Affirmation: Gay & Lesbian Mormons

How the Words of a Lesser-Known, Freelance Journalist Become the Inspired Words of God

by Larry Mann
April 2006

In an August 2004 First Presidency Message in the Ensign magazine by Elder James E. Faust, "Fathers, Mothers, Marriage," Elder Faust notes:

Mothers seem to take a dominant role in preparing children to live within their families, present and future. Fathers seem best equipped to prepare children to function in the environment outside the family.

One authority states: "Studies show that fathers also have a special role to play in building a child's [self-respect]. They are important too, in ways we don't really understand, in developing internal limits and control in children." He continues: "Research also shows that fathers are critical in the establishment of gender in children. Interestingly, fatherly involvement produces stronger sexual identity and character in both boys and girls. It's well established that the masculinity of sons and the femininity of daughters are each greater when fathers are active in family life." ⁵ (p. 4)

Footnote 5 refers us to:

5. Karl Zinsmeister, "Fathers: Who Needs Them?" (address delivered to the Family Research Council, 19 June 1992).

WHO is this "authority" Karl Zinsmeister? Is he a psychologist? A social worker? An authority on child development? A research scientist? A psychiatrist?

Why . . . No — he's not.

As a matter of record, Zinsmeister is not any of these things. It turns out Zinsmeister's greatest claim to fame is that he, according to his own credentials, was a freelance writer from 1986 to 1994, and a legislative assistant to Senator Daniel Patrick Moynihan from 1981 to 1982. He also did a few other "think tank" type jobs which led to his current position of "scholar" at the American Enterprise Institute. The most impressive feather in Zinsmeister's cap, more recently, is that he has traveled four times to Iraq as an embedded journalist, leading to three books and a forthcoming PBS film-a grassroots portrait of soldiers and soldering.

As we can see, this is what qualifies Zinsmeister to make authoritative comments on gender and gender identity so that the likes of Apostle James E. Faust will recognize a true "authority" when he sees one.

In Zinsmeister's address to the Family Research Council, which impressed Faust enough to quote him in his First Presidency Message, Zinsmeister also said, among other things,

" . . . exclusive rearing by women restricts a child's environmental exploration and delays development of some kinds of external competence. . . . There is no question but that fathers tend to be far more effective at discipline. In both intact and divorced families, for instance, children are more likely to obey fathers than mothers. . . . Boys lacking a father at home are often confused about their male identity. Studies show that compared to counterparts from intact families, they engage in more activities traditionally considered to be feminine, and that they play more like girls."

Do we know now a little more about where our most inspired Priesthood leaders are getting their inspiration? I think we do.

See also:

Do Church Authorities Speak Ex Cathedra?