This panel invites Mormon women to talk about how they find meaning and inspiration in images of divine female power drawn from other religions and traditions. What do we learn about ourselves as women and as agents of the divine by studying the stories or representations of goddesses such as Shakti, Kali, Rhiannon, Venus, Athena, Spider Woman, White Buffalo Woman, Isis, Kuan Yin, and so forth? Especially when contrasted to Mother in Heaven, who, unlike Father in Heaven, cannot be discussed, named, or depicted (and so remains little more than an abstraction), how do these figures and the aspects of the divine they embody offer us challenges, comfort, and confirmation?

Holly Welker, Doe Daughtrey, Maxine Hanks, Jana Bouck Remy, Mary Ellen Robertson, Margaret M. Toscano