A Proper Wife

Some people have expressed to me the view that my desire to lift up my voice and inspire change in the culture of the church and share my testimony in the hopes of correcting misconceptions is an unrighteous desire.  While I don't recommend anyone stand up in sacrament meeting and start lecturing the ward on any given topic, I believe it is a righteous desire that I share with other LDS feminists to try to improve those things which can be improved about our culture. Sister Patricia Holland stated, "I believe we [sisters] know much more about our eternal nature than we think we do; and it is our sacred obligation to express our knowledge, to teach it to our young sisters and daughters, and in so doing to strengthen their faith and help them through the counterfeit confusions of these difficult latter days." Beautifully put, Sister Holland. There is so much confusion and misinformation about the role of women in the church and in the world. If my words or my sharing of...

http://radiowest.kuer.org/post/mormon-women-and-priesthood One of my favorite radio shows on NPR's local station KUER did a show on women in the church and the priesthood, covering a lot of the recent happenings in the movement. Check it out! "Thursday, we're talking about the role of women in the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. Over the last few years, a movement of Mormon women asserting their rights within the Church has reemerged. They've been asking to pray in general conference and be more involved in day-to-day decisions. Now there is a group asking to be given the LDS priesthood. But why haven't women been given the priesthood? Is it a doctrinal issue or a cultural one? Doug is joined by Mormon women to talk about the history and about what's at stake."

"Men and women have different but equally valued roles. Just as a woman cannot conceive a child without a man, so a man cannot fully exercise the power of the priesthood to establish an eternal family without a woman. In other words, in the eternal perspective, both the procreative power and the priesthood power are shared by husband and wife. And as husband and wife, a man and a woman should strive to follow our Heavenly Father. The Christian virtues of love, humility, and patience should be their focus as they seek the blessings of the priesthood in their lives and for their family." -Elder Ballard

There is a common cultural misconception within the church that we are not supposed to talk about our Mother in Heaven. That is unfortunate because in reality, while we have been told not to pray to her, we have never been asked not to speak about her. There is actually on record a rich history of general authorities and leaders in the church discussing her role and extrapolating on what we do know about her.  A massive study done by BYU scholars found no public record of any General Authority advising members of the church to be silent about our Heavenly Mother. I believe it may assuage some unfounded fears of women in the church, if we were to talk more about what has been revealed about her. Elder Glenn L. Pace said,  “Sisters, I testify that when you stand in front of your heavenly parents in those royal courts on high and you look into Her eyes and behold Her countenance, any question you ever had about the role of women in the kingdom will evaporate into the rich ...

I had a really disappointing conversation with a priesthood holder recently that reminded me just how unreceptive many otherwise solid members of the church are to discussing the importance of the feminine divine. It got me thinking about just how essential these truths are to exaltation, and how we cannot become like God without understanding them. There is an important difference between salvation and exaltation. Exaltation is impossible without salvation and builds upon it. If we look at the temple as a metaphor, the foundation is our salvation through the gospel of Jesus Christ. But exaltation comes from the sealing blessings, the highest rooms of the temple, equal in level to the celestial realm, where God dwells.  The idea being, that the relationship of marriage, and therefore, gender relations including understanding the feminine half of divinity, are some of the mysteries of the kingdom whereby we become like our Heavenly Parents. ValHud in her book talks about how it is...

Jean A. Stevens conducts the morning session's closing prayer during the 183rd Annual General Conference of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints Saturday, April 6, 2013, in Salt Lake City. For the first time in 183 years, a woman has led a prayer at the semi-annual gathering of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. Photo: Rick Bowmer Read more:  http://www.stamfordadvocate.com/news/us/article/Woman-leads-closing-prayer-at-Mormon-conference-4414642.php#ixzz2PiIhS2Ni

As a return missionary, I was so excited to hear about this change. We are seeing changes. Our faith and patience are being rewarded. "Each mission in the Church will organize a Mission Leadership Council that will include both elder (males) and sister (females) missionary leaders. The new mission leadership council will consist of the mission president and his wife, assistants to the president, zone leaders, and sister training leaders — a newly created role. "We are very excited about the new Mission Leadership Council and this role for sister missionaries,” said Elder David F. Evans executive director of the Missionary Department. “It will be a blessing to both missions and missionaries throughout the world, and better employ the remarkable faith, talents and abilities of all missionaries." The role of sister training leader has been created as more female missionaries serve in missions around the world. Sister training leaders will be responsible for the traini...

"That the supremacy of motherhood over fatherhood is based in biology should not be debasing if, as  Alma told Korihor , “all things” testify of God, “even the earth, and all things that are upon the face of it.” On the contrary, as  Valerie Hudson argues , biology is prior to priesthood. The grand purpose of the Church, after all, is to unite all human beings into one unbroken chain of family relationships. From that perspective, it is the role of mothers that is central, and the role of the formal Church—including the priesthood—that is auxiliary." OK? Read THIS immediately. 

Top LDS women leaders provide insights into church leadership and women's perspectives 

I heard about this site from Joana Brooks. It is oh so scandaloso but interesting. My favorite excerpt from the FAQ page was, " In questioning Church policies, aren't you questioning God? No. In fact, the challenge to advocate for women's ordination was articulated by former Church President Gordon B. Hinckley in a 1997 interview with reporter David Ransom. When Ransom asked if the policy on denying priesthood to women could be changed, much like it had for black men, President Hinckley responded, "Yes. But there's no agitation for that." Ordain Women joins a new generation of faithful Mormon women who are rising up and responding to this challenge." Check out their site at http://ordainwomen.org

I thought this was a great post from the exponent. We live in exciting times. I believe we will live to see major revelations brought forth on this subject. http://www.the-exponent.com/a-mormon-spring/