Blog Tag: General Conference
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President Oaks, The Women’s Session Did Not Address Women’s Concerns
One of the most painful parts of having concerns about women’s issues in the Church is that they are rarely, if ever, acknowledged by anyone on a general or a local level. Pretending that real issues don’t exist serves to alienate the many people who notice there are problems but feel like they’re not allowed to talk about them. Since so many women's issues have never been mentioned from the pulpit before, you can imagine how intrigued I was when I heard President Oaks’ opening remarks to the women’s session of General Conference last Saturday:
“This Saturday evening session of...
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Elder Renlund: Heavenly Mother is Not a Weapon
Heavenly Mother is not a weapon. Not against Elder Renlund, and not against those who seek Her.
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Guest Post: The Tale of Three Journals
Guest Post by Louise Hammel. Louise Hammel is a septuagenarian who lives by the sea. She keeps a journal of questions that no one can answer in this life. Still, she wants to know.
When I returned to church activity in the 1990s, I made it a goal to “feast on the words of Christ” (2 Nephi 32:3). One aspect of that was to feast on the words spoken in General Conference since “whether by mine own voice or by the voice of my servants, it is the same.” (D&C 1:38) I bought a journal and sat, ready, in front...
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Guest Post: Why Don’t More Wards Look Like the Multicultural Choir?
Nicole is an adult convert, a woman of color, and a professional diplomat. She blogs at nandm.sbitani.com and writes microfiction @nsbitani on Twitter. The content of this post does not represent the views of the U.S. Department of State or any other U.S. Government agency, department, or entity. The thoughts and opinions expressed here are solely those of the author and in no way should be associated with the U.S. Government.
I grew up in a part of the United States with a huge Korean American population. Yet, I’ve only met one Korean American member of the Church of Jesus...
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Why “Heavenly Parents” Isn’t Enough
Ever since I was a little girl, I lived in my grandparent's home. My parents both lived there as well until they divorced when I was 15, and my dad moved out. It was not an in-law apartment kind of situation where I might see them for dinner here or there. They were fully involved in the lives of me and my siblings. My memories are infused with the joy they individually and collectively brought to my life.
I can picture my grandpa sitting at the table each morning with his slice of bread and butter (a staple at each...
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The Mountain of the Lord’s House
This past weekend was General Conference. One thing at conference that made me happy was something President Nelson said in his talk in the Sunday morning session. He specifically invited single people to receive their endowment, and he didn't connect it to missionary service. This is a welcome change from past practice.
I'll be dating myself with this, but back in my day, the age for women to serve missions was 21. The general practice at the time was that the endowment was reserved for prospective missionaries, people preparing for sealing, and people who were so old that there was...
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Conference Cinnamon Rolls AND Anger
There are many different ways to make cinnamon rolls. There are options for dough, considerations on ingredients (no nuts or raisins in mine), and preferences around icing (a thick layer of cream cheese frosting for me). For many holidays growing up, we had Pillsbury orange rolls, and I still love those nostalgically.
Today, I’m starting homemade cinnamon rolls using my step-mom’s butter crescent roll recipe as my base. Many would find it an odd choice. It takes planning, because the dough has to rest in the refrigerator for at least four hours before rolling out. It also doesn’t get as...
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It’s the Message, Not the Messenger, That Matters. Or Is It?
I had a conversation recently with an elderly woman who is a dear friend of mine. We were talking about General Conference, and I asked her how she felt about the Church discontinuing the Saturday night session of Conference (which was, most recently, the Priesthood session or the Women’s session). My friend loves General Conference, probably even more than she loves Christmas, so I expected her to be a little bummed that she’d now get less of it.
But she wasn’t. She said she’d been upset when the Church had moved the women’s meeting to the Saturday night slot (instead...
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Ministering to the One
I'm really not a fan of having General Conference on Easter weekend. The date of Easter is known years in advance, and if we really want to show the world that we're Christian, we would treat Easter as the worshipful holy day that it is by holding sacrament meeting. It would be a simple matter to move General Conference one week earlier or later when Easter falls on the first weekend in April.
That said, there was one message from this weekend that I hadn't dared hope I would ever hear over the pulpit, even though it desperately needed to...
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10 Ways to Improve General Conference for Women This Weekend
A message came through for the youth one General Conference, inviting them to join a challenge. They could earn prizes by watching Conference, recording their thoughts, and submitting them. Simple and straightforward, right? Except, they included one caveat: The Young Men could opt to watch Women’s Conference or choose to watch old Priesthood sessions instead.
This exception puzzled me. Why exactly wouldn’t Young Men benefit from watching the Women’s Session? Is it because watching a session for women might make men uncomfortable? Or is it because messages by women are only for women? Maybe messages for women aren’t significant...
What is Exponent II?
Exponent II provides Mormon feminist forums for women and gender minorities across the Mormon spectrum to share their diverse life experiences in an atmosphere of trust and acceptance. Through these exchanges, we strive to create a community to better understand and support each other.
Exponent II was founded in 1974 by a group of Mormon women in Cambridge, Massachusetts. These women were inspired by the original periodical, “The Woman’s Exponent,” to create a forum “posed on the dual platforms of Mormonism and Feminism.”
For 50+ years, Exponent II has shared women’s voices in its quarterly magazine, and members of the community have convened at an annual retreat. Our reach has expanded as technology has advanced: the blog, founded in January 2006, has reached millions. As we look to the future, we are focused on growth and building a more inclusive community.
