Like the other lesson plans before, I think looking at both the Young Women outline, in comparison to the Young Men outline, is important.

Before I get into the lesson, I feel impressed to tell  of my experience in Young Women from a Beehive to Laurel. My ward had an awesome Young Women Presidency. The President was driven to ensure that each young woman had leadership experience. In this, she saw and positioned herself as an adviser, rather than as a leader. Sure, she and her presidency were leaders, but she reminded us that we were the “Young Women,” and she was not. So. One of the Young Women (YW) would conduct the meeting. We started with a prayer, a hymn, a chorus of the YW theme, and upon breaking into classes, the Beehive, Mia Maid or Laurel president would conduct the class, and invite the “adviser” (adult female in the YW presidency) to teach. This was my experience. And it made me into a leader. I did not fear speaking in public, and grew to understand the importance of communication, organization, and inviting the spirit. This was a powerful lesson, and yet—it was just in the way it was structured. But it was structured to make us into leaders. And it worked.

This lesson gives an excellent opportunity for you to invite this system into your Young Women meeting, and will allow the Young Women in your ward experience the act of conducting meetings, arranging for prayers, songs and so on. It will encourage them to develop leadership characteristics. This is a powerful part of this lesson: the concept of leadership, or in other words, the daring of standing alone in the face of opposition and disorder.  

Let me guess: You surfed onto this site looking for a way to make this month’s Visiting Teaching message interesting.

Now, I don’t mean to be disrespectful towards family history temple work. But it is a topic that comes up rather often, (I have written about here and here , oy!). So- either I get hit with the family history thing way too often in the Lesson Plan lottery, or the spirit is trying to get me to do work. Either way, looking up my family tree is not new. And clearly the topic can be hard to address and re-address, especially because it is a topic that so often hits news headlines.

Out of interest, Mormons are not alone in proxy work. There is evidence that the Coptic Church practiced baptisms for the dead in the 3^rd Century C.E., but ended as it was decided that those who are deceased are not privy to receiving Eucharist ordinances. (1) Mandaeans also practice proxy baptism, but only on a small scale. (2) But, by and large, The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints are the primary group that performs proxy ordinances, likely because it is taught to us so very often as a part of applied and real, church piety. There is some evidence that the LDS church members practiced proxy work for the living in the early days of the church- likely for other church members or relatives that were unable to migrate to Nauvoo (3) But because there is also evidence that not everyone enjoyed being proxy-baptised into another church, the practices was changed for the dead. It seems to me that the long lists of unrelated proxy temple work that were completed and created controversy furthered this practice to focus only on family history. Perhaps that is why there is such an emphasis in the church today; because if we do the work of our ancestors who have dead, we offend fewer of the living.  

Each General Conference, I sincerely try to think of messages that are uplifting to share in visiting teaching. In most speeches and every session, there are a few that resonate, including in from the April 2013 Conference. Once in a while, one talk really grabs me. Like from this conference. But this time, the talk that struck me seemed to also strike those around me. In the last few weeks following conference, nearly every person I have spoken to about conference, prompted or not, has mentioned Elder Holland’s speech.

 This speech resonated with me as well. Following the miracle of the first recorded woman to pray aloud at a general conference, I had hope—more hope that I have in a long time. To be clear, I do not believe that prayer chains or letter writing campaigns can move God or change God’s will. But I do believe that as we seek, individually or in a group, for revelation to be revealed, it can be shown. I als believe that when we ask,  then seek and knock for the miracles that God has already in store for us, that we will be blessed in the manner appropriate for this time as determined by God. I confess, I did not hope for a woman to be invited to pray at General Conference, even with the letter-writing campaign. Nonetheless, I sent in a letter with the campaign. I wrote my letter to support the friends who did believe. My letter was in testimony of something I felt was right, yet I did not have faith could happen. I had faith in my friends. And then, it happened. The prayer happened.

This was first posted on February 24, 2011.

Sexual separation is often a characteristic of dominant societies. The military, administrative and travelling imperatives of imperialism dictated it and, no less than Sparta or among the Zulu, the training and socialization of the young became increasingly directed towards this end. Public schools, youth organisations, juvenile literature, the club and the army mess were all expressions of it, as were strictly segregated working men’s clubs and school staff rooms. In the extending and building of country houses and public buildings of this period,  the provision of the male sanctum became an architectural necessity.

-John M. Mackenzie, Manliness and Morality, Middle-class Masculinity in Britain and America 1800-1940, Manchester University Press, 1987, p 180-181.

Men and women are segregated in the church organizations, and are so from a young age. The Young Men and Young Women’s programs are evidence of this, but historically, even 10 and 11 year olds were segregated until the advent of the (sometimes) co-mingled Valiant class (I was a Merrie Miss.) Youth organizations, literature, church meetings and MIA activities all segregate young females from males as the males developed authority levels within priesthood ranks. As such, the above statement, whilst written in regard to the social Darwinist aspects of Victorian and Edwardian exclusion of women from big game (authoritative and elite-class) hunting , I think can easily be applied to the segregation still present within Mormon Society.

Earlier this year, my bishop announced that we had a ward challenge. Each family was challenged “to bring two family names to the temple to have their work done by April.” In January, I felt sure this task would be easily accomplished. In February, I decided that since it was such a short month, I wouldn’t worry about it too much. In March, I started to wonder if the challenge ended on April 1^st or April 30^th… the ambiguous “by April,” declaration tempted me with an argument as to why I could not get the work done until May. But, by the end of March, I accomplished what had become my goal. It was uncomfortable, I had a lot on my plate. I needed help. Relatives who are genealogy buffs pretty much did the electronic work for me. I just had to print the cards. A friend acted as proxy for the baptisms and confirmations. I did the initiatory for both and one endowment. I handed the second proxy card to a stranger in the temple who agreed to do the other endowment.

So- how did I feel after? I did feel good. I am glad I did it. But my motivation was not really for me, it was for someone else. Sadly, it was not for my dead ancestor. It was for my bishop. He asked me to do it, so I did it. I really felt nothing spiritually, though I have felt inspired to do work for the dead before. This– well, it was about obedience. For some, attending the temple is a joy and an indulgence. For some, it brings relief and edification. For some, it brings confusion and disharmony. But we are commanded to attend and participate in the ordinances which means that attending the temple is an expression of obedience.