All Posts

In my Sacrament Meeting this past Sunday, the High Councilor speaker started his talk by quoting Sister Carol F. McConkie’s talk from the October 2014 general conference. It dawned on me that one of the benefits of having our female general officers speak on doctrinal topics, as opposed to topics that are only applicable to the women and children under their specific organizations, is that all of us have more content from which to quote women in talks and lessons.

Are you hosting a discussion or book club about Women at Church? If so, feel free to use these questions to stimulate discussion. Also, add your own questions or responses in the comments section here for others to learn from and use.

Last week the Church announced that the General Women’s Meeting will now be called an official “session” of Conference. We had earlier discussed the significance this change would have if it took place. But there is significance also embedded in the timing of the change. Surely the leaders of the Church were aware of the hearty online discussions surrounding the October Conference controversy, and the voices calling for the “meeting” to become a “session.”

Gospel Doctrine lesson #40: Enlarge the Place of They Tent encourages Church members to find ways to strengthen their wards and stakes in preparation for the second coming of Christ and the millennium. Part of the reading is Isaiah 65:17-19 wherein the millennium is described as a time when the heavens and Earth will be made a new and the inhabitants will be joyful.

I’m the Primary chorister in my ward. My 9 year old daughter had said to me “Mom, there aren’t a lot of girls in the scriptures are there?” I wanted her and other kids to be more aware of the wonderful women who are in there. The scriptures about Anna the prophetess lend themselves really easily to a verse ((they’re from Luke 2:36-38), so I used those scriptures as the source for a new verse in the popular Primary song, “Follow the Prophet."

Willie Douglas has weathered some storms. She has been part of many of the tumults in America’s history over the last fifty years. She battled racism while working to integrate her place of employment in New Orleans. She lost one of her sons to fatal illness during the AIDS epidemic. She fled her home in the face of Hurricane Katrina–and then returned to New Orleans to help rebuild her city. But Willie’s faith has sustained her throughout.

Empowerment can be a divisive word. It is often assumed that in order for an individual to be empowered that someone else has to be or will be disempowered. Empowerment isn’t a zero-sum game where there are winners and losers. Actually, the opposite tends to be more accurate. An empowered individual generally empowers those around them.

Young Women General Board member Janet Nelson raised four children in New York City. And while she was doing that, she was chipping away at a Master’s degree in Mathematics and periodically teaching high school math. In 2012, after 20 years of classwork, Janet received her graduate degree. Janet feels her extensive experience with urban high school students gives her unique perspective into the realities of being a teenager today, and despite her city life, her love for campi

Bethany Brady Spalding takes her knack for dissatisfaction and turns it into life-giving action. Whether she’s planting gardens for at-risk children, directing community health programs, or sharing scripture stories with her own daughters, Bethany tries to build positivity and partnership. Bethany is a co-author of the book, Girls Who Choose God: Stories of Courageous Women from the Bible. She believes that telling women’s stories is vital for our spiritual health.

Elder L. Tom Perry’s talk in this most recent conference focused on the need to center our families on the teachings of the Savior, to seek to emulate Him and to build our lives on the foundation of His Gospel. He noted that “the most powerful teaching a child will ever receive will come from concerned and righteous fathers and mothers.” Elder Perry then went on to describe the roles of mother and father.

When we assume that history is only about institutions and male leaders, we miss a large part of the story. I love learning about the lives – recognizing the import of the lived religious experiences – of a variety of people. As a historian, I have discovered that the power and meaning of Mormonism is found within and woven throughout memoirs written by believers. Indeed, considering the experiences of women as well as men expands and completes an important narrative.

McArthur Krishna did not expect to be where she is. And the path she took to get there was an unusual one. McArthur lives in rural India, an overnight train ride from the nearest LDS Church congregation and a world apart from her former life in Washington DC. But her unique experiences have confirmed to her the importance of maintaining her personal relationship with God and trusting in His ways. The result, she says, is an abundant life filled with vibrancy and delight.

Commentary on Saturday’s General Women’s Meeting has flooded the bloggernacle. Like many others, our Editor-in-Chief, Neylan McBaine shared on her blog some of the things she enjoyed about the conference, such as: that the female presidencies sat on the same row as the attending apostles, that President Uchtdorf referred to the meeting as the first session of General Conference, and that every female speaker quoted at least one woman.

In her work as a filmmaker, Bianca Morrison Dillard sees storytelling as a way to build community, and a way to help people feel heard and understood. Her views are shaped by what she sees as the essence of the Gospel of Jesus Christ: “Love and inclusion. Everything that is virtuous and lovely and of good report and praiseworthy.” Bianca talks here about honoring the nuance and complexity of individual lives–one of the goals of her current project, the documentary film Far Be

Many women and men who viewed the video loved it. Some shed their own tears as they related to the woman, who gave so much of herself throughout the day to help others, but who underestimated the worth of her seemingly small contributions. They felt comforted by the message from President Hinckley at the end of the video: “Many of you think you are failures. You feel you cannot do well, that with all of your effort it is not sufficient. We all worry about our performance.