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Hot take: There is no reason why ward libraries shouldn't be buying books from the Maxwell Institute.
The MI is literally at BYU. It's tithing-subsidized. There is so much wonderful Latter-day Saint literature and theology that so many members are kept from because of the cost.
The MI is literally at BYU. It's tithing-subsidized. There is so much wonderful Latter-day Saint literature and theology that so many members are kept from because of the cost.
We are lucky to live in a renaissance time where people (especially women) are writing and theologizing about Heavenly Mother. These writers and theologians deserve to be paid well. At the same time, it's unfortunate that so many members will never be able to read these books.
The paywall communicates a lot about what is "essential" and "important" and what is not. If ward libraries supported Mormon writers by buying their books (hey BCC! hey Mormon Lit Lab!) it would shift perceptions. It could make a statement that God also speaks to women and BIPOC.
Imagine if ward libraries were actually a little bit like, well, libraries. Imagine if they had at least as many books as they have manuals.
Members who gift books about ministering to LGBTQ+ members or members who have experienced sexual violence are the best. Imagine if ALL bishops had access to these books. Imagine if "Women at Church" by Neylan McBlaine was something bishops knew about.
Imagine if "That We May Be One" was in your ward library. I bet a lot of closeted queer Mormons would be too scared to even look at it for too long, but it would be helpful to know it exists. It would be helpful to families. It would be helpful to leaders.
This is possible. It's tangible. It could make a big difference.
I know my ward library has more books than manuals, but that's because my ward building is from the 40's. A lot of the books were probably bought in the 80's and 90's. There's the entire Work and the Glory series.
I know my ward library has more books than manuals, but that's because my ward building is from the 40's. A lot of the books were probably bought in the 80's and 90's. There's the entire Work and the Glory series.
I don't know when the last time my library bought a book was. All of the books look like they are 30 years old. Nobody young wants to read them. Everybody who is older who might want to read them has already read them.
Why don't we have anything recent?
Why don't we have anything recent?
I think about all the times that youth leaders ended lessons with "anyone have any questions?" I can't remember a single time someone asked a question. I KNOW the youth had questions. They were too scared to ask them. I think they would have felt more comfortable reading.
Nobody uses my ward library for anything other than chalk and pictures and TVs because my ward library doesn't have relevant resources. I think people would use the library a lot more if they were allowed to purchase relevant resources.
Why are institutions like the Maxwell Institute so hidden? The Bloggernacle is/was probably more well-known. It's infuriating. The Maxwell Institute is doing important work. They should not be in the shadows.
Look, y'all, I'm Gen Z. I am telling you that the church needs to invest in the Maxwell Institute and similar resources ASAP. If they care about retaining the younger generation (at least in the US), they need to do it now. Instead, they're doing the opposite.
Youth conferences and girl's and boy's camps in the middle of a pandemic are actually not going to help as much with retention as finding tangible ways to remove the shame that is associated with questions AND finding resources that actually help answer those questions.
Feeling like questions were shameful wasn't actually the main reason I didn't ask them. I didn't ask them because I *knew* that my leaders didn't have the answers. I *knew* they didn't have the resources to help me.
Youth leaders would talk our ears off about how questions are not bad and then I would occasionally ask questions and they would scramble to find resources and they could never find anything helpful.
Once, I asked why we say that "doctrine never changes" when we no longer practice plural marriage. The stake seminary president, a stake high counselor, the bishop, and my seminary teacher discussed this question together trying to give me a good answer.
My seminary teacher read everything she could on http://lds.org . And some other online resources.
The answer that they came up with?
"Marriage is between man and a woman. That doctrine has never changed. Is the "a" always relevant? Ehh not always. If God says so."
The answer that they came up with?
"Marriage is between man and a woman. That doctrine has never changed. Is the "a" always relevant? Ehh not always. If God says so."
They were trying their best. They were men AND women. They were ward AND stake leaders. None of them had the resources they needed. That is disastrous.
