In 1857, Lorenzo Snow, then Apostle in the church gave a talk at the Tabernacle. Earlier that year he had married his seventh wife (and continued to marry two more after this). Lorenzo Snow became president of the church in 1898, and was president for 3 years.
What did this man think of women? Would he agree with Sister J. Anette Dennis, First Counselor in the Relief Society General Presidency? She stated recently that women are broadly given power and authority in the church. She claims women “are given priesthood authority” and that the church “offers all its women priesthood power and authority from God!” Even though Brigham Young said no people pay females more respect, while also saying many disparaging and disrespectful things about women, Lorenzo Snow was certain that “women have not the degree of light and knowledge that their husbands have; they have not the power over their passions that their husbands have.”
You very seldom find that husbands and wives are perfect; but perhaps it is very well that the husband is not perfect, because, if he was, he would be placed at a great distance from his wives. It requires a great exertion on the parts of wives to keep pace with their husbands.
You all perceive more imperfections in those around you than you do in yourselves. It is much more difficult for wives to learn than it is for husbands, because women have not the degree of light and knowledge that their husbands have; they have not the power over their passions that their husbands have: therefore, they have to suffer one for another until they get power over themselves like unto those that have advanced more fully in the knowledge of our God.
There is a struggle all the time, and it requires exertion on our part to know how to manage, how to move, and how to come in possession of the greatest amount of happiness. Let wives pursue an even course with regard to their husband; let them bear with his faults; let them be united and live in peace, and they will increase in light and intelligence. Let the one that has got the most light learn to be the most forbearing, for the sake of her husband and for the sake of the principles of truth. If the Lord has made one woman more perfect than another, and given her more intelligence than her sisters, let her show more mercy and patience in overlooking their faults. By this means a wife will gain influence and favor with her husband, with her sisters, and with her heavenly Father. She thus advances herself and puts herself in a position to enjoy all that is for the righteous. The whole is summed up in this—DO RIGHT.
Lorenzo Snow, The Blessings and Privileges of the Saints—Obedience to Counsel, Journal of Discorses, Volume 5 Discourse 52. A Discourse by Elder Lorenzo Snow, Delivered in the Tabernacle, Great Salt Lake City, Sunday Afternoon, October 11, 1857
https://journalofdiscourses.com/5/52
This quote is an example of chauvinism because it perpetuates traditional gender roles and reinforces the idea of male superiority over females. It suggests that husbands are inherently more perfect and knowledgeable than their wives, implying that women are naturally inferior and less capable of controlling their emotions and desires. The language used portrays women as needing to “keep pace” with their husbands and “suffer” until they reach a level of enlightenment similar to men.
The advice given to wives to overlook their husbands’ faults and bear with them implies a passive and submissive role for women within marriage, prioritizing harmony and obedience over individual autonomy and equality. This reflects a patriarchal mindset that diminishes the agency and worth of women in relationships and society.
Just the quote itself is demeaning towards women. Keep in mind though that at the time Lorenzo Snow said this, he practiced polygamy and was married to 7 women. Only 5 of his plural marriage wives were still living though, because two had already died. One had died earlier in the year when he gave this talk. Caroline Horton passed away in February 1857, but Lorenzo mustn’t have been too troubled, because he married a 16-year-old just 2 weeks later in March 1857.
Lorenzo Snow rounded out his polygamous family of sister wives with marriages to two more women (or girls) before the end of his life. When he was 45, he married Phebe Amelia Woodruff who was 17 in 1859. Then, twelve years later (in 1871), when he was 57, he married again, this time to Sarah Ephramina Jensen who was 15! This is the second time Lorenzo Snow married a 15-year-old girl and was two or three times her age. Five of his nine wives were teenagers at the time of marriage. Perhaps one reason he thought women were less mature than men was because he kept marrying young girls!
What does this statement mean to you? Do you feel that Lorenzo Snow must have been a male chauvinist preying on girls in the name of patriarchy and polygamy? Does it harmonize with the recent statement that the church gives power and authority to women? Please share your thoughts in the comments or consider contributing your own I was a Mormon story to the collection at wasmormon.org.
More reading:
- https://www.reddit.com/r/exmormon/comments/4n7oua/wtf_really_6_out_of_the_9_wives_of_lorenzo_snow/
- https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lorenzo_Snow
- https://www.familysearch.org/tree/person/timeline/KW84-5CT
- https://journalofdiscourses.com/5/52
- https://www.reddit.com/r/exmormon/comments/zwl3sf/lorenzo_snows_wives/
- Church Leaders on Power and Authority Broadly Given To Women
- Brigham Young – No People Who Pay Females More Respect