This last Sunday, we had combined Relief Society and Priesthood opening exercises owing to the Young Women needing rehearsal space for a fireside planned for that evening. Forgotten announcements of the switch resulted in a slow but eventual gathering. In the temporarily combined room, the seating arrangement resulted in a change in the average seating patterns, which in turn resulted in people sitting and chatting with people whom they might not routinely sit with. This was not uncomfortable for me; I rather like a good mix up- besides- it was just for opening exercises.

In this, I began to notice something interesting. It seems to me that “average” church meeting small talk is along the line of “how are you/your family doing?” But in this meeting, and in other interactions I have had in the last few weeks with church members, the small and big talk is focused on the recently announced change in missionary age.

In nearly every conversation, the reaction is one of happy excitement; 18 year old males who had thought they had a year to prepare are suddenly, yet happily questioning if they should go sooner. Further, it seems to me that a very large number of women between the ages of 19 and 20 have already spoken to their bishops and are in the process of submitting their papers (I personally know of 3).

Interestingly, in this combined meeting moment, a member of the Stake Presidency pointed out an observation of his that seemed to almost border on a concern. This was that males still had to be ordained as Elders before they could serve; hence, they would need to be sustained in Stake Conference. I do not know why this seemed to concern him (perhaps a Stake admin issue that could be challenging?), but I could not help but consider the implications in relation to age. Based on a male’s birth date, high school graduation date and stake conference scheduling, it is possible that he could very well still be 19 years old the soonest he is eligible to serve a mission.

If this is the case, and a young man was anxious to serve a mission, is there an equality argument for males to forgo Melchizedek priesthood ordination in order to be as readily eligible to serve as un-ordianed women?

Read More

This morning during General Conference we learned that a new policy is in place for age of missionary service. Men can now go at 18 and women can now go at 19. What are the implications of such a change in policy? Longtime Mormon feminist Kay G has some ideas of possible pros and cons of the change.

Read More

This picture was taken at a press conference for new bills introduced into Congress and Senate for The Equal Rights Amendment (ERA) during the 40^th anniversary on March 22, 2012 of the March 22, 1972 passage of the ERA through Congress. I was so inspired by this program that I decided to create a series of posts dedicated to the ERA’s past, present, and future. In the first post I gave some background information on the equal rights amendment, in next post I outlined my personal journey from knowing nothing about the ERA, to reading From Housewife to Heretic, to becoming a National Council for Women’s Organizations Mormons for ERA Activist! This final post will be dedicated to the future of the ERA, why it is so important and what you can do. Check out the official ERA website for more information: www.equalrightsamendment.org *Caveat: All quotes are taken from my rapidly written notes from March 22, 2012 and any mistakes in their translation and reproduction are entirely mine.

Read More

Before I was born, but after I was conceived, my father had a dream. In this dream, he knew that I would be a great missionary. And because of this knowledge, (and because he didn’t see me in the dream) he thought that I would be a boy.

Read More

It is not common for the Exponent to offer Gospel Doctrine Lesson Plans. Nonetheless, this lesson includes a nod of scripture towards the Lamanite woman, Abish. Abish is traditionally interpreted as an interesting example of a secretly devote Christian who witnessed conversion through Ammon, yet still fails to gain enough recognition to be mentioned in some (not all) other online Gospel Doctrine lesson plans. Because Abish and her example are important in my life, I prefer to analyze this section of scripture and focus the lesson through the lens of this examination.

 

The story of Ammon was a favourite of mine when I was a child. It fascinated me, and I would spend hours pouring through the story of his mission in Book of Mormon picture books reading the child-friendly text and soaking in the vibrant drawings of his mission. This was because Ammon’s story (and the drawings included in the children’s version) depict three women: the daughter that the king offers to Ammon to marry, the Queen and Abish. The three females in a single Book of Mormon story made that section of scripture (and the associated artwork) the most relevant story to me as a child. Now, having read the “real” Book of Mormon, I feel drawn to this section of scripture specifically because of this same female representation, particularly of Abish.

Read More

Guest Post by Kristel

Kristel is a life-long member of the church living in Australia.  She served a mission in New Mexico, and is wide open for life to bring her adventure.  She is one of six children, enjoys landscape photography, fishing and travelling.

 

Growing up I had always heard words to the effect of, “if you are struggling, find ways to serve others”.  Thinking about those words when I was in a period of hopelessness and emptiness bugged me a little – those words were not what I wanted to hear – how could I possibly motivate myself to find ways to do something for someone else! What about ME?? If I’m the one struggling – people need to help me….right?

These words eventually rang true to me when I served an LDS mission. On my mission in New Mexico, I came to know of the joy of helping, sharing and supporting others in need. Ultimately, I learnt that I am truly the one that benefits most from doing something for someone else.

And then… In 2011, after 2 1/2 years of my own personal “to hell and back” painful divorce experience, I found myself in a position to take advantage of a long life dream to travel through Africa.

Read More