Blog Tag: Relief Society
1617
Written by
15
Relief Society Would Be Better If We Were Studying Scripture
A few Sundays ago I sat through another Relief Society lesson based on a talk from General Conference. The teacher has been teaching Relief Society for years. She’s considered the best teacher in the ward because she always has inspirational quotes and pictures displayed on a TV screen. She does a decent job of fostering discussion and helping women engage with the material.
I still fell asleep at about the 40 minute mark.
Other weeks I’ve gritted my teeth while I listen to the other teacher try to put together a lesson based on some General Authority’s collection of personal stories...
3169
Written by
Did Brigham Young Disband the Relief Society in 1845? I Don’t...
I first presented my argument challenging the claim that Brigham Young disbanded the Relief Society at the Mormon History Association conference in 2021. I further discussed the Shadow Succession Crisis at the Mormon History Association conference in 2022. This blog post focuses on what brought me to the research topic and introduces the themes of my research. I hope to publish a more detailed article soon. For more on this argument, you can hear me discuss the topic with Lindsay Hansen Park and Bryan Buchanan on the Sunstone Mormon History Podcast in a bonus episode that was released this...
612
Written by
Guest Post: Trauma-Informed Relief Society Teaching
Guest Post by Amy. Human Being. Mother of Two. Deep Thinker. Granddaughter of a Philosopher..
Connecting the Dots: “Trauma”, “Informed” and “Relief Society Teacher”
I have victoriously entered into/got dragged kicking and screaming into a space in my life where I have done a lot of thinking about “trauma" and “informed” and “faith and being a Mormon” while formerly holding the calling of Relief Society teacher.
The word “trauma” is used to cover the whole range of hurt that happens between people interacting with each other. The incomplete words I have for it include multi-generational, societal hurts, and acts of bullying...
1295
Written by
The Incredible Power of a Teacher
This is the first post in a series about foundational concepts in teaching applied to a church setting.
“Who is the teacher?” is often the first question people ask about a class whether it’s a kid’s school class, a class at a gym, or a class at church. At some level people recognize, to paraphrase the late Haim Ginott, that it is the teacher who is the decisive element in the classroom, the one who creates the climate, and is the one with power to create a class of torture or inspiration. If you have ever wished classes at church...
878
Written by
Guest Post: My First Day in Relief Society
Guest Post by Alma Pellet. Alma Pellett is living the dream as a stay-at-home mother of 5, while also somehow continuing to do software development work from home in American Fork, Utah. She is relatively new to the world of womanhood, being transgender, and treasures each new aspect discovered.
Socially transitioning to present as female was a deliberate step for me to take after receiving direction, through prayer, to do so. It involved changing jobs (as I had been working for the Church History Library for 10 years), helping others work out what to call me, and the biggest difficulty,...
707
Written by
The Woman’s Exponent Celebrates 150 Years
By Lori LeVar Pierce, president of Exponent II
On June 1, 1872, the first edition of The Woman’s Exponent was printed. For 42 years, this semi-monthly publication shared the voices of Women in The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints in its mission to “discuss every subject interesting and valuable to women.” Today, we mark 150 years since its commencement. With the lack of female voices in our historical records (including scriptures), it is really remarkable to have this treasure trove of women’s voices sharing their opinions, their stories, and their poetry. It was the discovery of the archives...
545
Written by
Teaching the Addiction Recovery Program to Non-Addicted Relief Society Women: Thoughts...
Last year my Relief Society presidency decided to devote a meeting every couple of months to teaching the Addiction Recovery Program (ARP) to the women. A Relief Society counselor asked me to be the teacher, and I was hesitant. I had no experience with the program myself, and I worried that a program aimed at people trying to recover from often pretty serious issues wouldn’t resonate with a room of mostly non-addicted women. And more importantly, would it encourage women, who already tend to be hard on themselves, to see their everyday mistakes and foibles as misdeeds serious enough...
754
Written by
This Bridge Called My Back
You didn’t think I was going to stand on that corner by myself(arms and legs like board, mouth full of cement) forever, now did you? To Be Continued by Kate Rushin
I told my husband once, in the midst of little children and their constant, unsatisfiable needs, that I could go entire days without seeing another woman. I felt, often, like I was standing on a corner, stiff and silenced, unseen. In those days, Relief Society provided some respite, if only for a moment between dropping children off at nursery and taking the baby out for a diaper change. But...
1615
Written by
Acceptance, Inclusion, Belonging
Engaging everyone in the same way creates that sense of belonging. There's a difference between acceptance and belonging.
444
Written by
How Well Are Women Actually Represented on Latter-day Saint Women pages?...
There's a popular Facebook page called "Latter-day Saint Women Stand" (formerly "Mormon Women Stand") with over 55,000 followers. This page regularly posts faith related content and updates on the LDS church, and a number of my friends online follow and enjoy this page. Recently one of those friends shared a post from this page, and I clicked over to check it out.
I've been doing a new experiment lately where I look at any church related sites and posts and pretend to be an outsider. (A couple months ago I first did this with my own ward Relief Society Facebook...
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.
