Blog Tag: #hearLDSwomen priesthood leader overreach
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#hearLDSwomen: Young Women Not Allowed to Participate in Physical Activities
As a young woman, we had a combined camping trip with laurels and priests in our stake. When it came time to go on a hike for the trip, the laurels went on a completely flat hike while the priests went on a steep hike up the side of the mountain. In testimony meeting the boys talked at length about how difficult the hike was and how much they learned and how it took several hours. The next morning, a group of us young women who were on the cross country team ran their hike in about thirty minutes....
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#hearLDSwomen: I Was Released From My Calling Against My Will
A few months ago, my friend asked me to sub her Gospel Doctrine class. I did, and the lesson went really well. After class, the Sunday School president cornered me and said he hadn’t been there, but four people had already told him what a great job I’d done, and would I consider making this a full-time gig? To my surprise, I found I really wanted to teach. I'd been thinking about taking a step back from church, but I thought maybe this was God's way of telling me I should stick around. I said yes, that teaching once...
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#hearLDSwomen: My Bishopric Would Not Staff Callings in My Auxiliary
As Primary president, I would submit names for Primary callings and get no response, OR, even worse, I would give them a slew of names and they would call someone totally off the wall and not tell me. I would just find out in Sacrament Meeting with everyone else. This included even my counselors. After several Sundays of not nearly enough people to cover the callings, we sent all of the children back to their parents and told them we didn’t have the coverage and couldn’t guarantee safety! Guess what....those callings were filled fairly quickly. It’s ridiculous!!!
- Kelly C.
Every...
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#hearLDSwomen: My Bishop Told Me to Hide My Intelligence So a...
On the church hallway bulletin board, encouragement for all of us single ladies: “When the odds are one in a million, be that one.” (I don't fault the person who created this, rather I fault the culture that created this.)
- Swiss Miss
I'm single and childless. I have been informed in countless ways for literally decades now about how basically my entire existence is "less than".
- Kristin
I was single for a long time and got married a year ago. Right before I got married and moved, I was asked to give a talk about marriage. I told them no; why...
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#hearLDSwomen: The Temple Poses Challenges for Women
A few years ago, I went to ward temple night. My divorce was about to be finalized, so I felt strongly that I needed to do sealings to refresh my memory on what the divorce would mean for my daughter. When I got to the sealing room, I was the only person not in a couple. I didn’t know any one else, but they were obviously paired off as husbands and wives. The sealer had everyone’s names on his desk, but he kept forgetting to add me to the rotation because I wasn’t there with a man. He changed...
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#hearLDSwomen: My Bishop Shut Down My Book Club
Our ward’s Relief Society had a book club, and all book choices had to be approved by the bishop.
- Sherry Work
Our book group got shut down. The bishopric saw no way to control the content and who might or might not be offended by it, so they refused to let us figure it out like grownups. Cinema club (which was mostly period pieces and Masterpiece theater) got shut down, too.
- Sarah Jane Bates Gray
As Young Women's president, I had to FIGHT for a key to the library. So unnecessary.
- Chrysteil Lynn Hunter
I was told we shouldn't waste paper and...
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#hearLDSwomen: Getting My Sealing Cancelled Was Difficult and Invasive
It took me four years to get my sealing canceled from my abusive ex-husband. I knew it was possible because a friend had gotten it done. I also knew it was a recent change in the handbook. I went through four bishops and two stake presidents during that time who all drug the process out longer to keep me from going through with it. Despite me clearly having expressed that I had prayed about it and had peace in moving forward with the cancellation was right for me, they dug their heels in and refused to let me move...
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#hearLDSwomen: My Bishop Counseled Me to Stay with My Abuser
When I went to my last bishop about my abusive marriage and told him I was planning to leave and get a divorce, he seemed very supportive. He even offered to be present when I was ready to notify my husband of my plans.
When I was finally ready, my bishop backed out. He said I needed to be forgiving and give my husband another chance. I told him that advising someone to stay in an abusive relationship can be very dangerous, even life threatening. He stood his ground. So did I. I let other female friends know of my...
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#hearLDSwomen: My Bishop Asked Me Sexually Explicit Questions I Didn’t Understand,...
I was eleven years old. I had been called in for a pre-YW/Primary graduation interview. Towards the end of the interview, the bishopric member asked me if I obeyed the law of chastity. When I responded in the affirmative, he asked if I knew what it meant. I responded in an age-appropriate way, something along the lines of “You shouldn’t go too far before you get married.” He chuckled and said, “Yes, but it’s that definition of ‘too far’ where people get stuck.” He then asked me the following questions:
– Have you masturbated?
– Have you let a boy touch...
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#hearLDSwomen: Getting My Bishop to Staff Primary Callings Is a Nightmare
I was Primary president in a ward that wasn't huge, but we did definitely have plenty of adults who could've helped out in Primary. I suggested name after name and nothing. ever. happened. So one week, I dismissed all the classes that didn't have teachers. I said, "Tell your parents that you don't have class today because we don't have a teacher for you." Guess what? The next week, five new teachers were called.
- Amy Giauque Chamberlain
Every single time our Primary presidency warned that someone was not a good fit for Primary, that we didn't want them working with...
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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.
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