KTVU is reporting a story of a woman who was reprimanded for breastfeeding in church.
I have been stripped of the blessings of the temple for breastfeeding my child at church.
Here is the full story:
My bishop told me some members have complained and he wants to protect the young men and porn addicts in the church from seeing my breast while nursing. (I don't cover or hide and most of my breast is exposed while nursing). I then told him only God himself could get me to back down. We ended it at that. This was 3 weeks ago.
Then, a few days ago, I received a request to meet with the Stake President and also get my Temple Recommend renewed.
At this meeting, the Stake President told me that in guidelines for the youth booklet, called The Strength of Youth, it talks about modesty and this means I need to cover or hide while nursing. I fought it and asked if it talked about breastfeeding in this specific booklet (which it doesn't). He again reverted to modesty. He said it is my fault and my problem if the men see me breastfeeding and think bad thoughts.
The whole meeting was very contentious and was not derived from the spirit but of the devil. He then said that since I am not heeding to his counsel as a Priesthood Leader, he was not going to renew my Temple recommend. He also said if I breastfeed without covering again in church that they would kick me out of the building.
He also turned to my husband and said "You choose. It's your wife or your religion."
He chose me. I left angry and upset with him, with my bishop and with my ward members.
Since then I have done quite a bit of research. I have also contacted an Elder from the Quorum of the 70 and he basically agreed with the Stake President and deferred the matter back to my local leaders. He is telling me to support him anyway, despite this obvious exercising of spiritual abuse and unrighteous dominion.
I have contacted an attorney who is pro-breastfeeding and knows the law. She seemed very interested in helping me, as these actions of these church leaders are unethical, immoral and inhumane.
In response I drafted an open letter to female leaders in the church:
Jean Bingham, Sharon Eubank, Reyna Aburto, Bonnie Codon,
Michelle Craig, Becky Craven, Joy Jones, Lisa Harkness, Cristina Franco
Dear Sisters,
I read today that a young mother was denied a
temple recommend for breast feeding her baby without a cover in the church
foyer during sacrament meeting. I hope that you, as a mother, would
understand the precarious and vulnerable position that all mothers of the
church now find themselves in. Please use your unique calling and
influence to edify the brethren on breastfeeding, which they cannot otherwise
relate to. Your perspective is needed that the hearts and understanding
of fathers may be opened. Please persuade the brethren to make a
statement, that it can be a well-known church policy: mothers are welcome to
openly breastfeed their children in the Lord’s meeting houses, without shame,
judgement or a requirement to stifle their baby under a blanket. It is
important, beautiful and sacred to breastfeed a child. Many women will
never have that privilege.
As this story
flies like wildfire through social media it puts all of our sisters in an
awkward position. It makes women of the church look like subservient
victims of an abusive patriarchy. This perception compromises our ability
to share the truths of the gospel with our friends and neighbors. Women
of faith know that nursing is God’s own design for nourishment and bonding
between mother and child. For a stake president to judge that a mother
openly feeding her child is a serious moral sin and is unworthy of entering the
Holy Temple is tantamount to ecclesiastical abuse. No man should deny a
woman saving ordinances because their imperfect cultural biases are not
sustained.
The true church
of Jesus Christ is not led by unrighteous dominion. Please ask that the
brethren instruct our local leaders so that no mother feels like a sinner for
nursing their child.
