Blog Tag: Relief Society
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My Journey to Find True Belonging
By Jenny
“People just get too offended these days. That’s why they leave the church or go inactive. Your testimony is pretty weak if a little offense causes you to give everything up. If only inactives knew what they were losing.”
It was a Sunday in December 2014, and the Relief Society lesson was on a downward spiral. My tears were already flowing. I had struggled through Sunday school, knowing that people tolerated me but didn’t really care for my uncomfortable presence. I had just had an unpleasant conversation with the Relief Society President in which a simple request of mine...
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The Women’s Institute
Rainy afternoons are plentiful in Oregon, and on such a day there is nothing quite like a jigsaw puzzle, Miss Marple, and a little benevolent neglect of your child. I recently watched our heroine solve a mystery of poison pen letters that had been typed using a machine at the Women's Institute. I'd heard that term before in other BBC contexts and resolved to learn more. Happily, my favorite documentary presenter, Lucy Worsley, did a show on the Women's Institute. Unhappily, the version on youtube is poorly formatted. Still, I learned a lot.
Evidently the Women's Institute is a Canadian and...
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Relief Society Lesson 1: Jesus Christ—Our Only Way to Hope...
Traducción española/Click for Spanish Translation Translation generously provided by Denisse Gomez Retana.
Lesson key: my notes are in regular font, pieces directly from the manual are in bold, and questions for the class are in italics
Here is the link to the lesson in lds.org.
I love that this lesson is framed around various hymns that President Hunter chooses to talk about in his talks. I’ll add one of my favorites in helping me to have a relationship with Jesus. I would love to see this lesson open with this video of Tyler Glenn singing “Where Can I Turn for Peace?” It’s powerful...
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Relief Society Lesson 22: Carry the Gospel to the World
(Pre)Introduction
The manual lesson may be found here. It gives us a glimpse of the heritage of missionary service President Ezra Taft Benson inherited, and the importance he places on the work, both for himself, and for all of us. His teachings offer calls for more (and better) missionaries, from full-time young men, young women, and senior couples, to non-full-time member missionaries. He also offers suggestions for preparing children to serve missions, and for four things we all need, as we engage in the work.
If you are going to teach this lesson, pause for a moment, and consider the makeup of your Relief Society....
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Teaching, No Greater Call: How To Teach Like An Exponent Blogger
There are a few general recommendations all of us try to keep in mind as we prepare lesson plans for the Exponent blog, or for our own ward communities.
They are:
Include quotes from women, both from within and without the church. One of my favorite resources for finding quotes from female general leaders is WAVE's Words of Wisdom: A Collection of Quotes for LDS Women. The Table of Contents is extremely helpful when looking for quotes on a specific topic, and the PDF is searchable as well, which makes looking for a specific word a dream. I have also had some luck searching on LDS.org, though recall it previously...
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General Women’s Session: Carol F. McConkie
We have a saying in my family, "Do all the good you can..." It is a phrase that I ponder often and it has affected the profession I've chosen, the callings I try to fulfill, the way I mother my children and interact with the people around me. This simple, yet expansive personal mantra has become the cause of my life and it is something that is incredibly meaningful to me.
I was thrilled when Sister Carol F. McConkie, 1st counselor in the Young Women General Presidency, began her talk by encouraging the young women, and by extension all the...
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Relief Society Lesson 18: Beware of Pride
Traducción española/Click for Spanish Translation
You may find the manual lesson, here.
Introduction
In Ezra Taft Benson's first conference talk as President of the Church, he spoke on the relationship between pride and humility, with the first framed as the universal sickness, "the great vice," and the second as the universal antidote.
While he suggested that "pride affects all of us at various times and in various degrees," he did not suggest that we tell others at what times, and to what degree we believe they are being prideful. It is better to look into our own hearts and heads, and tell ourselves, both remembering the...
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September Visiting Teaching Message- Divine Attributes of Jesus Christ: Powerful and...
Link to the message on lds.org here.
The main story in this lesson is of Christ raising Lazarus from the dead, which admittedly, is some pretty awesome power. However, as I tried to make a list things Christ did with or through power, I noticed they were quite varied. He had physical power over the elements: calming the waves, turning water to wine, feeding the 5000. He had power to heal the blind and sick. He also spoke calmly and powerfully when scriptural and traditional religious arguments were brought to him. He used his power to push cultural norms and customs...
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One More Example of ETB Lesson 15 (AKA: What Motherhood Looks...
I said this to my Relief Society sisters Sunday, more or less. (Not included are the beautiful, thoughtful answers they said back.) (If you happen to still be teaching Lesson 15, please check out Spunky’s inclusive and thorough plan.)
Divinity of Parenthood
What I hope that you will get from this lesson is that both fatherhood and motherhood are godly, and that cooperative parenting is the most godly of all.
Benson said, “A mother’s role is ordained by God. are, or should be, the very heart and soul of the family. No more sacred word exists in secular or holy writ...
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To say what is truth?
I have not been able to stop thinking about an essay I read a few months ago: "Oh Say What is Truth? Understanding Mormonism Through a Black Feminist Epistemology" The author argues that in Mormonism truth is acquired through feeling, citing D&C 9:8, as well as through lived experience; these are the ways we "find out for ourselves." These methods of determining truth are part of a black feminist epistemology set forth by Patricia Hill Collins, and the essay argues that her ideas are very close to Mormon methods of determining truth.
Taking feelings and lived experience a step further,...
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.
