Read our series of blog posts on by Mormon feminists across the spectrum of belief
Relief Society
Written by
16
An Open Letter to Claus Inc. North Pole
Dear Mr. and Mrs. Claus,
A recent video mashup of male LDS leaders providing instructions to LDS women on how to be LDS women, left me longing for gender parity in General Conference speakers. The ratio of two female speakers to 36 male speakers documented here is devastating to those like me that hunger for messages from Heavenly Parents spoken in a female voice of leadership.
An English speaking woman of modest means or a non-English speaker is restricted to the meager rations of LDS female leader voices doled out in increments of two every six months (with a once a...
Written by
September 2014 General Women’s Meeting – Linda K. Burton
Linda K. Burton, General President of the Relief Society, opened this Women's Meeting as the first speaker - and set the theme of "Temples" which continued throughout the meeting.
She discussed being prepared for the temple - starting with Jesus' parable of the Ten Virgins: five of whom were prepared for Christ's coming with oil in their lamps and five of whom did not prepare and were not ready to welcome Christ, the bridegroom. President Burton noted (and I agree with her) that gaining symbolic "oil" is a slow and consistent, life-long process.
She continues with the suggestion that the home...
Written by
Virtual Oases
Here are some links to check out!
The Exponent II turned 40! Our friend Tona writes about the festivities. And for the first time in Boston retreat history, a reporter was allowed in to portions of the event. Here's what was published in the Botson Globe!
The General Women's Meeting of the church was held last weekend. Huge news -- for the first time in history, a woman of color gave a prayer at a session of General Conference! (Sister Dorah Mkhabela from the YW General Board) Reporters and press were barred from attending the meeting in person this time. For...
Written by
September 2014 General Women’s Meeting: President Dieter F. Uchtdorf
I know I am not alone in loving President Uchtdorf. Today I was grateful for his heartfelt, genuine talk. I appreciate how hard he tried to articulate his love for the sisters of the church and how important he thinks we are. I thought it was important that he specified that this, the General Women's Meeting, is the opening session of conference and should be counted as such. I think this counts as a change in the way we discuss this meeting. I also thought it was important that President Uchtdorf repeatedly mentioned the existence of Heavenly Parents.
It was...
Written by
September 2014 General Women’s Meeting – Jean A. Stevens
It seems that the theme for this women's meeting is covenants and the temple. Sister Jean A. Stevens, first counselor in the Primary Presidency focused on the covenants, starting with the baptismal covenant and leading up to the temple. She used her own mother as the central example saying she had a "remarkable connection to heaven" and later used quotes from many women of differing ages and their examples of looking to the temple. I loved that she used regular Church members and especially women as examples and multiple times emphasized that we all have different paths. We have...
Written by
Guest Post: Come Follow Me: John 2–4 “Ye Must Be Born...
Guest Post by KMeldauc
Click for French Translation/Traduction en français
With priesthood being such a hot topic within the Church right now, I hope we all feel a little more familiar with what it is and how it works. Lets be optimistic and say that we did.
So now that we recognize all this great priesthood power and authority in our midst, what are we going to do with it?
Give Birth.
Wait. What?
Did you think I was going to say baptism? Baptism is the beginning of our new spiritual life. In that way, baptism is a birth.
Baptism is the third principle and first ordinance...
Written by
Relief Society: Fight or Flight
A few weeks ago I sat in RS and realized it would be one of those lessons. You know, the kind that makes your skin crawl. A young mom who recently moved into our ward was asked to teach Elder Christoffereson’s talk “The Moral Force of Women.” It was clear she had no idea that this talk might be a landmine and I turned to my friend sitting next to me and said, “I may start to cough uncontrollably and leave. I don’t think I can sit through this.” I’m fairly outspoken and generally not afraid to rock the...
Written by
The Inaugural LDS Women’s Meeting–Part I
I have looked forward to this historic women's meeting for many months despite sharing the concerns of some that the audience may be too broad. I arrived at my stake center, wearing my subversive purple dress, vowing to keep an open mind and to stand with my sisters, no matter what.
I will be sharing my thoughts on the first half on the session but I have to say, I loved every minute. I was moved and inspired by each talk, I found the videos and music uplifting and heart-expanding. I am grateful that I live in a time where...
Written by
Relief Society Lesson 7: Joseph and Hyrum Smith, Witnesses for Christ
I still remember on my mission, one particular day when one particular investigator told my companion and me that he admired many things about our church, and had many LDS friends whose families and lives he respected, but that there was one thing he could not get over: we worshipped Joseph Smith. We tried to explain the distinction, that we worship God and Jesus Christ, but are grateful for Joseph Smith because he helped us know Them more. We also brought in ancient prophets who helped us do the same.
And then my companion said a prayer. She began it,...
Written by
Book Review: Mormon Women Have Their Say
It took me a long time to read this book, 1) because I actually read it one and a half times, and 2) because I read it almost entirely out loud. The first "half time" came on a long, long road trip across the United States, and was enough for me to know that I wanted every member to read it. The reason was both simple and personal: reading Mormon women's experiences in their words facilitated the most amiable discussion on Mormon feminism that my traveling companion and I had ever had. He heard the women's pain and joy, and...
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.
