional guilt.


Find the complete unaltered text here.


Elder M. Russell Ballard counseled, “Teachers would be well advised to study carefully the scriptures and their manuals before reaching out for supplemental materials. Far too many teachers seem to stray from the approved curriculum materials without fully reviewing them. If teachers feel a need to use some good supplemental resources beyond the scriptures and manuals in presenting a lesson, they should first consider the use of the Church magazines”

Of course, no manual would be complete without an admonition to not read other sources. The church is heavy into control of information; if you don't find what you need in the approved cirricula, you are not looking hard enough. And if you HAVE to go outside our counsel, use this pre-approved and carefully edited alternative.

Unit teaching involves repetition, in-depth study, and learning about related principles until they are understood and applied daily. They are serious about the repetition. You will learn how to be a better homemaker 20 times in the year.

Lessons:

Living as a Daughter of God

There is a song about being a daughter of god, admonishing that if we only remembered who we were, we would "walk tall" and "be strong," and other vaguely positive things. And if you are a daughter of god, you don't want to disappoint him; I imagine heavenly parental guilt is epic.

Fulfilling Women’s Divine Roles

Read: Motherhood. Be a wife and a mother. Your divine role is not to be self-actualized, it is not to be happy: your goal and path is wife and mother. Period. End of story.

Contributing to Family Life

Read: support your husband. Because you can't have a family if you are not a wife and mother. See above.

Learning about the Priesthood

...which is more important than anything you have. Woman are taught to read the male culture but not the other way around.

Sometimes a young woman may give the correct answer in her own words without turning to the passage of scripture. When this occurs, ask additional questions to get her to read the scripture; for example, “How did Paul say it?” or “What additional insights can we gain from this passage?” Before you can get the young women excited about searching the scriptures, you must become excited about them yourself. Prepare yourself through in-depth study, prayer, and meditation on those passages you expect class members to read and discuss.

This very nearly made me shit a brick. I checked the young men's manual, only to find nothing remotely similar. Make sure that the young woman knows that what she thinks, how SHE says things, is not as important as an authority greater than herself.

Lesson Application. This is a suggestion for a specific plan of action, assignment, or goal to help each young woman use the discussed principle in her life. (When appropriate, you could provide time at the beginning of the next class period for the young women to share their experiences. You may stimulate this brief exchange by saying, “Last week we talked about ______________. Did you try it? How did you feel about it?” If the young women do not respond at first, you may say, “I tried it, and this was my experience.” By sharing your positive experiences, you can help the young women learn how to apply the principles in their lives.)

Please help us to take this lesson and apply it in our daily lives....

The best way to help each young woman is to help her learn and live the gospel. President Marion G. Romney counseled: “Learning the gospel from the written word, however, is not enough. It must also be lived. As a matter of fact, getting a knowledge of the gospel and living it are interdependent. They go hand in hand. One cannot fully learn the gospel without living it. A knowledge of the gospel comes by degrees: one learns a little, obeys what he learns; learns a little more and obeys that. This cycle continues in an endless round. Such is the pattern by which one can move on to a full knowledge of the gospel” (“Records of Great Worth,” Ensign, Sept. 1980, p. 4).