204: Can you really be a Mormon woman?: Jenne Eregiro Alderks

Jenne de Normandie Eregiro Alderks was a teenage convert from Unitarian Universalism.  When she joined the LDS church her mother, knowing somewhat of the strict gender roles in Mormonism, asked her,  'Can you really be a Mormon woman?' Jenne has spent many years trying to do exactly that and her efforts to be a Mormon woman have surprisingly led her to seek feminist spiritual practices outside of the faith.  This quest has taken her to temple studies, paganism and Gnosticism as supplements to her spiritual life.   One of the hallmarks of the restoration was Joseph Smith's openness to other spiritual traditions and ideas and this seeking has been kept alive in Mormon feminism.  Jenne's spiritual seeking is part of a rich intergenerational tradition of Mormon women who quietly keep alive the faith's mysticism. Jenne is one of the founders of LDS Wave and Birthing Zion.   She works as a doula and lives in Seattle Washington.