The front-page story about an unknown woman who has accused the LDS Church of denying her a temple recommend because she refused to cover herself while breastfeeding her baby begs a response.
Not only has the mystery woman failed to identify herself, but she also leaves unnamed the stake president who she alleges maligned her, the name of her ward or even the city where she lives, telling us only that the incident occurred somewhere in northern Utah, thus leaving us incapable of verifying her allegations so as to distinguish truth from fabrication.
This bit of grandstanding might lead a reasonable, fair-minded reader to conclude that until the woman acquires the courage of her convictions and tells the whole verifiable story, she should remain quiet.
The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints is a private institution enjoying the constitutional freedom to establish for itself rules governing modesty. The mother was respectfully asked to either cover her breast while nursing in public or withdraw to the privacy of the mother's room where she would be free to expose her breast as she saw fit.
A nursing mother should not expect that she has an unquestioned right to make others uncomfortable when baring her breast in public to feed her baby, especially when acceptable alternatives are available to her.
Peaceful solutions are always found through thoughtful compromise.
Richard Ewing Davis, Stansbury Park