I come from a long line of plucky widows. My great-grandmother, Eliza Jane, lost her husband when she was thirty-three and was left with eight children to raise on her own. Another great-grandmother, Hannah, was widowed at age forty-three (five children). My Grandma Lula became a widow at thirty-nine (six children). And my own mother, Evelyn, was thirty-eight when my father died, leaving her with seven children. None of these women ever remarried. If something had to be done, my indomitable mother just did it. Even as a younger woman, this can-do attitude was a hallmark of her personality. In 1948, when she was twenty years old, the Church temporarily lowered the age at which women could serve missions from twenty-three to twenty-one. My mother decided she wanted to go on a mission—and that she would leave as soon after her birthday as possible. Her parents were dubious. It was rare for women to serve missions at this time. But my mother persisted and entered the mission home on October 10, 1949, paving the way not only for her younger sister to serve a mission a few years later, but also all three of her future daughters, the majority of her nieces, and many of her granddaughters. My mother had fervent testimony of the restored gospel, but it rankled her that men made all the decisions in the Church. I’d never seen her so upset as when the new meetinghouse our little rural ward community had worked so hard to raise the money to build didn’t include basic, commonsense features—especially in the kitchen and women’s bathrooms. “If ever they’d think to ask a woman, maybe they could get it right!” It's a frustration many of us still share. Still, there is cause for hope for those of us who look forward to the day when women in the Church will be fully heard, valued, and empowered. Forward movement is evident. It’s a beautiful thing to be part of a church that believes in progress, growth, and ongoing revelation. In 2024, Sister J. Anette Dennis of the Relief Society General Presidency unwittingly created a firestorm when she said: “There is no other religious organization in the world, that I know of, that has so broadly given power and authority to women.” This statement elicited over 17,000 online comments, most from LDS women pushing back against this claim. Granted, the Church teaches that “when men and women go to the temple, they are both endowed with the same power, which is priesthood power.”[1] But what does this mean, in a practical sense? How does this translate into lived experience? Because the reality is that many women in the Church don’t feel at all empowered, as evidenced by the majority of those 17,000 comments. In examining these questions and others related to the empowerment (or disempowerment) of Latter-day Saint women, it’s important to distinguish between individual experience, institutional practice/policy, and doctrine. Finally, no discussion of this topic would be complete without an exploration of possible ways forward. Individual Experience Individual experience can vary widely and is always dependent on a number of variables, including the agency of all those involved. While it is true that many women in the Church feel as empowered as they want to be (see, for example, this op-ed in the Deseret News)[2], it is also true that many do not. It is critical that we not discount anyone’s personal experience.My own experience with practical service in the Church has been largely positive. The male leaders with whom I have served have been genuinely respectful of my opinions, perspectives, and leadership. I know other women, though, who have had very painful and demeaning experiences with local leaders in the Church and who have felt routinely overlooked and undervalued. Regardless of anyone’s personal experience, the broader, systemic issues cannot be overlooked. Institutional Practice and Policy One can love the restored gospel and be firmly committed to it and still recognize that the institutional church is decidedly patriarchal. A quick glance at the Church’s leadership chart bears this out. Only 9 of the 145 top leaders of the Church are women, and all their decisions must be approved by the men who oversee them. General Authorities In the Church, only men can be bishops, stake presidents, mission presidents, temple presidents, area authorities, and general authorities; only men hold priesthood keys (or “the right to preside over and direct the Church within a jurisdiction”)[3]; and, with the exception of certain temple ordinances (an exception it behooves us all to consider more carefully), only men can officiate in priesthood ordinances. What this means, in effect, is that not only do men have the final decision-making power over every aspect of Church policy and governance, but they also hold all sacerdotal power. This, in concert with the massive gender imbalance in leadership, also means that male perspectives are often the only ones considered—a genuine problem for a church whose membership is at least half female. When decisions affecting individuals, groups, and entire institutions are made only by a select group, and when that select group excludes women, everyone suffers. Both women and men are diminished under such a system. Doctrine What about doctrine? The Church clearly teaches that men and women are equal in value and “stand in a position of absolute equality before the Lord.”[4] And yet many women in the Church continue to feel like (and be treated like) second-class citizens. The Church also teaches that both men and women are endowed with priesthood power in the temple. And yet women are not ordained to priesthood offices. It is not clear whether this exclusion is doctrinal or merely based on tradition. As articulated in the Gospel Topics Essays (under the heading: Early Latter-day Saint Understandings of Priesthood): “Early Latter-day Saints likewise thought of priesthood primarily in terms of ordination to ecclesiastical office and authority to preach and perform religious rites. As in most other Christian denominations during this era, Latter-day Saint men alone held priesthood offices, served formal proselytizing missions, and performed ordinances like baptism and blessing the sacrament of the Lord’s Supper.” The question of why women are not ordained to offices in the priesthood appears to be one that will require additional revelation. Is it because men and women have different roles in God’s plan (the explanation most commonly given)? Is it because women innately possess a different power (the priestesshood, if you will) that does not require ordination, as some have suggested? If so, what does this mean in practical terms? Or is it an exclusion based on historical precedent and nothing else? Only additional light and knowledge can provide the answer. But whatever the case, as long as those who occupy the key administrative roles and hold the ultimate decision-making power in the Church are always and only men, true gender equality will remain elusive. The disconnect between doctrine and practice with regard to women is both puzzling and painful to many in the Church. If women “stand in a position of absolute equality before the Lord,” why are our voices so often not sought or heard? Why do we not have equal representation in the spaces where decisions that affect us all are made? A Way Forward Though currently excluded from the positions that serve as the formal repositories of traditional power and authority in the institutional organization, it is critical that women in the Church not feel powerless. We have access to divine power through our faith in Jesus Christ, through the gift of the Holy Ghost, and through our temple covenants and endowment. We need not wait for permission to use that power for good. God urges us all to be “anxiously engaged” and to do “many things of [our] own free will” because “the power is in [us]” (Doctrine and Covenants 58: 26-28). We can be active agents for righteous change. There are numerous examples throughout the history of the Church of women who have claimed this power and used their moral authority to make their voices heard and their influence felt. Typically, they have done this in one of two ways: 1) by working within the structure of the institution, or 2) by doing independent work outside the institution. Examples of the first are abundant: Eliza R. Snow helped solidify the doctrine of a Heavenly Mother when she penned the words to the poem/hymn “O My Father” (originally entitled “Invocation”). Sarah Granger Kimball’s idea for the formation of a sewing society to aid those working on the Nauvoo temple led to the organization of the Relief Society. In 1878, Aurelia Spencer Roberts was concerned about the lack of moral training for the little boys in Farmington, Utah. She later recorded: “A fire seemed to burn within me . . . The query then arose in my mind could there not be an organization for little boys wherein they could be taught everything good and how to behave.”[5] She took this idea to Eliza R. Snow, General President of the Relief Society, who took it to President John Taylor. Soon the Primary Association of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints was formed and placed under the supervision of President Eliza R. Snow. Granted, examples like this of women influencing Church doctrine, organization, and policy were more common at a time when the Church was smaller and more localized. Still, more recent innovations such as greater equity in the budgets for YW and YM programs and the 2019 change to the YW theme were undoubtedly influenced by women. A second but often unrecognized way that women have affected positive change is by doing independent work outside the institution while remaining supportive of the doctrines and leaders of the Church. Examples include women-led organizations such as the Mormon Women’s History Initiative, Mormon Women for Ethical Government (MWEG), the LDS Women Project, Meetinghouse Mosaic, and others. The influence of these groups is often less easily discerned, but is nevertheless very real. When these organizations bring to light compelling new research, make public statements on ethical issues, share the stories of a wide variety of LDS women from around the world, or otherwise shine a light on Church practices and members, the official institution can be moved to acknowledge new research and scholarship, make inspired statements of its own, recognize and celebrate the diversity of experiences and perspectives within its membership, and seek additional light. My mother and grandmothers would be thrilled with many of the recent changes regarding women and the Church. But there is still work to be done. Thankfully, we belong to a church that believes in ongoing revelation and is fully committed to progress and growth. [1] M. Russell Ballard. “Men and Women and Priesthood Power.” BYU Devotional Address. August, 2013. [2] Caralynn Clark. “As a Latter-day Saint woman, I’ve been heard, valued, and empowered for decades.” Deseret News. March 21, 2024. [3] “Priesthood Keys.” Ensign. May 2012. [4] “Equality of Men and Women.” Eternal Marriage Student Manual. [5] Aurelia Spencer Rogers. “Life Sketches of Orson Spencer and others: and history of Primary Work.” Sharlee Mullins Glenn is an author, advocate, and community organizer. She founded Mormon Women for Ethical Government (MWEG) in 2017 and served as its first executive director. She currently serves as Relief Society president in her ward, volunteers with a number of humanitarian organizations, and sits on the boards of several nonprofit organizations.

Sharlee Mullins Glenn During the 2016 US election cycle, Sharlee Mullins Glenn grew increasingly concerned about ethics in US politics and knew that she could no longer remain on the sidelines, so she created Mormon Women for Ethical Government (MWEG). She assumed the group would consist of a relatively small number of women committed to working for ethical government, but over four thousand women joined within the first two weeks. Can you tell me about yourself – where you came from and what you’ve done with your life? I was raised in the small farming community of Arcadia in northeastern Utah. I come from a big family with pioneer ancestry on both sides and lots of relatives. My father was killed in a mining accident when I was five, and four months later, my oldest brother (age 14) died in a drowning accident. That left my mother a widow with six children ranging in age from twelve years old down to six months. It was a hard time for our little family, but our beautiful rural ward members circled their wagons around us and we were surrounded by loving family and friends. When I was sixteen, my family moved from Arcadia to Twin Falls, Idaho, which to me was a thriving metropolis. My uncle owned a shelter home for people with intellectual and developmental disabilities there, and he offered my mother a job as the resident supervisor. We moved into the shelter home (which was a wild and lovely experience) the summer before my junior year in high school, and I attended Twin Falls High for the next two years. About the same time, my husband James's family moved from California to “the sticks” of Twin Falls, and we ended up in the same ward. I was called as Laurel president and he was the first assistant to the bishop in the priest quorum. His grandfather was the bishop and his grandmother was my Laurel advisor. His dad was the Young Men president and my mom was called as Young Women president. It seemed fated! James was a year behind me in high school though, so we remained just very good friends. After I graduated, I went to BYU, and as soon as I turned 21, I served a mission in Milan, Italy. My mother and aunt had served missions in the 1940s and 50s when it was uncommon for women to serve, and my older sister and all my older female cousins had served missions. It's something I always wanted to do and I had a marvelous mission experience. I had been home less than 48 hours when James, who had returned from his mission six months prior, asked if I wanted to go to the temple with him. I said, sure. Well, in the celestial room, he proposed to me! Now, you have to understand: we had never even kissed. We had spent a lot of time together in high school, gone to dances, and so forth, but we hadn’t really dated. And so, I was stunned to say the least. “Wait, what?” I was still experiencing jet lag and reverse culture shock. I made the poor guy wait for over a month while I re-acclimated to normal life and prayed about his proposal. Eventually, I did put him out of his misery and said yes. Sharlee Mullins Glenn with Her Family We had a long engagement because I was on scholarship at BYU and he was on scholarship at the College of Southern Idaho and teaching seminary, so we waited for the next spring to get married. James transferred to BYU and we finished our degrees there. I went on to get a master's degree in humanities and comparative literature, focusing on art history, Italian literature, and English. We had our first child right after I finished my bachelor's and by the time I finished my master’s, I was pregnant with our second. I taught Intensive Writing through the Honors Program at BYU for many years after that. By then, we had five children – one girl, then four boys. My dream had always been to write books for children, and after our youngest child was born, I decided it was time to stop teaching at BYU and focus on my own writing. My first book, a middle-grade novel, was written between the hours of 11 pm and 2 am over many months, and that about killed me. So I decided to switch to picture books because they're short! It took me a long time to figure out how to write a picture book because in some ways they’re harder to write than a novel. But eventually, I fell in love with the picture book genre and went on to publish several picture books with national publishers. In the meantime, I was doing life – PTA, Primary president, raising kids, taking care of aging parents, trying to write in the little scraps of time I had. But my children always took top priority. And I don’t regret that at all. We have them with us for such a short time, and my children (and now, grandchildren) are my joy. But I did look forward to the day I would be able to focus more on my writing. You graduated from college with a master's degree and went straight into teaching while you were having children. This was during the 1980s and 90s, when President Ezra Taft Benson said that women should not work outside the home. How did that work for you? When he gave that talk, we lived near BYU in Provo and both my husband and I were in grad school. All of our closest friends were also in grad school. That talk definitely created dissonance and pain for many. The saddest thing for me was what it did to the women in the Church—it created real division and judgment. Suddenly, it was working women versus stay-at-home moms. I remember one of my friends saying, “I’m not sure what President Benson meant for us to do with this talk, but I know that he didn't mean for us to roll it up into a stick to hit each other with.” But that's what happened. Shortly after this talk was given, we moved to Pleasant Grove, Utah and into a ward that was very traditional and conservative. This sounds naïve, but I honestly did not realize that “feminism” was a dirty word for many members of the Church until we made that move. I was harshly judged by a few of the women in our new ward because I was teaching at BYU. One woman used the Benson talk in a very punishing way in her Relief Society lesson, and it’s the only time I ever walked out of a meeting. I couldn't stay or I would have said something regrettable. I continued teaching part-time and my sister watched my kids. Sometimes I felt the need to explain all that to people, so they could see I was still being a good mom. It was ridiculous, but it was a tricky time. Thirty years later, I am still here in this same ward—and I adore my neighbors and ward members. I’m currently serving as the Relief Society president and I feel so grateful to be able to serve these sisters that I have come to love with all my heart. They are wonderful, deeply good people. But that was a challenging period to navigate. I love that you claimed your feminism when it was not acceptable to do so. When did you become active in politics and government? Sharlee Mullins Glenn Our youngest son graduated from high school and left on his mission in 2016, and I thought, “Okay, here we go! I get to be a full-time writer now.” But then I accidentally started MWEG – Mormon Women for Ethical Government – and that took over my life completely for the next three years until I could finally hand off the reins of leadership. I had always been an engaged citizen. I always voted. I always tried to be informed, but I did not consider myself particularly “political.” I definitely didn't consider myself an activist. Until the 2016 election cycle. I knew then that, given what was happening in our country, I could no longer remain silent. As expressed in our MWEG motto: I could not be complicit by being complacent. You accidentally started MWEG? How did that come about in relation to the 2016 US election? I accidentally started MWEG in the sense that I had no idea it would grow so quickly and become a legitimate and formidable nonprofit organization within just a few months. The 2016 election lit a fire within me—as it did for thousands of other women of faith (as I quickly learned). I love this great American experiment. I love our Constitution. I love the rule of law. I love the precious freedoms and rights that our Constitution grants to all people. And as I saw these things being attacked, I knew I could not remain silent. My conscience required that I act. As I wrote in an email exchange with my close friend around this time: “What can we do? We must turn our dismay into action. First, and above all, we seek the guidance of the Spirit. We stay on our knees and pray our hearts out until we know we have the Spirit with us. And then we get to work. Calmly, with focus, impelled by the ferocity of love; not fear, not anger.” A lot of Latter-day Saint women share your concern. How did MWEG bring them all together? Just a few days after the inauguration in January 2017, I sat down at my computer to create a Facebook group for women who, like me, were concerned about the polarization and vitriol in our public discourse and about the lack of ethics in our government. I had a list of women who had indicated interest in such a group—all of whom I knew well and trusted completely. Still, as I later wrote in an article for BYU Studies, for some reason I felt impelled “to formalize the guidelines and foundational principles by which the group would operate and which still guide MWEG today: the absolute commitment to civility and peacemaking, the laser-like focus on ethics and ethical government, the requirement that this not be a space where we criticize the Church or discuss Church governance and policies, the guarantee that it be a strictly nonpartisan group, and the insistence that the group be action oriented. We later encapsulated these guiding principles into what we call MWEG’s four core attributes: faithful, nonpartisan, peaceful, and proactive. Because of my grave concern about the contempt and general lack of civility abounding in political discussions, I also felt prompted to stipulate that anyone joining the group would need to commit to the six principles of nonviolence as articulated by Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. We later adapted these principles into our own Principles of Peacemaking.” Once all these things were in place, I began adding the women on my list. There were maybe 25 or so. I didn’t tell anyone to not add anyone else because that never occurred to me. Well, those original 25ish women immediately began adding friends, who added friends, who added friends. Within two weeks, over four thousand women had joined the group. And membership continued to snowball. I realize now that, given how high emotions were running at that time, had those guidelines not been firmly in place right from the beginning, we would have imploded within a few days. But the guidelines were there, and we were very firm about enforcing them. And the organization has become a vibrant and powerful force for good. What I did not know when I first set up the group was that there were literally thousands of other Latter-day Saint women out there feeling exactly as I was—and they were just waiting for someone to build the field of dreams, so to speak, so that they could come and play some activist ball! One thing I knew from the beginning was that MWEG should not be an hierarchical organization. Women tend to work best not in pyramids but in circles. We wanted the organization to be very synergistic and collaborative. As we were trying to figure out what the structure of MWEG should look like in those early days, I went for a walk one morning. I had been working 16-20 hours a day (no, that’s not a typo) trying to build an organization that could support thousands of women who were energized and ready to roll. We were also already in the trenches, engaging in the direct action that MWEG was created to facilitate (holding prayer vigils, organizing peaceful protests, hosting letter-writing campaigns, helping to register voters, etc.). I really needed some fresh air and sunshine on this particular morning. It was early spring, and all the trees were in bloom. And they were beautiful! Miraculous! It occurred to me that MWEG is like a tree. We had roots (our four core attributes: faithful, peaceful, nonpartisan, proactive) which kept us grounded. And we had strong, healthy branches (our primary objectives: to encircle, educate, empower, and engage). We had a robust trunk (our leadership team and various committees). And we had thousands of leaves (all the members of MWEG who collect light, photosynthesize, bring energy to the tree, and release life-sustaining oxygen into the world). MWEG wants to help women know how to claim their power. We want to give them the skills they need to go out into the world and engage in whatever causes are meaningful to them—and to do it in peaceful, civil, effective ways. MWEG Moms Rising And so that’s how MWEG came to be, and it’s been the education of a lifetime. I’ve met the loveliest people and had the most extraordinary experiences. It did about put me in my grave in those first crazy years, but I’m so thankful we persisted. Everything happened so quickly and we were building the car as we barreled down the freeway at 100 miles an hour (we had a chassis and a motor, but no doors, no windshield, no brakes!). None of this could have happened without the extraordinary women who stepped up to be part of the initial core leadership team: Melissa Dalton-Bradford, Erica Glenn, Jacque White, Michelle Lehnardt, Linda Hoffman Kimball, and Diana Bate Hardy. I’m also very grateful for those who are the current leaders of MWEG. They are women of remarkable capacity who are doing amazing things and continuing to have significant impact. And thousands of women of faith are learning how to effectively engage in causes that matter to them. I'm no longer involved in the day-to-day operations of MWEG, but I remain engaged and fully supportive. I recently published my 59th op-ed. (I try hard not to write op-eds these days, but sometimes I can’t help myself!) Most have been published in the Salt Lake Tribune or the Deseret News and a few other Utah papers. Nationally, I’ve had op-eds in the New York Times, USA Today, The Hill, and the Washington Examiner. I also currently serve as a Utah State delegate, sit on the advisory boards for BYU’s Civic Engagement Program and the Association for Mormon Letters, work as a contributing editor for Wayfare Magazine (Faith Matters), and volunteer for a number of humanitarian and advocacy organizations. How is the organization of MWEG now, nine years later? It is thriving! As new leaders have taken the reins, they've taken things in a little different direction than the original founding members probably would have, and that's okay. The organization will continue to grow and evolve. Future leaders will make more changes. We do have a foundational document called “The Inviolable Principles and Practices of MWEG,” which memorializes those parts of the organization that must not ever change to ensure that the original mission and vision of the organization be maintained and preserved. These inviolable principles and practices include the principles of peacemaking, MWEG’s four core attributes (faithful, peaceful, nonpartisan, proactive), the focus on ethical government, and the commitment to a synergistic, collaborative model. As long as these fundamental standards are honored, all will be well. On another subject entirely, your writing recently expanded beyond children’s books and political essays. Tell me about your new book. Brighter and Brighter Until the Perfect Day Book Cover In the past few years, I have been able to return to writing (and not just all those op-eds!). I’ve put my writing of children's books on the back burner temporarily, though that is still my first love and I hope to get back to it eventually. But, for now, I've started writing a lot more for adult audiences—mostly poetry and essays. I'm on the editorial staff at Wayfare, and I’ve published poetry and essays there and in other places. And I recently published a book for adults—an epic poem called Brighter and Brighter Until the Perfect Day (BCC Press, 2025). Never in a million years did I think I would write an epic poem, but here we are! Like many people, I’ve spent a lot of time wrestling with the big existential questions around the purpose of life, the nature of God, suffering, etc. A few years ago, I started putting all of my thoughts about these things into narrative form. Stephen Sondheim famously said that content dictates form, and I think he’s absolutely right. I quickly realized that big ideas require a big form, and since the subject matter I was dealing with involved the entirety of human existence—what we call the Plan of Salvation—it became apparent to me that what I was writing could be nothing other than an epic poem. I honestly wasn’t sure that I was capable of writing page after page of unrhymed iambic pentameter and making it engaging, but I thought I might as well give it a try. So I started … and then I couldn’t stop. It was almost impossibly challenging, but also genuinely fun! Sort of like working out a really difficult puzzle. One of the many things I wanted to do in this epic poem was to center the divine feminine. This desire was driven by two questions I’ve had as long as I can remember: 1) Where are the women? Where are the women in this grand, ancient story of our existence? And, 2) What good is a doctrine (a “cherished doctrine,” no less) if we never talk about it and if we don’t seek further light and knowledge about it? I call this book an offering of imagination. I am not in any way purporting to set forth doctrine. It's speculative fiction, which is a formal genre. It invites the reader to think deeply about existential and theological questions, to more closely examine the boundaries of their own paradigms, and to consider fresh new possibilities. I’ve been really pleased by the reception the book has gotten. The response has been overwhelmingly positive. The key question to everything we ask at the LDS Women Project is: how have these experiences affected your testimony of Christ and your relationship with our Heavenly Parents? In the creation of MWEG, virtually everything was motivated by my faith and my discipleship to Jesus Christ. My entire impetus came from feeling the call to stand up and speak out against those behaviors that were so antithetical to the teachings of Jesus Christ. My devotion to God has expanded and deepened exponentially as a result of the work I've been engaged in and the people I’ve met. It's been tremendously gratifying, and has given me great hope for the future. There are so many good people in this world. I am deeply committed not just to the gospel, but to The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. I like to say that “I’m all in, eyes wide open.” I clearly see the problems, but I’m not going anywhere. I choose to stay and do whatever I can to make things better. My capacity to accommodate paradox has grown, and my comfort level with ambiguity, human frailty, and mystery has increased. Sometimes I do long for the simple faith I used to have, but my faith is now so much richer, deeper, and more nuanced. I could never leave for so many reasons, one of them being our mind-bogglingly glorious and expansive theology. Our doctrines of Heavenly Mother, eternal progression, agency, covenant relationships, the sealing together of the entire human family are so powerful, and the more I grapple with these things, the more precious it all becomes to me. I’m also grateful that ongoing revelation is so fundamental to our theology. It’s one of the things I love most about our church. It gives me such hope to know that there are many great and important things yet to be revealed. I'm fully optimistic that as we continue to seek greater light and knowledge and prepare ourselves to receive it, it will come. At A Glance NAME: Sharlee Mullins Glenn AGE: 65 LOCATION Pleasant Grove, Utah MARITAL HISTORTY: Happily married CHILDREN: Five (Erica, Kedric, Patrick, Dylan, Devin); nine perfect grandchildren CONVERT TO THE CHURCH?: Born into the Church (baptized at age 8 in 1969) EDUCATION BA in Humanities (summa cum laude); MA in Humanities/Comparative Literature OCCUPATION Author, nonprofit founder LANGUAGE SPOKEN AT HOME English FAVORITE HYMN: Be Still, My Soul

Lindsay Hart is a woman of many talents, and she’s put them all to good use. As a Spanish speaker, she has helped build up Spanish-speaking branches in her area. As a photographer, she photographs children with terminal diseases for a non-profit she founded. She’s also acted as foster mother to her cousin. She’s working towards her own version of her personal best. I was born in Provo while my parents were students at BYU. A few years later our family moved to San Diego, which is where I grew up. I went to BYU Idaho (then Ricks College) for two years, then served my mission, then finished up at BYU and graduated in public relations with a minor in dance. During my college years I got to travel a lot with the contemporary dance company: I went to Ukraine, Fiji, and New Zealand and I loved my experiences. Lindsay Hart You served a mission in Bolivia. Tell us about that. Yes! All the traveling I did at BYU made me very interested in a mission. I wanted that crazy, middle of nowhere jungle experience, and that is exactly what I got. Bolivia is a third world country, so it was very humbling. There was a lot of walking, and the heat was intense. There was amazing reception and incredible people. Toward the end of my service as a missionary, I was up in the Amazon on the border of Brazil. Women would go to the river to wash their clothes and the missionaries would sometimes go there to help and also give discussions on the side. I didn’t realize that that is where all the mosquitos are. I ended up contracting malaria! I spent a month in the hospital, and I almost got sent home, but I promised the Lord if I could just stay and get better I would do anything. I finished my mission, and when my parents came and picked me up we were able to take the first family I’d baptized to go through the temple in Cochabamba. That made all the hardships I had experienced with malaria worth my staying. When I got home I reconnected with Blake, a really good friend from before my mission. He had served his mission in Spain, and I’d always thought it would be neat to marry someone who spoke Spanish as well. We got married a year to the date of my return. My husband and I moved to North Carolina so he could go to graduate school. Once we located to Charlotte, our stake president found out that we both spoke Spanish, and asked if we would be willing to serve in the Spanish branch. Blake served for 3 years as a counselor and 3 years as the branch president. Our first two children were born there, so it was great to be able to raise them in that environment; everything was in Spanish: primary, Sacrament meeting, etc. Lindsay Hart And around this time you also started your photography business? Yes! It was a crazy time for us. And to add to that was the start up of my business. I’ve always loved photography. I wrote for the school newspaper in college and got to cover the Winter Olympics and take pictures. I’d also taken some photography classes. I love being creative and I wanted to do something to help contribute to my family, but I also wanted to be able to do it on the side so I could keep my family my top priority. I opened my photography business: Hart to Hart Digital Photography & Design. I also love to teach photography and over the past year I’ve had the opportunity to be featured monthly on a local television program called “Charlotte Today,” where I get to teach segments, such as “taking better photos” or “decorating with pictures” etc… I also love that my job allows me to teach my own children by example. Sometimes when I’m photo editing I’ll have my 7 year old come and sit on my lap and I can let him see how I do things. My business continues to grow, and for that I am so thankful. I’ve begun to go international and even shot a wedding in Italy last year. Next stop Dubai! Will you explain the non-profit work that you do as well? I have a non-profit part of my business called “Photography with Hart” where people can nominate terminally ill children to have their photographs taken. It has been a touching experience to help these families capture that time. I remember receiving thank you letters from the family of a child I photographed. He had recently passed away and they were so grateful to be able to have something beautiful to remember him by. Through this part of my business I became involved with a group called the American Mothers Association; an inter-faith, non-political, non-profit organization that strives to recognize the invaluable contribution mothers make to the future success and happiness of children and society. I entered some of my work in their National Graphic Arts Competition and won first place. I was able to go to New York to accept the award, which was a great experience. Lindsay Hart and Her Children I understand you took in your cousin as a foster-child. In the summer of 2011 I flew back to California to attend a funeral. My 13-year-old cousin, who I didn’t know very well, was there too. He came from a very challenging home life with a number of problems. I felt very strongly that we needed to take him home with us! It was another crazy time in my life. I was pregnant with my third child and my business was really taking me off and keeping me very busy, but still I felt like we needed to do this. So we had my cousin come live with us. He had never been to church before. After living with us for just a few days he said, “Man, you guys pray a lot!” It was such a wonderful experience for our family to be able to share the gospel with him. We didn’t want to push him but he did go to church with us. It was hard for him to learn and understand as we still attended the Spanish Branch, and so we were released from the branch and began attending an English ward. He was eventually baptized and has since returned to live with his mother. Lindsay Hart You have so much going on. How do you keep it all together? I just do the best I can. I’m lucky to have a husband who is so very supportive. As women, we might read another woman’s blog or see something on the internet and feel a little overwhelmed or insecure… like we don’t measure up to others. It’s difficult but we need to try our very best to not compare ourselves. We’ve all been blessed with different abilities and talents. I am grateful for mine and my goal is to be my own version of my personal best, and to work the hardest I can to make my dreams and my family’s dreams come true. I also know that, no matter what happens, I’m the only one who can choose my own happiness and attitude. I love the thought from Eleanor Roosevelt that happiness is not a goal; it is a by-product of a life well lived. At A Glance Name: Lindsay Hart Location: Charlotte, NC Marital status: Married Children: Three Occupation: Business owner, photographer Schools Attended: Brigham Young University, Ricks College On The Web: www.harttohartdigital.com/ Interview by Katherine Wilkinson.

The LDS Women Project started with one sister telling her story to another. We have interviewed over 250 Latter-day Saint women in more than 25 countries. Our stories are our heritage. We are part of a journal-keeping culture, a blogging culture, a memorializing culture that treasures the stories of those who have gone before us. Interviews The LDS Women Project started with one sister telling her story to another. We have interviewed over 250 LDS women in more than 25 countries. Our stories are our heritage. We are part of a journal-keeping culture, a blogging culture, a memorializing culture that treasures the stories of those who have gone before us. As we each work to build a relationship with Jesus Christ and our Heavenly Parents, we hope these stories from Latter-day Saint sisters will inspire every woman to make deliberate and meaningful choices in her life as she seeks to fulfill her individual mission on this earth. If you would like to nominate someone to be interviewed by one of our producers, please email us at interviews@ldswomenproject.com Trina Caudle: THE CENTRALITY OF RELATIONSHIP Trina Caudle is a writer and editor with emphasis on personal stories and relationships. She brings that talent and skill set to the LDS Women Project as our Interviews Editor. Elizabeth Ostler May 15 12 min read GATHERING OF TRIBES, Gathering of Tribes: Cindy Quinney, Shane Manning & Amber Irwin Gathering Of Tribes is a nonprofit organization founded to support Native American and First Nations Latter-day Saints in the US and Canada by working collaboratively with the Church to nurture faith in Christ, support family history work, and celebrate cultural identity. The impetus of the LDS Women Project was to refute the idea that being a Latter-day Saint woman had to look one certain way, and to demonstrate that our diversity is our strength. Gathering Tribes exemplifi Elizabeth Ostler Sep 12, 2025 16 min read NOTHING STOPPING HER FROM LOVING HER SON, Karla Autrey Karla Autrey’s son came out to her as gay after he completed his mission. She did not understand at first how to accept his sexual orientation but has poured herself into learning unconditional love for her son and providing support to our LGBTQ members. Trina Caudle Jun 14, 2025 13 min read PERSONAL INTEGRITY, Neylan McBaine Neylan McBaine founded the LDS Women Project and published the first interview in September 2009. She has since worked on multiple projects such as publishing the book “Women at Church” in 2014 and leading the non-profit Better Days 2020. She continues to promote women’s visibility and empowerment in the Latter-day Saint sphere. Elizabeth Ostler Apr 11, 2025 14 min read KIRTLAND COUSINS, Susan Jackson Susan Jackson shares her story of growing up in Utah, raising a large family, and volunteering extensively, including teaching seminary and serving in various Church roles while living across the U.S. and internationally. She also details her unique experience volunteering at the Kirtland Temple with Community of Christ, the deep relationships she built there, and her emotional response to The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints purchasing the site. Trina Caudle Mar 15, 2025 15 min read WISDOM AND TIME, Georgina Bringas Georgina is an artist from Mexico City, Mexico, where the stereotype of an artist does not necessarily align with gospel living. She works to portray gospel principles through abstract art. Jenny Willmore Feb 14, 2025 10 min read WOMEN ON THE STAND, Amy Watkins Jensen Amy Watkins Jensen lives in a California stake with a practice of having women leaders sit on the stand in ward and stake meetings to increase the visibility of women and partnership among all leaders. In 2023, the Area President instructed the California stakes to end women leaders sitting on the stand. Amy began the Instagram account “Women on the Stand” in response. Trina Caudle Jan 4, 2025 14 min read MORE QUESTIONS THAN ANSWERS, Audrey Chaves Aubrey Chaves experienced a personal faith crisis as a young married adult relating to Church history and polygamy, and wondered if she should continue to be a member. Through a lot of questions and exploration, she expanded her faith and transformed her spiritual life. She now hosts the Faith Matters podcast with her husband, Tim. Trina Caudle Dec 6, 2024 15 min read TRUSTING IN THE LORD, Wendy Gonzalez Wendy Gonzalez shares her family’s story of emigrating from Venezuela to the United States. Jenny Willmore Oct 23, 2024 6 min read MIRRORING THE FATHER’S LOVE, Nalweyiso Barbara Katende Ojera Barbara Katende is a Latter-day Saint in Uganda and shared her personal history and testimony with the LDS Women Project. Trina Caudle Sep 22, 2024 7 min read MAKING MORMONISM HER OWN, Allie Bradford Brown Alice (Allie) Bradford Brown grew up in Provo, Utah as the daughter of a BYU professor and a homemaker, and the granddaughter of a Latter-day Saint feminist icon. But stereotypes have not been her path as she forges her own way through life. Allie is also the Director of Fundraising for the LDS Women Project. Trina Caudle Aug 30, 2024 12 min read GO FAR, STAY LONG, LOOK DEEP, Marci McPhee Marci McPhee retired to care for her mother, who passed away sooner than expected. She consulted with the Lord about what to do next and has felt called to a new location every couple of years to provide community service and to learn. Trina Caudle Nov 10, 2023 15 min read 1 2 3 4 5

The LDS Women Project (formerly the Mormon Women Project) is a platform to amplify the diverse voices, experiences, and wisdom of women in The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, showcasing that there's no single way to be an LDS woman and offering resources for more egalitarian worship. Find interviews, podcasts, essays, and special series exploring faith, culture, challenges, and spiritual growth, aiming to build connection and understanding within the community. Stories of Diversity & Faith FROM WOMEN OF THE CHURCH OF JESUS CHRIST OF LATTER-DAY SAINTS The LDS Women Project amplifies the voices, experiences, and faith journeys of Latter-day Saint women. Honoring the sacred journey GET INVOLVED Sisters Interviews Explore the diverse voices, experiences, and faith journeys of Latter-day Saint women. Discipleship Essays Engage with thoughtful reflections on faith, identity, & community. Written by LDS women for LDS women. Discover Resources Find empowering quotes, lesson supplements, & editorials that deepen understanding & strengthen faith. "I'm staying right here, to cultivate my bit of God's Kingdom so that both my sisters & brothers have fertile ground in which to grow. Are you with me?" Neylan McBaine, Women at Church In memoriam Carol Lynn Pearson: We Were Made for This Interview with Elizabeth Ostler Carol Lynn Pearson passed away on July 29, 2026. It was our great honor to interview her in 2023 for this project. We are grateful for her fierce advocacy, passionate writing, abundant humanity, and deep love for the gospel of Jesus Christ. She is already missed. READ MORE Wounded Souls AN ESSAY IN DISCIPLESHIP BY ELIZABETH OSTLER New Essay! There are people reading this who have dreams that have not been realized, expectations that haven’t been met. Others have experienced divorce, miscarriages, infertility, infidelity, homelessness, and job loss. Some of us have buried lovers, buried children, buried parents, buried sisters. When we find ourselves in these moments, we often ask, Why? READ MORE Support Us HELP US MAGNIFY WOMEN BY SHARING THEIR STORIES & CONTRIBUTIONS Because of you, we can inspire and enlighten people around the world. We depend on the kindness of donors like you to keep this work moving forward. Please consider making a donation to sustain The Latter-day Saint Women Project. DONATE Subscribe to our newsletter. YES, SIGN ME UP!

This series focuses on the experiences and insights of active Latter-day Saint women married to men who are not members of the Church, or to men who have left the Church. Each story is a generous and vulnerable offering. Mixed-Faith Marriage This series focuses on the experiences and insights of active Latter-day Saint women married to men who are not members of the Church, or to men who have left the Church. Each story is a generous and vulnerable offering. Meant To Be I was the girl who dreamed of getting married at 18 in the temple and having six kids. I did not imagine I’d ever be still single and old enough to serve a mission. Lucky for me, the Lord had different plans for me—I think the Lord knew that I needed a little more preparation for what he had in store for me and my life. I ended up serving a mission in Salt Lake City, and spent the entire time on the east side, serving in suburban areas much like the one I grew up in. Anonymous Dec 18, 2018 5 min read A Sense of Freedom I was raised a member of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. I sang songs about marrying in the temple in primary. I learned that a “celestial marriage” meant that I would marry a man who held the Priesthood, and was worthy of that Priesthood as a member of the same church. Both of my parents were members and I remember walking to church together, sharing traditions of reading scriptures together (sometimes), family prayer (sometimes), and praying before every me Anonymous Dec 14, 2018 3 min read Supporting His Journey As I reflect back on those impressionable years between the ages of 12-18, I fondly recall having very real desires and aspirations to heed the counsel of my young women leaders, when the time was right, to choose a man who could take me to the temple. And I did. My first marriage was in fact a temple marriage. But like many temples marriages, unfortunately mine ended in divorce. I was six months pregnant with our son when I separated from my then husband. Tiffany Nevares Dec 11, 2018 3 min read Sifting Through Unmet Expectations I asked a friend for a blessing when I was considering getting engaged to my husband. I was told that I had made countless good decisions in my life leading up to that point, and that God trusted my ability to make a good decision here too. Melissa Marshall Dec 7, 2018 4 min read Practicing Heavenly Vision Perhaps my patriarchal blessing was subtly preparing me for this life; at age 14, I was told that I would be the spiritual leader of my home. As this was given 30 years ago, that was a surprise. It was just assumed that the father in the family would be the leader. McArthur Krishna Dec 5, 2018 4 min read Mourning and Hope My husband and I have been married for nine years. The Church was extremely important to him when we were dating and engaged, and during the first few years of our marriage. He loved serving in the church, attending the temple, and especially had a deep testimony of the importance of reading your scriptures regularly and paying tithing. Anonymous Dec 3, 2018 4 min read My Personal Equation My husband and I met while we were both new teachers at an inner-city high school in Las Vegas. We were young, inexperienced, and frustrated. We were transplants: Christian from Kentucky, I from Utah/Oregon. We fell in love quickly. He was my life raft at a time when I was doggie-paddling across a turbulent ocean. Kim Cowart Nov 27, 2018 3 min read Between Me and the Lord My first boyfriend was a poster child for the church: intelligent, active, and preparing to serve a mission. He’d shaken the hand of the prophet and held several youth leadership roles. He sexually assaulted me before and after his mission. He now serves as a bishop. Anonymous Nov 26, 2018 3 min read A Celestial Relationship This story is about me—which feels odd because whenever I have written it before I’ve made it about my husband. We met at BYU, fell madly in love and were married in the Oakland Temple. We finished school, moved to Washington State, and started a busy life with children, callings, careers, and life. We have been a good match. I always credit his kindness and consideration and encouragement. Jennifer Barnhart Nov 24, 2018 5 min read Evolving Charity I never thought I was in a mixed-faith marriage because I believed my faith was the one and only true faith, and that my non-LDS husband was just a missionary work in progress. My insistence that my worldview is the only valid worldview is probably one of the primary reasons why I am in my third marriage. Kim Powers Nov 23, 2018 3 min read Not a Last Resort Interfaith marriages are often underrepresented in LDS discourse on dating, marriage, and eternal life. Although I’ve often heard marriages like mine described as “backup” options, for me it has been a joy formed through much prayer, study, and lived experience. Julianne Weis Nov 20, 2018 4 min read A Changing Marriage We were waiting for our early morning flight for our family’s long-awaited trip to Disneyland. My husband came walking down the concourse with a Starbucks drink in hand. Our 10-year-old daughter asked what he was drinking, and he replied, “a caramel macchiato.” I inwardly fumed, as I was exhausted by preparing our family of seven for a big trip and this was the venue my husband used to tell our children he drank coffee. M. Leavitt Nov 19, 2018 3 min read 1 2