Do you remember how big an issue The Equal Rights Amendment was back in the 70’s? I remember how BYU campus was empty of students as everyone was glued to a TV set to watch the Donahue Show where Sister Barbara Smith appeared with Sonia Johnson. Sis. Smith was the President of the Relief Society at the time and Sonia Johnson was an excommunicated member of the church, and an outspoken feminist, there to challenge her. Sis. Smith did a commendable job in a very difficult situation.
As huge of an issue Equal Rights was at the time, what ever became of it? Women certainly get better pay (yet that is an ongoing problem), women are more visible in various positions, more women came out of the closet, and many more women went to work. Was there a price to pay?
Pres. Boyd K. Packer gave a talk called “The Equal Rights Amendment” back in 1977. In his talk, he read the official statement of the First Presidency of the Church, which reads in part:
“In 1842, when women’s organizations were little known, the Prophet Joseph Smith established the women’s organization of the Church, the Relief Society, as a companion body of the Priesthood. The Relief Society continues to function today as a vibrant, worldwide organization aimed at strengthening motherhood and broadening women’s learning and involvement in religious, compassionate, cultural, educational, and community pursuits. There have been injustices to women before the law…However, we firmly believe that the Equal Rights amendment is not the answer.”
Pres. Packer goes on to give an example of how legislation gets interpreted:
“An excellent example of how things can get tangled up is the regulation issued under Title IX of the Education Amendments Act of 1972. The intent of that act was to prevent sex discrimination in federally assisted educational programs. As passed by Congress, Title IX was stated in twenty-seven words. The Department of Health, Education and Welfare, charged with its enforcement, published extensive regulations to enforce those twenty-seven words in Title IX. The regulations put together at sublevels in the bureaucracy amounted to about 20,000 words! Those who made these interpretations are neither known to be representative of the general feelings of the public, nor to understand the far-reaching effect of the regulations.
“Those 20,000 words of regulation are now being vigorously applied as law. They involve issues that Congress neither acted upon nor intended. Some of the results must be termed as preposterous: others of them surely must be unconstitutional. One interpretation, for example, caused the prohibition of schools from sponsoring father-and-son activities of any kind, or mother-and-daughter activities of any kind. It took a presidential order from a very irate president of the United States to get some sense into that. But the rest of it is still being imposed. And the requirements seek to compel all public schools to abandon standards of personal morality and conduct. Should the Equal Rights Amendment pass, those few words would be open to interpretation.”
This example reminds me of the probabilities of Proposition 8, and all the other issues, that are bound to come up as our government continues catering to the minority voice. We need to keep our eyes and ears open, we need to be aware of the issues that come up, we can’t depend on the media to give us a true report, we must study it out ourselves and understand all the ramifications. The truth of the matter is that families are being threatened, pulled apart, dismantled, and falsely glued together. This disintegration destroys marriages, but worse, it puts our future generation at great risk.
Pres. Packer continues, “Already, children’s rights emerges as an issue. The ugly specter of child abuse, a malignancy that is spreading itself through our society, has social workers, educators, clergymen, political and government leaders restless and anxious and disgusted. Before any careful diagnosis of what causes this sickening problem, some, no doubt, will try to solve it through sweeping legislation. And they’ll do this before we recognize the fact that child abuse is a pure symptom of broken down families or disturbed relationships between fathers and mothers and between parents and children. The cure for it lies in the strength and stability of the American home in the spiritual and moral and emotional health of families.
“I said to begin with that I was here to speak my own mind and give my own feelings, and they are that the Equal Rights Amendment is not the answer. One might ask then, if you are against the Equal Rights Amendment, then what are you for? I am for the equitable enforcement of existing laws. There are sufficient of them to protect the rights of women and of children and of men. Or to enact judiciously and wisely any needed legislation to correct particular circumstances. I am for protecting the rights of a woman to be a woman, a feminine, female woman, a wife and a mother. I am for protecting the rights of a man to be a man, a masculine, male man, a husband and a father. I am for protecting the rights of children to be babies and children and youth, to be nurtured in a home and in a family. I am for recognizing the inherent God-given differences between men and women. I am for accommodating them so that we can have physically and emotionally and spiritually stable, happy individuals and families and communities. Without that, when the floods come, in the end what will really be worth saving?”
Indeed, Sis. Smith spoke up in defense of woman-kind. Heavenly Father has a way of planting people where they are most needed, and making them big enough for the job. Many of our foremothers have been there to speak up and stand strong. Our generation must do likewise.
When we look at our families, what do we see? What kind of parents are we? How do I treat my spouse? How do I treat my children? Where are my own priorities? How well am I living the gospel, and what does that say to my family? Who am I more concerned with pleasing, my peers, or my god? Heavenly Father has given women all the rights they need. As I listen to the prophets, I will hear their prophetic warnings and do what I can to preserve the sanctity of my family.