The Mother Tree: Understanding the Spiritual Root of Our Ecological Crisis

Abstract

As long as the institutional structure of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints remains a patriarchy, its behaviors and correlated teachings will uphold the mistreatment of women and nature by defining them as appendages of men, to be tamed and used, not heard or understood. Hearing women and valuing their voices dissolves the pride that sustains all patriarchal structures. A patriarchy is an inherently telestial system where equality is impossible. Here, Sonntag uncovers the origin of human's ecological crisis by examining the significant relationship between women and nature.