Blog Tag: Relief Society
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Guest Post: They Saw This Coming and Gave us a Manual...
by Wendy Chapman
As we were quarantined during the Covid-19 crisis, our ward had a sacrament meeting via Zoom, and I listened to the testimonies of my fellow ward members. There were a few comments about the Savior providing hope in a time of challenge and of renewed appreciation for the cycle in the Book of Mormon of prosperity followed by descent into wickedness, great challenge and despair, a turn to faith, then prosperity again. Those comments resonate with me.
But the most frequent message I heard was being grateful for our prophet and his prescience in knowing this was coming...
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Guest Post: Art, Authority, and Institutional Sexism
by Mindy May Farmer
When someone excitedly shared Anthony Sweat’s painting, “Relief Society Healing” in the Exponent II Facebook group a couple of weeks ago, I only wanted to feel joy. The image depicts Mormon pioneer women laying hands on a woman in her bed, comfortable under a patchwork quilt. This is not a simple picture of comfort; one woman confidently pours oil in clear preparation for a blessing. Even more lovely is a small boy in the corner looking at the women in admiration and recognizing their God-given authority. These women represent power to heal and administer in God’s...
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Young Women Lesson: Why Was A Restoration Necessary?
Traduction en français/Click for French Translation
Introduction
It is easy when talking about the great apostasy and the need for a restoration of all things, to talk in terms of darkness and light. For just one example, N. Eldon Tanner once stated that "this period of the apostasy was known as the Dark Ages because the light of the gospel was withdrawn from the earth." There is certainly something revealing in such discussions, as the world was started with light (Genesis 1:3), Christ is "the light and life of the world" (3 Ne. 11:10–11), scriptures pair truth with light (D&C 93), and Joseph Smith's first vocal prayer...
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A Journal Entry from Many Years Ago, before I Found my...
I recently rediscovered this journal entry that I wrote several years ago, before I started analyzing church policies and advocating more equitable changes, before I had ever been interviewed by a reporter about gender issues within my faith community,* before I became an activism organizer for Ordain Women, before I started the Religious Feminism Podcast, and before I wrote a book for feminist activists.**
Before I ever imagined I would do any of those things, this is what I was thinking. Today, as I read the last question I asked myself in this diary entry from so long ago, I smile...
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Writing Yourself a Revelation
Three weeks in a row, I left Relief Society in tears.
Nobody had said anything particularly terrible. I didn’t have a falling out with anyone. In fact, I wasn’t entirely sure what was wrong—I could just feel something off. Church had felt like home my entire life, but now I suddenly felt uncomfortable and exhausted. And I couldn’t even articulate why.
On that third week, my husband asked me a question that I needed: “Have you written about this?”
I hadn’t. The question came from someone who knows me well—someone who knows that pen to paper is the way I discover my...
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Deconstructing the P word
About 30 years ago a Utah Valley area authority was giving a talk to a large audience. He spoke of attending a sacrament meeting where a newly baptized family, consisting of parents and several daughters, was being sustained as the newest ward members. The father of this family had been baptized a few weeks earlier. Then he had been ordained to the priesthood so he could baptize his wife and daughters the day before. The bishop of the ward saw this as an opportunity to teach about priesthood authority. After welcoming the family, the bishop invited the youngest daughter,...
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Book Review: Sister Saints
I enjoyed this book immensely and learned a great deal from it. Sister Saints is very comprehensive, well-researched, and takes you through the different time periods of the church’s history. It does a great job of explaining the context behind the events, which was helpful for me, since I wasn't alive during those times.
I was surprised to read that, during Amy Lyman’s leadership, women could receive a special church calling as a social worker. They received professional training and got paid. This is the only instance I’ve ever heard of a woman having a paid (and professional) calling in...
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Guest Post: By Show of Hands
I taught a Relief Society lesson recently on the importance of temples and temple work. Usually I can figure out a way to approach a topic that I feel good about, but in this case I came up against a wall of hypocrisy so high, I couldn't see any way over or around it. I didn't know whether to try to find a sub, or just ignore the assigned topic and teach something else, asking forgiveness rather than permission if the presidency was unhappy. I stewed about it for weeks. Eventually, I tried praying for some direction on how—or...
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Guest Post: Open Letter About the New Relief Society Curriculum
by Mamie
I was sexually abused as a child by a neighbor and physically and emotionally abused by my LDS parents. Multiple siblings in my family sustained this same abuse until one sibling died, so I cling to my relationship with the Savior like a survivor on a life raft. The gospel brings me the healing I need to cope, recover, and function. Partaking of the emblems each Sabbath day is a very sacred and empowering time for me, but my mental health suffers as a result of my childhood scars. I struggle with trusting and interacting with people. As...
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Imagine
Recently I read a fascinating article by Rosemary Hill. https://www.lrb.co.uk/v40/n07/rosemary-hill/what-does-she-think-she-looks-like. It is about women, fashion, clothing, and uses a phrase, “frock consciousness”, which is deserving of its own discussion. It is well worth reading. A couple of sentences keep running through my mind. “Women have always had to be amphibious. No society has been designed for their comfort or convenience and as they move between the elements, the spheres of private and public, personal and professional, they must constantly adapt, assume disguise or camouflage.” We can add the sphere of church or religion to that list.
Has there ever been...
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.
