Call out the Shorts Fire Brigade.
Sounds like Relief Society President Julie Beck has given a talk that has stirred the pot a bit. I don't have time to find the talk and read it. I've only read some of the posts responding to the talk. Apparently Mormon women aren't happy because their homes aren't clean. If their homes were kept clean and tidy they would be uplifted or some such thing. I'm curious to what my friend M. would have to say to that. M. strikes me as the type who has a spotless house. While I suspect it does help in that it is one less thing to stress about, I'm not sure a tidy house is exactly M's Balm of Gilead.
What Beck said is really neither here nor there for me. Mormon women will have to sort that out for themselves. [OK. Can't help myself. Can you say: "Traditional gender roles?"] I'm more intrigued by official response to the criticisms.
From Free Saints:
Hinckley and Packer relied on their usual good cop, bad cop routine. Reportedly, Hinckley advised unhappy Mormon women to put on a smile and to improve their personal appearance. Citing D&C 121:13-14, Packer threatened the critics with divine punishment...
Packer's response is so typical and predictable it's laughable.
...Barbara Held, Barry N. Wish Professor of Psychology and Social Studies, explained on "This I Believe" that
demands for positive thinking impose a substantial burden on human beings and tend to exacerbate stress while prolonging mental disorientation.
Rather than denying their state of mind, Held argues, people will be better off when they acknowledge their feelings, determine their causes and adapt appropriately.
Ya think? Is it any wonder Utah is the #1 consumer of anti-depressants and the #1 abuser of prescription medication? Nothing like a little Prozac to help you put on that happy face.