Blog Tag: General Conference
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Think Celestial! …or not
What would change in the church and in our personal lives if we didn’t think celestial, but instead enjoyed the ephemeral?
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The Nine Women General Auxiliary Leaders
There has been a lot of discussion about the 2024 Worldwide Relief Society Devotional held three weeks ago. I hope that the conversations around power and authority triggered by the infamous Instagram post will lead to change. As flawed as some of the messaging was, I would like to highlight something positive I saw in the devotional.
At the beginning of the video presentation, I found the presence and portrayal of the nine women general auxiliary leaders standing closely together striking. Speaking as a unit, I saw a quorum of powerful women portrayed in a way that I had not...
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We Need You (But Why?)
“We need you; We love you.” – President Camille N. Johnson
While plenty has been well said about the recent Relief Society Devotional, I found myself curious about this perennial phrasing President Johnson used to open the devotional. She addressed 18 year old people coming into Relief Society, but to my perspective, it seems like women are always being told we’re needed in this church. Who is saying "we need you?" Who is being told they are needed?
Thanks to the General Conference corpus, I learned that in General Conference talks only, usage of the phrase “we need you” has...
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The Prodigal
I really loved Elder Uchtdorf's general conference talk about the prodigal son. So often at church, when we hear this parable, we put ourselves in the place of the righteous son, and we judge the prodigal son as the "other". We're righteous, but God will forgive those wretched sinners because God is good. But we're still a bit better because we're not sinners.
This misses the point of the parable. We're all sinners. We are the prodigal. We have wasted our substance. And God, in God's infinite mercy, watches and waits for us. When we are yet a long way...
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Why I don’t Expect More Women to Speak at General Conference
Trudy’s post a few weeks ago, Hopes and Predictions for General Conference, sparked my own thoughts about General Conference. I share her hopes, along with many hopes listed in the comments. One thing I spent years hoping for and have had to let go is the hope for more women speakers.
To explain:
President Nelson has shown through his actions that he 1: does not view women as people and 2: is more concerned with giving individual men the pulpit at conference than he is about the needs of millions of women (and some men) who hunger for women's words.
1: President...
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Hopes and Predictions for General Conference
General Conference is coming up in about a month. When I was a teenage convert, I was excited about it. I would go to a friend's house and watch it on the local public access channel. (This was before it was streamed on the internet.) We ate cinnamon rolls, and the younger children played conference-themed games. In college, we would make it a social weekend, with potlucks and socializing between sessions. On my mission, it felt like a day off because I could sit silently in a dark chapel without having to interact with anyone for several hours.
Then I...
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What would General Conference sound like in Ken-dom?
I want to dive into the land of Ken-dom and Mojo, Dojo, Casa Houses. What would General Conference sound like in the world of this totally fictional patriarchy? The Barbie movie is such a fun romp that this should be a good time.
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Fact-Checking Spiritual Op-Eds
As I’ve grown spiritually, I’ve come to firmly believe that it’s okay to “fact-check” the spiritual "op-eds" in our life - yes, even scriptures, manuals, lessons, and General Conference.
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The Spirit of God Like a Fire is Burning: A different...
And as I chatted with younger leaders (basically anyone under 50) from different places in the hallways, at meals, and between sessions, the feelings of frustration, hope, discouragement, and possibility bubbled over. Other people my age really care about this stuff. At the next World Conference, we're going to be prepared with new legislative proposals reflecting the changes we would like to see. The frustrations of today will not go to waste. The Spirit of God like a fire is burning. Its just a slower burn than I'd like to see.
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Women’s Lamentations
How can women be full partners
when men will not promote them from associates?
How can women organize
when men must authorize every action?
How can women inspire
when they are crushed by patriarchy?
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.
