A Conversation With a Friend

I spoke with an old friend a little bit ago. That conversation has been turning around in my head for days. A small piece of it was the casual sorrow that no one had been availed to dress her partner in his temple garments before he was cremated. I have heard so many stories of people who haven't been allowed to help because other family didn't wish it or even the possibility that so many people were available that some would simply be usable to help due to the quantity of volunteers. I have never heard of a church member passing who was unable to be dressed in his temple garments because there was no one who was willing or able to serve. To say that I am appalled suggests a simple emotional response whereas what I feel is much more complex and difficult. As I ponder on that thought and recall experiences of asking for blessings and being unable to get them because priesthood holders were too busy and watching others ask for help and not able to get it either. It's a bit disheartening to see it still happening. I'm a woman and can not given blessings so I can only watch others not get what they need. I am a woman and am limited in what roles I can have in my church. So here I sit and think about all this and wonder when will change happen. When will the church culture stop pulling people in so many different directions so that important service is unable to be performed or even seen as unimportant while decorating for church activities takes more precedence? When will a ward community itself look into each of their hearts and determine that what they want is not to focus on the minutia of culture details and calling desires, but the pure surrender to service. To set aside perfect sacrament programs and instead make sure that shut ins and those in nursing homes get the Sacrament. To have fewer exclusive events that focus on teaching about service and charity... and instead have events that ARE service and ARE Charity. How amazing would it be it the local organizations that support the most impoverished found themselves with no need of volunteers? That families in need were 'adopted' by other families who helped them to get basic needs met, but also mentored and worked with them to find the resources to become more stable on their own. there are some programs that do this- the program in Canada for Syrian refugees comes to mind- what can we as a community of Christ do to create the same amount of successful service? Instead of 'love bombing' people who start to fall away or shunning and ignoring others, what if our focus was pointed so strongly into understanding their needs and to love them that we lost ourselves in the joy of service and love?

I can't change the direction of a culture myself, but I can determine how I respond in it. My response at this point is to move my service and my focus into local groups that are focused on the impoverished.... something I understand a bit to well for my taste. Working with groups that are focused on trying to understand and meet immediate needs for those in my community has been wonderful and I have been amazed at how valued and needed I have felt and how much I have learned. The more I learn, the more I realize how little I have understood about specific topics and I hunger to learn more. This is the service that I feel called to perform. I can't make others see things the same way that I do, but I must confess that I am weary of hearing the stories of people who are not being served in the religious communities that they worship in and I am weary to think that I was one of them.

Dare I ask for all of us to do better... to be better... to reach out to someone everyday and to be the person they need that day? It is the resolution I have for this year and one I feel compelled and called to do. I have hope for a future where I don't hear so many stories of people who are unable to get the help they need. I intend to work as hard as I can to serve better and to seek out those who need me this year. Here's to a focused New Year for all of us!

Introduction to This Month’s Topic: The History of Women in Western Civilization

This was a class I wanted to take for a few reasons. One reason is that I love history and it feels like I have studied it all my life. I grew up with a thirst for it and devoured every book I could find that I could understand. I think that this passion for learning and history has served me well in my life and has been very enjoyable for me. However, I found that I felt over time that my knowledge was really very limited and as I looked at it from an education and a religious standpoint, I realized that I pretty much can give the basics on many of the individuals that have made history, but the majority are men. The exceptions in my mind can be classified as wealthy, white, powerful women such as Catherine the Great of Russia and Queen Elizabeth I of England... which were rare. Over the last year or so, I have tried to change that and have actively tried to look at the flip side of the coin so to speak. I have found the information a lot more challenging to come by and having anyone to discuss the information I do find with is difficult because the history of anyone besides men isn't taught in most standard classes so the discussion becomes a bit of a lecture or monologue.... which is no fun at all. So I saw this particular class as a lot of fun and a great resource towards gaining more knowledge, but also more guidance towards more resources for future study. I was hopeful that I can learn more not only about women and their struggles in culture, families and in creating a human history of their own, but also that I can develop a better understanding of the struggle for gender equality that is going on in my own lifetime. I also wanted to have a better understanding of how power and entitlement work between gender, class and race and how people are working towards changing the cultural biases that affect the under-privileged majority of people.

I found myself really interested in learning about how women's history is being compiled by historians and feminists today and how, as history is complied, what forces or parts of culture tend to decide which history is most important for the average student to learn about. I recognize that politics enters that equation as well so I understand that question must needs be open ended without a full solution to be had.

I think that anyone who approaches any of this information differently on a few levels. As our gender is intertwined in our mind and our thoughts without it being consciously there, each individual will have no choice but to either ignore or recognize that you will look at in the material based on your gender. However, I think that we are each much more likely to approach the material from a just as personal and unapproachable bias.... the bias of our own life experiences as well as current life circumstances. Our experiences, culture, family and our choices over time have helped each of us develop into a unique and amazing person and we cannot help but approach any topic with those biases in place and work to try and set them aside as we study and try to look at the topics addressed. I do not think that it is possible for any of us to do that completely- part of me at least has a hard time recognizing biases in myself and I assume others may have the same difficulty in self reflection and introspection. So I suspect that even when many of us appear to see the topic in the same 'light' and have the same viewpoint, we are getting there from very different paths and thoughts.

I recognize that the topics that I will address in the next several posts may be unknown to most and may also be on topics that are sensitive or cause negative emotions in yourself and others. I am not sharing them to cause any harm or anger; rather, I am sharing because I believe that the only way to change culture is to talk about it. From my writings, you will find that some of these topics were challenging for me and my emotions will hang off of some of my sentences and paragraphs. I hope that as readers, we can share our thoughts freely and discuss our feelings and concerns on the history and the topics that are discussed… many of which are still relevant to ourselves and women around the world today.

pictures from: http://www.citelighter.com/film-media/fashion/knowledgecards/womens-fashions-of-the-medieval-era, https://oregonheritage.wordpress.com/2012/05/18/oregon-womens-history-project/, https://oregonheritage.wordpress.com/2012/05/18/oregon-womens-history-project/, http://www.ora.tv/offthegrid/article/grid-history-women-history

You Might Be Almost Ready to be a Teacher if...

I was just doing some homework for one of my classes (the French Revolution) when one of my fellow classmates sent me a note about my homework that simply made my day. Most of his comment will not make sense to many of you ... who are not struggling to hold your head on through the constant studying and the 'swish of the guillotine', but it totally made me smile. I would really like to work on becoming a teacher and I think that I will make it a little bit of a higher priority in my life. I also like writing and it was so nice that I could condense a lot of confusing mumbo jumbo into something that was instructive... and even likeable. Maybe I am getting a lot closer to my goal of writing and teaching- I might even be closer than I think. Here's the comment:

Hi Sonia - I think I'll just read your post - it's a lot clearer than my book. In any case - After the smoke cleared and the heads stopped rolling the old patriarch was - what's the phrase "called to life" For me it was a discouraging end. But as you have articulated, woman were generally a lot better off. I'm looking it up now as I write here - yes- the Legislative Assembly - They seemed to have the welfare of woman clearly in mind when they authorized divorce. It could be applied both ways ,I know, but somehow I think it befitted woman more than men. And wow -they eliminated penalties for homosexuality -I mean how cool is that? This by the way was about the same time That the French woman addressed the National Assembly (doc. F page 60) . It seems that this address marked the high water point in womans' struggle for equal rights. If only the story ended there - Anyway I'm brain dead for lack of a better -enjoyed your comment
Forrester

What are the things that excite you about education? What would you do if you had a new shot at how your life continues...? And please, share thoughts on how someone made your day. It was just a little thing... but it really meant a lot to me. :)

Women and the French Revolution

While I have been studying the French Revolution over the last few weeks, I have discovered many things that I did not know about the beginnings and the development of the national government and the revolution itself. While I imagined it to be quite bloody and difficult, the study of it has been a bit of an eye opener and sometimes when I close my eyes now at night, I see blood pooling and running across cobblestones in my dreams. And of course, I see Sidney Carton being driven to the guillotine saying those famous words that many literates know... even if they have never read Charles Dickens. This week I tried to focus on the women in France at this time, their role in the revolution and some of their experiences.

The conditions of women did change from what they had been before the revolution. As could be expected, some changes were positive, some were negative, and some things didn't really change much at all for long periods of time. It must also be said that because the French revolution was actually a long time (a decade or more in fact) change was the word of the day... and so some changes would come and go based on the people in charge of the government at the time.

Politically, women received a mixed bag. For instance, women were excluded from politics during the French Revolution- at least in an active or electoral role. That didn't stop women from forming or joining political clubs in the early 1970's. One group formed in May 1973 was called the 'Society of Revolutionary Republican Women' and was led by Claire Lacombe. Women were involved in politics by speaking to the National Assembly (Etta Palm d'Aeldes in 1791), writing satires such as the 'Declaration of the Rights of Women' written by Olympe de Gouges, and in demonstrations where they demanded rights including the right to bear arms- a right only given to males at that time. Women's participation in clubs and demonstrations reached its peak in the spring and summer of 1793. By November 1793, the Montagnard Convention had banned all political activity by women and this closed most of the political clubs attended by women. One excuse that was used to keep women out of politics was the assassination of journalist Jean-Paul Marat at the hands of Charlotte Corday in July 1793- her assassination of this paranoid journalist turned martyr upon his death was used to point out women's emotions, lack of control, etc. (It didn't help that it was discovered that she was a virgin and her behavior could not be blamed on 'whoredoms' or wantonness.) Women who spoke out for more rights were considered to have spoke out against the revolution and were put to death by the guillotine. It must also be stated that women participated in many of the early and continuing demonstrations and violent uprisings- female participation helped to radicalize the revolution in 1789. In a twist, by 1794, women were prominent in protests that showed loyalty to traditional religious beliefs (the Catholic church) throughout the last years of the revolution.

When it came to giving more legal rights to women, it can be said that the revolution had a more positive effect. In an attempt to break up the power of the Catholic church, the French government (or really the National Assembly) took over registration of births, deaths and marriages. Divorce was also authorized and the new laws gave men and women equal rights to initiate a divorce and divorces could also be had on grounds as simple as mutual consent. Women were also granted the ability of equal inheritance in family law which was also an attempt to help make men and women more equal in standing.

Looking at the daily life of French women during this time, things were not really positive. The breakup of the convents abolished one large sphere that religious women had to live largely without male dominance. The removal of the privileges of the aristocrats/nobles virtually eliminated the wealthy female patronesses who had played a prominent role in French culture. And if you look at the huge numbers of convicted traitors, the numbers of women in violent insurrections, and the multitude of mass killings of suspected traitors... it is safe to assume that women died in very large numbers. In at least one large uprising (the September Massacres), it is documented that women were raped and killed. One reason I see it as safe to assume the large numbers of death of women is that France doesn't appear to have a huge problem with 'gender overpopulation' in the next few decades (at least as far as I have been able to research it. After WWII, I think France did have a gender overpopulation problem due too the number of men who died in the war...) Secret police could use almost anything you said or even your attitude against you and as many of them hung out eavesdropping in places such as bread lines, the vast majority of people in those lines would be women.... so they would be the ones accused and executed. Some sources suggest that republican troops killed civilians indiscriminately at times which would include women... and children.

In conclusion, women's lives changed in many ways during the revolution. Many of the changes, such as the Terror, were 'temporary' and didn't live on for long. Some changes, such as the new changes in family law, lived on with both positive and negative effects. In many respects women are able to be involved in new experiences, but they are also more likely to be punished for stepping out of their 'traditional sphere' then men... although many men were certainly punished! The revolution brought women the hope of more equality, more opportunities, but it also brought women as a whole into more danger, less security, and for some women, fewer opportunities than they had been accustomed to before the revolution. I think that some changes were not allowed to occur- such as voting rights- because women were still feared, still considered in some ways inferior and that was too radical a notion for the time.... after all, even many enlightenment thinkers didn't go that far. :)

Alcohol, it's Digestion, and 'Potentials'

I will admit that alcohol is something I do not really understand or have much experience with. So except for classes, I don't really have any personal experience. Last semester, I found myself quite shocked to see the high statistics on college drinking and I think that studying these subjects really help me to see that I am not actually missing anything. :)

Alcohol is an easily metabolized 'food' which can go straight from the digestive system to the bloodstream. Most of the metabolism of alcohol takes place in the liver-- unlike most consumed foods which are broken down in the digestive track. The liver produces an enzyme called alcohol dehydrogenase which helps the body to absorb and metabolize the alcohol to get it 'out of the system' so to speak. When the liver is trying to metabolize the alcohol, it uses the enzyme mentioned above to turn the alcohol into acetaldehyde... and then eventually into carbon dioxide and water.

While alcohol is able to easily enter the bloodstream, there are many factors that affect the body's ability to break it down quickly and deal with the onslaught of too much alcohol. In an average, healthy person with normal liver function, the body/liver is able to break down 5-7 grams of alcohol per hour – to put that figure into perspective, that is approximately half of one beer. So if you drink faster than your liver can metabolize the drink, then you will become 'drunk' as the alcohol affects your brain function. Gender and race can also affect how the body is able to deal with alcohol- for instance, Asians and Native Americans have much less ability to metabolize alcohol in comparison to Caucasians. Women also have less ability to digest alcohol due to less 'body water' and low activity of the enzyme to digest it... and the woman's stomach is not able to digest as much of it as the average man's. Because of these differences, women are more likely to suffer from alcohol related complaints... such as cirrhosis, ulcers, etc.... Both genders will suffer complications due to frequent over-consumption however, which can include muscle damage, decreased memory and brain damage, reduced immune and nerve function and increased blood pressure... and only temporary relief from anxiety, grief, peace and other emotion/mental health concerns.

There are also two nutrient deficiencies that are common in individuals who overuse alcohol. A general depletion of the 'B' vitamins such as foliate (helps produce and maintain new cells), vitamin B12 (helps maintain healthy nerves and red blood cells), niacin, thiamin, and vitamin B-6. The drinker is also at risk for being short of the fat soluble vitamins as well... such as vitamin A, D, E, and K. As alcohol is able to have a negative effect on virtually every organ system in the body, the potential negatives of alcohol use far outweigh the few potential positives.

So, for individuals who do still wish to have the occasional drink, what exactly is the definition of 'one drink'? That appears to depend on what the contents of the 'drink are... as each type of alcoholic beverage can vary in how much alcohol it contains. A general rule of thumb is is to consume 15 grams of alcohol you must consume:

5 oz wine
1 ½ oz hard liquor
12 oz beer or wine cooler

It is considered moderate usage for a man to drink no more than 2 drinks a day and a women should not consume more than one. It should also be remembered that for some individuals, even a moderate amount is too much- such as pregnant females, children, specific medical conditions, etc... And while there is scientific evidence that there are some health benefits to moderate drinking, it is fully recognized that the potential negative effects of drinking are so much more potent... and so it is recommended that those who do not drink should not start for their health! And for those individuals that do drink, they should do so very moderately... or even a little less!

So maybe I am not missing out on too much... :)

Early Russia: Thoughts on Christianity, Women and Language

As with any beginning country-state, there are many things that influence or change the way(s) it develops and grows through time. Early Russia is no different than any other country in this regard. What makes it different from many of the countries surrounding it was that its beginning could be influenced by different groups that did not exist a thousand years earlier... while many of the surrounding areas did and had been populated for thousands of years. Russia is a very different member of our modern European community in part because of its late start as a country; like a brilliant child, it is quickly catching up to its 'elders', but has had to continue to make the early steps of statehood that so many countries had made hundreds of years before early Russia existed. So Russia was able develop its own early traditions of Christianity and woman’s roles, somewhat separate from the traditions that had developed in other countries and had existed for generations. And Russia developed its own language apart from the language of other countries setting it apart in many ways from the lands that surrounded it. It is these particular influences on early Russia that I will discuss in this paper.

The early Russian people were devotees of pagan thought. An early document called The Primary Chronicle ascribes the beginning of Christianity in Russia to the Ruler Vladimir I in the year 988AD. Giving up as a bad job the attempt to strengthen paganism with his subjects, he looked at a few of the other world religions and chose Christianity... which he then began to 'invite' the elite and others in his country to join. The 'Chronicle' gives some hints as to why Christianity was chosen over other large faiths of that time and credits his rejection of Islam to 'circumcision and abstinence from pork and wine were disagreeable to him' and the idea that a religion that did not allow drinking would not be tolerated by his people. It has been suggested that Vladimir rejected Judaism on the grounds that as the Jews no longer had control of Jerusalem, this was evidence that they had been abandoned by God. While all of the former reasons may have been legitimate and true, they do not appear to be the only reasons for Vladimir's choice... and a strange choice it truly was for a man who had heard of Christianity several years earlier and remained a pagan, collecting hundreds of concubines, several wives and was known for a short time as a persecutor of believers of the Christian faith. (On a side note, Vladimir's grandmother had converted to Christianity in 957 and had missionaries sent to Kievan Rus with very little success.) Another reason- and might have been the most truthful or most compelling reason- was a reason that had clear political consequences and ties. As Europe was becoming more Christian, it might have occurred to Vladimir that his fortunes and commercial trade would be affected with other Christian nations. However, an easily documented reason may have had to do with forming alliances. Basil, the emperor of the neighboring Byzantine Empire asked his enemy Vladimir I for help in putting down a civil rebellion which was then given by Vladimir. The condition was that Vladimir could marry Basil's daughter if he (Vladimir) converted to Christianity. This would cement the alliance between the early Russian state and the Byzantine empire and would also open more trade routes and opportunities for economic advancement.

So, whatever the reason for the conversion of Vladimir I to Christianity, he took to it faithfully and appears to have made immediate and continued insistence of the spread and following of Christian membership and values throughout his lifetime. He tried to stamp out idols, invited beggars to the palace to be given food, drink and money if needed and had to be persuaded some churchmen to be more harsh with criminals as lawbreaking became rampant. He also championed the building of church buildings and education – although the children of the elite were the recipients of his education promotion. On his death, his body was dismembered and made into 'relics' for the church and he was eventually sainted by the Greek Orthodox Church.

Women in early Russia were seen in a slightly different light than the ways that women were seen in other European states at the time. While they were still very limited in their rights, women in early Russia did enjoy more protections and in some cases a greater status than their counterparts in Europe. Before Christianity was brought or 'forced' upon Russia, the majority of individuals living in the Kievan Rus believed in paganism. This belief system comes with deities of both sexes and both gods and goddesses were worshiped and treated with awe and fear. A few of the goddesses that would have been worshiped during this time would have been Paraskeva (who is associated with Mother Earth and her bounty), Mokosh (a fertility/childbirth goddess), Vesnianka (the personification of spring), Zorya Vechernyaya (the goddess of the setting sun.), Makosha (the goddess of fate and good/bad fortune), and numerous other powerful spirits such as the rusalki (known as water and tree nymphs). Women during these times could have known some fairly tough times. While goddesses were revered, earthly women could count on the likelihood of being raped, seized to force marital relations, and partners in polygamy. They would also be taught to understand that the husband is the head of the household and they were to be submissive. There are some instances that suggest that at least some noble women were not forced to marry against their will by their parents as well as a story in The Primary Chronicle about a 'forceful' princess who ruled for a short time. A pagan belief system in short allows for some better thoughts about women because it is polytheistic-unlike Christianity which is monotheistic and very much male-centric. To worship and revere nature was to revere a female goddess... and not a male. Christianity would bring some new rights for women, but would also take away some of the positive ways that women had been viewed.

So women in early Russia had changing roles over time and how women were viewed could change their status in society. In the pagan society, women could be treated physically quite roughly, but could enjoy a status of protection and even an elevation in status if her family had good fortune- class was not as rigidly enforced in these times. As the country became Christian, the church's views on women and sex became more dominant. Pious women were seen as good and the church encouraged the appropriate treatment of widows as well as treating the members of your family correctly, not forcing daughters to marry and opposed bride capture and polygamy. However, church legal procedures could be more punitive to women in some instances and the fear of women and their sexuality, charm, and ability to cause men to sin was a high focus of the church when women were discussed. The fact that women were prohibited from attending church due to menstruation or childbirth shows that the church did put unnecessary limits on women and feared them- marking them as 'unclean' during certain times... which is equated to sin. In Russian society outside of church, women were given rights in civil law- although those rights were many for the upper class. However, upper class women could inherit and own moveable property including her dowry, run or take care of her deceased husband's estate and her children could not refuse to give her the portion due to her from her husband's will. At first, a woman's movable property would consist of household items and personal effects, but would eventually come to encompass money and then land. And while women could own property, it had to be specifically given to them. Women could lost their property for the failings and debts of a husband, but the law was not interpreted in the same way for men. Church law in many cases superseded secular law and the church was responsible for matters of rape, adultery, divorce, witchcraft, etc...

Around Europe, Russian women were known for their beauty, knowledge and power. Russian upper class women and in some cases men were educated more often than their European counterparts. One example was the daughter of Yaroslav I named Anna who married the French King Henry I- at the wedding she could sign her name on the certificate, while the king himself could only sign an X. She later functioned as a regent for her son Philip I of France. Several of Anne's sisters married European Catholic monarchs as well. In the 900's the country was ruled by a woman named Olga, who is said to have avenged her husband's death and was also regent for her son for a few years - she is the Christian grandmother of Vladimir I mentioned above. She was also the first women to be canonized by the Orthodox Church. A wife of the “Grand Prince of Russia” could sometimes receive members of foreign embassies or ambassadors. So women did a fair share of the work that needed to be done, and upper class women brought influence, intrigue, and even scandal into many of the royal houses in Europe as well as Russia.

When Russia began to become a Christian nation under the rule of Vladimir I, written language was 'borrowed' from the same empire who brought Christianity. The Cyrillic alphabet was brought to Kievan Rus along with Christianity in the tenth and eleventh centuries by the followers of Saint Cyril and Saint Methodius, who invented the first Slavic alphabet in the ninth century. This alphabet was a written language that was close to the spoken language in the Rus lands and so by the time Christianity reached Kievan Rus, many books had already been translated into this handy and easier to learn language. This language became known as Old Church Slavic. The influence of Byzantine literature, culture and of course Christian works served to help move the church in quickly- all the documents and books were now in a common adopted language. The church also helped build schools for education and brought in a new culture/art that was fairly easily assimilated. Yaroslav I (also known as Yaroslav the wise and is the son of Vladimir I) helped facilitate this language and used it to write the first East Slavic written legal code called the 'Russkaya' Pravda.

The information that I was privileged to study while researching this paper did leave me with some questions that I have been unable to answer. For instance I am very curious as to what happened to the wives and concubines of Vladimir I. Very few sources that I was able to find alluded to the four wives before Anna (his wife from the alliance to the Byzantine empire) and their lives after Vladimir's conversion- they simply state that they were 'put away'. Another source suggests that the wives and the concubines were put away 'according to tradition'- doesn't say what that was however. One source shows the difficulty of even understanding who the mothers of Vladimir's children were. Nothing mentions these concubines and what happened to them. Were they not important enough to 'put away'? I wonder how many of these women found themselves in very hard times throughout the rest of their lives simply because Vladimir 'changed his mind'. I wonder how many of these women felt forced into becoming concubines... and were then forced out? Also, finding information on any women during this time frame was really difficult and I would be curious to know how women in towns lived vs. rural life and how their roles changed depending on the environment around them. I also would be interested to know what life was life for Anna of Kiev to be more educated than most individuals around her in the court in France. I can imagine that increased her power in some ways, but also might have made things quite difficult and she might have been 'left out' of things. Maybe someday I can have the time to continue to try and find answers to these questions that puzzle me. But until then, enjoy the read :).