Frances Taylor Gench, Presbyterian minister, said, “Biblical texts . . . do not exist to make us comfortable. They exist to make us think, to be engaged by God, and to effect our transformation.” Okay, fine, I’ll keep trying to figure it out.
In this week's chunk of reading, we learn that Dinah, the daughter of Jacob and Leah, was "defiled" (raped) by Shechem, the son of the local ruler. There is a lot missing from this story, but Shechem seems to objectify Dinah not only by sexually assaulting her but by trying to take possession of her. In the end, Dinah's brothers, Simeon and Levi, kill a bunch of dudes including Shechem and his father. Then the bible moves on to technicolor dream coats and leaves us with a whole lot of plot holes (Genesis 34). Depiction of the rape of Dinah
Simeon and Levi killing the people of Schechem
This story of Dinah is not included in the Come Follow Me manual for the week, but it was addressed in a podcast episode I listened to (found here). I felt drawn to this story and to some of the things shared in that podcast, so a lot of this post is going to parallel that episode. However, let us first rewind to November 2025 when I last taught Relief Society.
I was assigned to teach from two talks from the October 2025 General Conference: The Family Proclamation - Words From God by Elder Rasband and The Family-Centered Gospel of Jesus Christ by President Oaks. Now, marriage and family as a topic is kind of my thing, and this was one rare time when I was able to teach “my thing.” While earning my marriage and family degree, I took an entire class on the Proclamation, and I know my stuff. But, in knowing my stuff, I’m very aware of how delicate a topic it can be for many people, so as I planned the lesson, I prepared for the various directions the discussion could go including the topic of abuse. After all, the Proclamation boldly states, “We warn that individuals who violate covenants of chastity, who abuse spouse or offspring, or who fail to fulfill family responsibilities will one day stand accountable before God.”
The topic of abuse didn’t come up during the lesson, but I was ready for it. I studied the Church’s policies and teachings thoroughly, and I knew the Spirit would give me utterance if needed. I would love to share a slew of information about the Church’s stance on abuse here, but I already know this post is going to be a long one, so I will keep it to two short quotes:
1.
“If you have experienced any kind of abuse, violence, or oppression, you may be left with the idea that these events were somehow your fault and that you deserve to carry the shame and guilt you feel…The abuse was not, is not, and never will be your fault, no matter what the abuser or anyone else may have said to the contrary. When you have been a victim of cruelty, incest, or any other perversion, you are not the one who needs to repent; you are not responsible.”
2.
“There is no place for any kind of abuse—physical, sexual, emotional, or verbal—in any home, any country, or any culture. Nothing a wife, child, or husband might do or say makes them ‘deserve’ to be beaten. No one, in any country or culture, is ever ‘asking for’ aggression or violence from someone else in authority or by someone who is bigger and stronger.
Those who abuse and who seek to hide their grievous sins may get away with it for a time. But the Lord, who sees all, knows the deeds and the thoughts and intents of the heart. He is a God of justice, and His divine justice will be served.”
(See “He is Risen with Healing in His Wings: We Can Be More Than Conquerers” by Elder Kearon).
The tragic reality is, abuse in all its forms is far too common, and it’s not talked about enough. The older I get, the more I learn of people I know and love having suffered abuse throughout their lifetimes, so no wonder it’s in the scriptures. It’s a plague as old as time.
In the podcast I mentioned earlier, the host, John Hilton, shared some excerpts from a publication by Dr. Amy Easton-Flake (assistant professor of ancient scripture at BYU) entitled “Recognizing Responsibility and Standing with Victims” (you can read it here, but it’s a 30-page scholarly essay, so I’ll give you a couple of highlights).
Dr. Easton encourages us to call abuse what it is. She writes, “Although we may be understandably uncomfortable using disturbing terms such as rape and abuse and may prefer to use terms such as defiled and mistreated, it is important for us to accurately label these events. Failing to do so prevents us from recognizing the horrors that occurred anciently and more importantly from acknowledging the horrors that still occur today. Using more euphemistic terms is part of the culture of silence that enables atrocities to continue.”
She also explains why she believes it’s beneficial to discuss stories like Dinah’s, “These texts create a biblically sanctioned space to name and discuss abuse within a church setting, and it may give individuals the freedom and space they need to share their own stories and then to work toward recovery. Silence enables the continuation of abuse. Consequently, among the great benefits of feminist scholars’ biblical interpretations is that their productive readings of dismaying texts help us to openly discuss modern challenges such as violence, abuse, and the exploitation of those who are marginalized and disadvantaged. Often their readings also reveal how God and the Bible editors are not sanctioning the violence found within the Old Testament; rather, these stories exist to be condemned and to show the need for a different way. Ideally our collective study of these stories will lead to our collective resolve to end abuse in all its varied forms.”
Abuse is a complicated and broad topic, and at this point, I have to confess I have no idea how to conclude this post. What are the solutions? I don’t know. Why does God allow his children to suffer from such atrocities? I don’t know. For many, the very existence of such evil is reason to believe there isn’t a God while others have found God through it. My hope is that, in the end, all victims may heal and receive recompense for their suffering.
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“When the frailties and imperfections of mortality are left behind, in the glorified state of the hereafter… then shall woman be recompensed in rich measure for all the injustice that womanhood has endured in mortality.” -James E. Talmage
"We know that on some level Jesus experienced the totality of mortal existence in Gethsemane. It's our faith that he experienced everything - absolutely everything. Sometimes we don't think through the implications of that belief. We talk in great generalities about the sins of all humankind, about the suffering of the entire human family. But we don't experience pain in generalities. We experience it individually. That means Jesus knows what it felt like when your mother died of cancer - how it was for your mother, how it still is for you. He knows what it felt like to lose the student-body election, He knows that moment when the brakes locked, and the car started to skid. He experienced the slave ship sailing from Ghana toward Virginia. He experienced gas chambers at Dachau. He knows about drug addiction and alcoholism.
There is nothing you have experienced as a woman that he does not also know and recognize. On a profound level, he understands about pregnancy and giving birth. He knows about PMS and cramps and menopause. He understands about rape and infertility and abortion....
...He understands your mother-pain when your five-year-old leaves for kindergarten, when a bully picks on your fifth-grader, when your daughter calls to say the new baby has Down's Syndrome. He knows your mother-rage when a trusted babysitter sexually abuses your two-year-old, when someone gives your thirteen-year-old drugs, when someone seduces your seventeen-year-old. He knows the pain you live with when you come home to a quiet apartment where the only children who ever come are visitors, when you hear that your former husband and his new wife were sealed in the temple last week, when your fiftieth wedding anniversary rolls around and your husband has been dead for two years. He knows all that. He's been there. He's been lower than all that.” -Chieko Okazaki
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Additional resources from the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints on abuse:
Life Help: Abuse
Abuse (Help for the Victim)
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About ten years ago, a professor from BYU-Idaho presented some historical findings that suggest prominent Relief Society leader, Eliza R. Snow, was gang-raped by eight men during the Mormon War in Missouri in 1838. While the account of the assault comes from a second-hand source, there are some indicators from Eliza’s writings during that time that support the claim. You can read an article on the topic written by the BYU-I professor here. Eliza was a powerful and influential woman who did so much good for her community. I wish we knew more of her story.
This is an unusual way to end a blog post, but I wanted to share this information about Eliza because she was an inspiring woman who suffered many hardships, and someone might connect to her experience.
