Blog Tag: #hearLDSwomen priesthood leader overreach
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#hearLDSwomen: My Gospel Doctrine Teacher Asks Questions Specifically to “Priesthood Holders”...
I've taught Gospel Doctrine in three different wards for a combined 10 years, and I could never get a woman to sub for me. I asked plenty. They always said "Oh, I could never do that. Ask Bro. So and So." So frustrating. Also, since my last stint ended, I've never been asked to sub. Had a female teacher for a year after me, and now a male teacher again. Always male subs. Always.
- Julie Rowse
When I was in my early 30s I was called to be a gospel doctrine teacher in a family ward, along with an older...
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#hearLDSwomen: I Was Shamed and Turned Away From a Temple Recommend...
When I talked about wearing pants to church, a man I know insisted women HAD to wear skirts. When I asked where that rule was, he recited that verse in D&C about how we should not be compelled in all things, so checkmate.
That verse means we should think for ourselves and not wait for authority to tell us what to do. It's not a blank check to enforce your personal list of unwritten rules.
- Anonymous
Several years ago, my son was returning home from a Spanish speaking mission and was headed to BYU. He and I decided to take a...
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#hearLDSwomen: After My Third Miscarriage, My Bishop Told Me I Was...
I was 14 or 15 when I was in my Bishop's office for a temple recommend interview for baptisms for the dead. During this interview, my Bishop told me that I could not participate in any temple baptisms if I were on my period because I was considered "unclean" and "no unclean thing" could enter the holy water of baptism.
- Elizabeth
After my third miscarriage in a row, during a time of my life when I was really struggling to manage my grief, a very challenging new job and some other things, a counselor in the bishopric came to my...
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#hearLDSwomen: I Asked to Be Released and My Branch President Verbally...
When I was 21 I wanted to serve a mission. I had a timeline for when I was hoping to get a mission call because my parents lived in Russia at the time but were taking a temple trip to Spain several months after I started the process of putting my papers in. I had some medical issues so I knew it would take longer to get all the needed paperwork and that it might take longer to get my actual call. I met with my stake president for the first time coming straight from class and was not...
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#hearLDSwomen: My Stake President Was Out of Control. A General Authority...
I held a calling in a stake capacity several years ago. My stewardship was minimal, but I was able to observe the workings of the authority hierarchy in the stake. I was stunned and frustrated when, multiple times, my committee's prayerful decisions for our stewardship were unilaterally overturned and our needs were not met. Despite logic and appeals, our various requests were denied by a stake president who was a stubborn micro manager. There was no recourse for us; we yielded to his directives.
- ElleK
My ex bishop continuously told me my answers were straight up wrong. He never spoke...
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#hearLDSwomen: My Stake President Canceled the Speaker for Our RS Activity...
My bishopric forces me to go through them to ask permission for every little thing for my calling, and they often say no and more often never respond at all. I've sent the bishopric member who's over me one brief email a month with a few bullet points of things I need from him. He hasn't responded in six months. I finally got fed up and sent an email a couple days ago telling him I would stop performing my calling after the end of next month and to release me. He hasn't responded.
- ElleK
I was the enrichment counselor...
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#hearLDSwomen: In My Stake, Women Can’t Use the Church Building Without...
At the time of Kate Kelly's fight for women to have the priesthood, I served on our ward's Ward Council. I am pretty vocal and at one particular meeting shortly after Kate's excommunication, a Bishopric member asked if I wanted his priesthood keys too. He then reached into his pocket and pulled out his car keys and mockingly offered them to me again. I was so furious and embarrassed I couldn't think of a response.
- Anonymous
When I was serving in a Relief Society presidency, the presidency decided to serve ice cream to the men on Father’s Day. That Sunday...
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#hearLDSwomen: My Bishop Sided With My Abusive Husband and Would Not...
My bishop told me if I’d hearken to my husband, he would feel better about himself and stop abusing me. I literally told my bishop that the phrase was to hearken to the counsel of my husband as he hearkens to the counsel of God. He wasn't listen to God, his psychiatrist, or anybody. So it didn't apply at ALL.
- Anonymous
I was taught as a Beehive that a woman is a mirror to reflect their husband’s light.
Thankfully this comment simply made me roll my eyes, but I am still close friends with one of the girls from that...
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#hearLDSwomen: When I Was Relief Society President, My Bishop Would Never...
One that comes to mind is when I was called as a Relief Society activity committee person. Every year we asked for a budget and every year it took them months to get back to us. We would submit our budget with $5 per attendee and it would be rejected. Everything we tried we got denied for and was told spend as little as possible. The Young Men would get to do a lot of fun things and we were expected to spend nothing on planning activities for women. Once they told us that we weren't allowed to buy...
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#hearLDSwomen: I’m Told at Church and at BYU It’s My Job...
I was asked (as a working mother and previous single mother) to speak in sacrament about the Family Proclamation and specifically about God-given role of women to stay home and care for their children.- Rachel Coleman
Before I started my master's program at BYU, I of course had to get an ecclesiastical endorsement. My bishop offered nothing but support and kindness during round one of the interview process. When I went in for the stake presidency interview, the counselor who I met with asked with great concern if I already have a full-time job. When I answered yes, he proceeded...
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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.
