Blog Tag: General Conference
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Challenging the Internalized Sexism of “Primary Voice”
This weekend’s General Conference is rumored to be “historic.”
One thing will be quite historic: it is the first time that the General Women’s session replaces the Priesthood session on Saturday night of conference weekend. If we still get 1-2 women speakers in the other general sessions, minus the additional men that would usually speak at the Priesthood session, this conference may be the most equitable and record-breaking ratio of men to women speakers we’ve ever had over a conference weekend.
With the likelihood to hear from more women than usual, how do you plan to receive their words? With eagerness and...
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Some Thoughts on General Conference
General Conference is coming up. I've seen a lot of speculation and rumors flying around about this or that big change that might come. I generally don't put much stock into rumors, so while I hope some of the speculation I've heard is true (and I hope some other speculation I've heard is false), I'm taking a wait and see approach, and I'm trying not to get emotionally invested in any of the speculation thus far.
I didn't grow up in the church, so I don't have childhood memories of watching conference. I think I may have caught a session...
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Changes in General Conference: some big, some small, some not at...
Is your head spinning from all of the changes and announcements made at General Conference last weekend? Elder Holland's joke about how "some of us have weak hearts!" got a big roar of laughter from the crowd.
It's nice to have the progress of the church running at full throttle again. May it be a sign of many more good things to come!
In case you missed it, here is a summary of things our readers may be interested to know:
President Nelson sustained as prophet. In the solemn assembly, Melchizedek Priesthood holders make their sustaining votes first, but Relief Society...
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Last LDS General Conference, I tallied male and female speakers. Twitter...
Last October, I did a shocking, scandalous thing: I tallied the number of talks by men and women as I listened to General Conference and tweeted my (totally predictable) results.
My first tweet, with only Women's Session included in the tally, showed three female speakers and one male. A male always gives the concluding speech at women's session. (There is no reciprocity; women are not invited to participate in the male-only priesthood session.)
By the fourth talk of Saturday morning, there had been an even total number of talks by male and female speakers, echoing the approximate ratio in the Mormon...
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Mormon Church Officials Announce Plans to Decrease Male General Conference Speakers...
After a recent pilot program in which the total number of sermons by women in general sessions of General Conference was reduced by 50%, the Public Affairs office of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints has announced plans for a similar reduction in sermons by men, beginning in October 2017.
“Since the Women’s Session became a real session of General Conference, instead of just a Relief Society thingy we could all feel comfortable skipping, General Conference has become way too long,” explained Church spokesperson Emma Sorensen.
LDS General Conference traditionally contains six sessions spanning over eleven hours—to the chagrin...
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Imagine the #Possibilities
By Lorie Winder Stromberg
Lorie Winder Stromberg serves on the Ordain Women executive board as chair of the Long-term Planning Committee.
When this conference weekend concludes, I assume what has come to be known informally as the LDS leadership centerfold will again accompany the session transcripts in the May Ensign. You know the centerfold I'm talking about—it's the double-paged chart featuring scores of photos of the LDS male hierarchy with a few photos of female general officers tacked on of late at the bottom. For me, the semi-annual centerfold has long been a potent, twice-yearly reminder of how absent women are...
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We believe in being Republican
Before the American presidential election, Republicans were in something of a panic about the possibility of losing the usually reliable Mormon vote. Several prominent Mormon Republicans criticized the Republican presidential nominee, such as Mitt Romney, who warned that a Donald Trump presidency would lead to "trickle-down racism, trickle-down bigotry, trickle-down misogyny."
As the Trump campaign continued, it grew more and more offensive to Mormon sensibilities. In December 2015, the Trump campaign took a stand against religious freedom when his campaign announced that "Donald J. Trump is calling for a total and complete shutdown of Muslims entering the United States."
In October 2016,...
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The Dilemma of Wanting/Ignoring Women’s Voices at General Conference
I am caught between longing and a confession.
The longing:
Ever since I began seriously considering women’s place in God’s plan, I have felt keenly the scarcity of feminine voices in my faith community. I long for more of them.
As I finish writing this post, the next General Conference weekend is just hours away. During eight hours of church-wide instruction, following precedent of recent years, two women will speak. Two.
Many of the male speakers will undoubtedly have good things to say. But this is a church that insists that gender is eternally important, with roles clearly defined for men and women....
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Dear Sister Sassy: Planning A Heterosexual Baptism
Sister Sassy is the Exponent's resident agony aunt. Are you wrestling with a perplexing problem? Unable to resolve a pressing dilemma? Sister Sassy will help you to choose the right, every time!
Dear Sister Sassy,
The time is coming, and is not far distant, when we will once again hear Conference from within the shadow of the everlasting hills. I am raising three future priesthood holders (plus a girl) and I want to observe the Sabbath better than all my Mormon neighbors, who are watching church on TV in their sweatpants! How can we be the most righteous family on the...
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Auxiliaries Aren’t Designed to Address Women’s Concerns
The theme of the most recent General Women’s Meeting was temple worship, a topic that is fraught with anxiety for many women because the roles, covenants and promised blessings of the temple are different for female worshippers than for male worshippers and, in the opinion of many, much less affirming. (See Endnote.) When the meeting began, I was hopeful that female leaders would take advantage of this opportunity to address women’s concerns about the implications of temple ceremonies for women. Instead, the speakers talked about women who enjoy the Mormon temple experience without acknowledging that women who feel differently...
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.
