Carrie Miles to Speak at Miller-Eccles

The next meetings of the Miller Eccles Study Group are on January 21 (Villa Park) and January 22 (Flintridge).  Carrie Miles, will present a talk titled “Getting a Testimony of Motherhood: Changing Norms of Gender and Sexuality.” Further information about this and upcoming presentations is available at  www.MillerEccles.org
The Topic: The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints was not unique in expressing alarm over changes in the American family in during the 20th century, especially in attitudes towards male/female relationships and sexuality. These changes did pose unique challenges for the LDS, however. Unlike the forces that motivated others to resist these changes, LDS doctrine (ironically, with roots in the practice of polygamy) seemed to establish pre-industrial gender norms as eternal, hence unchangeable, principles. Dr. Miles will discuss how this doctrine presents a dilemma and how the Church has accommodated some changes even while maintaining the doctrinal ideal. But what has been the cost of maintaining that ideal?
The Speaker Carrie Miles is senior scholar in residence in the Argyros School of Business and Economics at Chapman University in Orange, California. She is also the president and executive officer of Empower International Ministries, an organization that works in developing countries to promote Christian teachings on the equal worth and potential for unity among all human beings in Christ. She received her doctorate in philosophy, social sciences and Organizational Psychology from the University of Chicago.