Its The Little Things

You think you know what Mormon women look like?

 

Tacky images of a blonde Utah housewife making Jell-O come to mind, perhaps? 

When people find out I'm Mormon, you wouldn't believe how many times the next questions is either "Are all of you people blonde?!" or "I have to ask...does all your family live in Utah?"  

Uh, no and no.  

This is a WORLD-WIDE church!  Forget Utah, most Mormons actually live outside of the USA rather than in it!  Fact!)

Well, watch the 90 minute video linked below and prepare to have your mind blown.

Here’s a LINK to watch the recent Women’s Session of the October 2014 General Conference of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints.

Okay, so you read a news article or two about the squashed Ordain Women movement and now think you’re an expert on LDS women while concluding, “Wow, these poor Mormon women are oppressed and most of them don’t even care!”

Well I was pleasantly surprised while watching the FIRST annual "Women’s Conference" this past week.  I can’t put my finger on why, but the Ordain Women movement never had any traction with me.  I saw their point, I felt their pain, but I thought their approach sucked, and I never felt strongly enough about it to play along. 

If you know my politics, that will probably surprise you.  But I’m a lawyer, and I understand precedent and I understand framing your issue in terms that are workable for governing bodies to utilize in order to appropriately enact change, and I thought the Ordain Women organizers were going about their mission, even if it was a noble one, all wrong.

For those of us to the political and social left of a general Latter-day Saint congregation member, particularly among the ladies, I think that we were all happy to see some very visible changes in the church’s esteem for women and overall approach to this year’s Women’s Conference session.

If you are not familiar with the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints’ General Conference culture—here is a primer:

The Church holds a General Conference twice a year—in April and October—that is broadcast from Salt Lake City to meetinghouses across the globe, and is also streamed live on the internet, and stored online for later viewing.  The General Conference takes place over a weekend (church services get cancelled that week and people are encouraged to watch General Conference instead, although it is not mandatory) and consists of 5 sessions + a Women’s meeting.  Four of the sessions are “General” sessions, ie, for everyone, including kids.  These are each two hours long and take place on Saturday morning and afternoon as well as Sunday morning and afternoon.  The fifth session is on Saturday evening and is a “Priesthood” session, for males 12 and older.  The Women’s meeting usually takes place a week or two before the Conference weekend, also on a Saturday evening, and alternates between a meeting designed for Young Women (12 and up) or for Relief Society (women 18 and up).

Sessions each include an opening and closing prayer, hymns –usually sung by the Mormon Tabernacle Choir or another local choir of LDS people—and talks are given by male and female church leaders on topics of their own choosing, based on the scriptures- including The Holy Bible and the Book of Mormon.

This year marked the very FIRST time when the Young Women/Relief Society alternate model was abandoned in favored of a combined Women’s Session for all ladies 8 and up.  And it was described in the meeting as the “opening session” of the October 2014 General Conference—not just a bonus meeting that didn’t really count as a "session" of General Conference.  Like the Priesthood Session, this was an actual session of General Conference!  So I guess there are now SIX sessions!

All this may not sound like a big deal, and it may sound like mere semantics, but it represents (in my opinion) HUGE progress in recognizing that women need spiritual guidance from women leaders on issues that pertain to them, just like men do, and that a designated session for women deserves equal standing to the men’s session.

Looking back, it was only at the most recent General Conference in April that a woman gave a prayer in a General Session of conference!  Hard to believe it took so long, but it finally happened, and it did not go unnoticed by the ladies.  And at this, the “opening session” of the October 2014 General Conference, not only did a woman give the opening prayer, but a black South African woman gave the opening prayer!  I cried.  Just ask my husband, in his words, I “was boo-hoo-ing” all night.

And how about that Mountain West blonde white frumpy housewife stereotype?  Dashed to pieces not only by the South African prayer giver, but also by the musical number performed in Korean by young Korean ladies, an unmarried woman giving the closing prayer, and the lovely southern drawl of one speaker who discussed “wage-earner” as among the roles of many righteous women!  Finally a little recognition for the diversity of female members of the Church-- WE are diverse in language, national origin, marital status, color, income level, career path, etc. and etc!

Here is a LINK and the text (below) to a decent, albeit slightly sensationalized, article about these little changes that I noticed.  I just hope the Church leaders know that I noticed the changes and that I am grateful for them.  It looks like small progress from the outside, but in a Church that simply will NOT compromise on so many things (not necessarily a bad quality!), it is HUGE. 

Thank you to whomever championed this shift; you proved that you love the sisters in the Church by showing respect for all of us, especially those of us who don’t quite fit the mold into which so many people erroneously think we should fit.

 ~

(Originally published in October 2014 on scatterthesunshine.blogspot.com)

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Mormon Feminists Surprised By New Wording Referring To Women As 'Blessed Disciples Of Jesus'

Salt Lake Tribune  (Picked up by Huffington Post)

By Peggy Fletcher Stack

Posted: 09/29/201

 Mormon feminists may have been surprised by some subtle changes in vocabulary and approach Saturday (Sept. 27) at the church’s general women’s meeting.

Dieter F. Uchtdorf addressed the audience — sitting in the giant Conference Center in downtown Salt Lake City or watching via satellite in chapels of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints across the globe — not just as “sisters” but also as “blessed disciples of Jesus Christ.”

In a speech about living out one’s faith joyfully, Uchtdorf, second counselor in the church’s governing First Presidency, referred twice to women as “daughters of heavenly parents,” alluding to the Mormon belief in male and female deities.

And, for the first time, the charismatic German leader described the meeting as the opening session of the church’s 184th Semiannual General Conference. Until now, General Conference has referred only to the two-day gatherings held during the first weekends of April and October, with the women’s meeting seen as a separate event.

Saturday night’s meeting also featured the first-ever prayer at a session of General Conference by a black woman, offered by South African Dorah Mkhabela, a member of the LDS Young Women’s General Board.

These changes come in the wake of wide-ranging conversations about the role of women in the LDS church, including efforts by Ordain Women, a movement pushing to open the church’s all-male priesthood to females. Women prayed for the first time at General Conference in April 2013, and female LDS leaders decided a year later to unite the women’s auxiliaries into a single meeting to parallel the men’s priesthood meeting.

Some feminists also have urged church leaders to talk more openly and often of a Heavenly Mother, who is considered equal to Heavenly Father.

At Saturday’s meeting, women auxiliary leaders talked about being prepared for temple rituals, making covenants and building faith in Jesus Christ, and included “wage earner” among women’s roles.

Linda K. Burton, General Relief Society president for adult women, recounted the biblical parable of the 10 virgins, five of whom were wise because they kept their lamps filled with oil and five considered foolish because they did not.

Church attendance, monthly fasting, preaching, deeds of kindness, chastity and charitable giving, Burton said, build the “oil of spiritual preparation … drop by drop.”

Jean A. Stevens, first counselor in the Primary General Presidency for children under age 12, described the importance of making and keeping promises to God.

“Covenants with God help us to know who we really are. They connect us to him in a personal way where we come to feel our value in his sight and our place in his kingdom,” Stevens said.
Neill F. Marriott, second counselor in the Young Women General Presidency for girls between ages 12 and 17, discussed how Mormon women and girls can use their influence for good.

“We have our own roles on the earth — from daughter, mother, leader and teacher to sister, wage earner, wife and more,” Marriott said. “Each is influential. Each role will have moral power. … Our small acts of faith and service are how most of us can continue in God and eventually bring eternal light and glory to our family, our friends and our associates.”