Mormon Women - About LDS Life and Belief

Happy Father’s Day!

mormonwomen — Sun, 16 Jun 2013 12:01:29 +0000

Vulnerabilities give us courage and strength: Reflections on #byuwc

mormonwomen — Fri, 14 Jun 2013 13:01:56 +0000

Editor’s note: Many thanks to Lauren Laws for this thoughtful post reflecting on her experience at BYU Women’s Conference. Speaking of BYU Women’s Conference, are you taking advantage of the opportunity to listen to the delayed broadcast presentations that are being shared this month on BYUTV?

Lauren Laws is a sometimes-serious comedic writer who will soon graduate from BYU with a film degree. She is from Salem, Oregon and enjoys being outside, writing song parodies, directing music videos, and coming up with t-shirt slogans. She is sort of fluent in Italian and enjoys eating food from all over the world, especially curry. The project that consumes most her time nowadays is a short musical film that she is writing and producing. It will shoot this fall.

You can read more of her thoughts on Twitter @llawsy or at http://lawsren.blogspot.com

Last year when it was time for BYU’s Women’s Conference I remember sending out an Instagram photo of volunteers setting up for the conference with the caption, “Look out BYU students. The women are coming!”

Many BYU students see Women’s Conference as two days when the lines in the bookstore and the Cougareat are ridiculous and there is a shortage of BYU’s mint brownies. The men’s bathrooms are turned into women’s bathrooms and it is impossible to cross campus at certain hours of the day.

This year I was asked to take press photos and I crossed the threshold from casual observer to field agent. I quickly learned that Women’s Conference is not just a time when women take over BYU in search of brownies and discount BYU merchandise but a time when women from all over come together to share experiences and be uplifted by one another.

Women everywhere share the same heartaches. We have the same questions. We all want to know how we can contribute to society and be better people. Conferences are a chance to gather together and remember that we are the same.

I spent most my time out-and-about, ducking in and out of lectures and focusing more on people’s faces than the speakers but there was one lecture that I sat through titled, “Into the Sunshine: Understanding Depression in Children and Teens.”

The first speaker, Nicki Hopwood, has worked with troubled youth for almost 30 years. The second speaker, Tom Golightly has a PhD in counseling psychology. Credentials aside, both speakers dug deep and spoke from the heart about things that we sometimes like to brush under the table. Nicki referenced personal things from her own life. Sharing our own stories is the key to helping one another. We have to be willing to talk about the hard stuff. In Tom Golightly’s address he stated, “If we don’t talk about hard things we send the message that it’s not okay to feel hard things.”

We sometimes think our lives have to be perfect. Further in her address Hopwood stated, “We tend to make things our fault, not because they are, but because it gives us a sense of control.” We don’t talk about sorrows in our lives because we see it as our own personal weaknesses, but feeling sad does not make us weak, it makes us human. It makes us tender-hearted, loving, and kind. We should embrace the difficulties in our lives and use them for our good.

I remember as a young teenager talking to one of my friends about my brother who struggles with Schizophrenia. It was something that I was never super vocal about because it wasn’t something I felt I had figured out. She then opened up to me about some struggles her own brother was having and how it affected her. I realized in that moment that she would not have felt she could tell me about those things had I not opened up first. In the end, we both felt uplifted because we could relate to each other. That experience made me wonder how many other people were silently struggling, afraid to admit they had difficulties in their lives.

Sometimes we might think that if we are really good we will never be sad. Unfortunately, that is not the case. Pres. Eyring addressed that idea in the closing session of the conference. “Satan, the enemy of our happiness, opposes those who serve the Lord.” When we are doing things right we are going to face opposition.

There are people in my life who have struggled with illnesses, abuse, substances, and a variety of things. Instead of choosing to hide away or try and ignore the issues they have used their experiences to help uplift others and to become more empathetic.

I think God intended for us to face life’s trials together. He could have sent us to earth by ourselves. We could’ve learned about life by sitting alone reading lots of textbooks or watching the Discovery Channel. But we’ve been put into families, communities, schools, clubs, majors, societies, etc. so that we can learn from people–and sometimes be hurt by people–because that is how we become the strong, passionate, loving people we are meant to be.

The different women I interacted with throughout the weekend reminded me what womanhood is about. It is about using our God-given gentleness and sensitivity to make the world a better place. Our vulnerabilities are what give us courage and strength. They increase our capacity to connect with and help one another.

–Lauren Laws

Why don’t Mormons practice polygamy now? (LDS belief in living prophets)

mormonwomen — Tue, 11 Jun 2013 07:01:19 +0000

We recently received this question from a reader.

Maddie writes:

Do Mormons believe that God never changes? If so, I have a question: For a long time Mormons encouraged if not required polygamy. Why have you changed and now say that practice is not permissible? If God doesn’t change His mind, would you say that your early leaders were wrong? If so, couldn’t they have been wrong about many other things?

Maddie, this is a question that I think a lot of people have, so thanks for asking it.

I think the short answer to your question is that we believe in living prophets. But following is a longer response that I hope can explain a little about what that means to us as members of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints and how that relates to your question.

I think what is on Mormon.org addresses your specific question about polygamy pretty well, so I’ll start there. This is from the page “Do Mormons practice polygamy?”

At various times, the Lord has commanded His people to practice plural marriage. For example, He gave this command to Abraham, Isaac, Jacob, Moses, David, and Solomon (Doctrine and Covenants 132:1). At other times the Lord has given other instructions. In the Book of Mormon, the Lord told the prophet Jacob “for there shall not any man among you have save it be one wife: and concubines he shall have none… for if I will, saith the Lord of Hosts, raise up seed unto me, I will command my people; otherwise they shall hearken unto these things (Jacob 2:27-30).

In this dispensation, the Lord commanded some of the early Saints to practice plural marriage. The Prophet Joseph Smith and those closest to him, including Brigham Young and Heber C. Kimball, were challenged by this command, but they obeyed it. Church leaders regulated the practice. Those entering into it had to be authorized to do so, and the marriages had to be performed through the sealing power of the priesthood. In 1890, President Wilford Woodruff received a revelation that the leaders of the Church should cease teaching the practice of plural marriage (Official Declaration 1).

Through a living prophet, polygamy (in limited practice) was commanded for a time. Through the same means (through a living prophet), polygamy was later revoked.

We believe changes in policy or commandments given to or through prophets do not negate or contradict the belief in an unchanging God. In fact, to me, the fact that God has consistently used this pattern of having living leaders to guide His people and do His work throughout the dispensations of time underscores the unchangeableness of God! Let me explain, or give a few examples.

Consider, for example, that God gave the law of Moses to the children of Israel. Before His death, Jesus and the family He grew up in lived and obeyed that law. But after Christ’s death and resurrection, the law was no longer practiced. It had been fulfilled; it had served its purpose in God’s big picture. After that time, it became, in fact, wrong for followers of Christ to practice the law of Moses.

But this change didn’t negate the divine role Moses had in God’s work or the role the law of Moses had during that time to bring people to God and point their souls to Christ. God had not changed, and His desire and love for His children had not changed, and His eternal plan to save His children through Christ had not changed (that was the plan from the beginning of time, even before the earth was formed, and still is the plan!). But the law had.

Another example is how, at first, Jesus Himself told the apostles to only teach the Jews, but after Christ’s death, to and through Peter (the authorized head/leader of the Church), the revelation was received to then take the gospel to the Gentiles. This didn’t negate Jesus’ commission to His leaders when He was alive. Again, God’s character and love for His children had not changed, but God had continued to reveal His will through His authorized servants, and His work continued to go forward.

Over time, the authority that had been given to Jesus’ apostles was taken from the earth, as those apostles died. Because of His big picture view and because of where people were at the time (speaking generally), there were centuries of time when that authority did not exist on the earth. God had not changed, but in His big picture view, that period of time had a purpose (and many people had important work to do to help prepare for the restoration of the gospel).

It was all still about God’s plan and His love and His purposes to bring people to Christ and this time, to prepare the earth for Jesus’ *second* coming.

Through the prophet of the restoration and the authority that was restored to and through him, Joseph Smith, the pattern of having living prophets was also restored. Continuing and unfolding authorized revelation for Christ’s Church became part of the pattern again. The unfolding work of the restoration of the Church took years and years, and continued after his death…and continues to this day.

Polygamy was commanded for some to live for a time in the early history of the Church. But through a living prophet (the fourth president of the Church), Wilford Woodruff, God revealed in 1890 that it was time for that to end. Leaders from that time forward upheld monogamy as the rule. As noted in the Mormon.org quote above, monogamy has, in fact, always been the rule. God has commanded polygamy at times, but it was never meant to be His unending, unchanging law.

Today, living prophets continue to receive inspiration about policy changes and specific things the Church and its members are to do and focus on.

But through all of the dispensations of time, through all of these types of changes and that process of God giving different instructions to different prophets depending on what His will and purposes were, the character of God has not changed. His love for His children has never changed. His plan, as mentioned before, never changed.

For me, although I don’t fully understand the purpose polygamy filled in its time, I am not bothered by it. This pattern of God working through living prophets to reveal His will and commands for specific times and seasons, in fact, only strengthens my faith in God and His character. It is the pattern found in scripture. I find great comfort in knowing that He will give the instructions that I need to know in my life through prophets, and that He is fully aware of what is needed now in our time given where we are in the earth’s history and in His big picture view. But my God is the same God who guided Moses and who sent Jesus and who inspired Peter and who called Joseph Smith and who speaks through living prophets today.

Answers to and thoughts about questions addressed at Mormon Women should not be considered official responses of the Church. For official material and/or to ask Mormon missionaries questions, see Mormon.org.

An Outpouring of Blessings: Teaching about the priesthood

mormonwomen — Sun, 09 Jun 2013 10:23:45 +0000

If you are preparing a lesson for the youth, or if you are a parent or grandparent wanting to help your your children or grandchildren understand more about the way the priesthood blesses their lives, this talk by Sister Julie B. Beck is a gem.

She says:

I hope our [children and grandchildren] grow up knowing that they are not and have never been third-party observers of the priesthood. The blessings of the priesthood, which “are available to men and women alike,” are woven in and through and around their lives. Each of them is blessed by sacred ordinances, and each of them can enjoy the blessings of spiritual gifts by virtue of the priesthood.
Sister Beck walks through many of the ways that the priesthood blesses any and all who will receive the blessings God has to give.

“Priesthood blessings are the great equalizer. Those blessings are the same for men and women, for boys and girls; they are the same for married and single, rich and poor, for the intellectual and the illiterate, for the well-known and the obscure.

“I am grateful that through the infinite fairness and love of God, all men and women were given equal partnership, gifts, blessings, and potential through priesthood ordinances and spiritual gifts. Because of the priesthood, which is woven in and around and through our lives, every power, every covenant we need to do our life’s work and walk back to our heavenly home has been poured out upon our heads.”

The Magnificent Priesthood: A message to young men

mormonwomen — Sun, 09 Jun 2013 09:53:07 +0000

As a mother of a young man, I am grateful for leaders of the Church who remind him of what an honor it is to hold the Aaronic priesthood. I’m grateful for doctrine that encourages young men to serve, be morally clean, to be a positive force in their family life, to have respect for womanhood, to look heavenward for guidance, to desire to live a good and responsible life, to prepare to be a righteous husband and father.

David L. Beck talks to young men in this video about the magnificent priesthood of God.

As a side note, I was interested to see the responses of young women to this video (see comments). The pattern in their messages was one of gratitude for young men who understand and value their priesthood duties and who take the ordinance of the sacrament seriously. It was also clear that young men and young women can strengthen each other when they live the standards and commandments of God. Young women value the priesthood and are influenced in a positive way when young men honor their priesthood duty to God.

Mormon missionary and family in Oklahoma show great faith

mormonwomen — Sat, 08 Jun 2013 08:04:21 +0000

“I’m not sure many missionaries have given their farewell talk in jeans and a T-shirt.”

Shelby Orr, a soon-to-be missionary, and her family, exhibit a great deal of faith as they move forward with her mission call in spite of the decimation that affected their family after the Moore, Oklahoma tornado.

Mission calls often don’t come at convenient times; they are a sacrifice. And they are a family sacrifice. We pray for this family and so many others affected by tragedy such as this one in Oklahoma. And we pray for the missionaries and their families all over the world who are sacrificing so that the gospel message can be shared with more people around the world.

A Discussion on Priesthood

mormonwomen — Wed, 05 Jun 2013 13:37:17 +0000

In this video, Young Women leaders of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints talk about the doctrine of the priesthood and how it relates to young women of the Church.

For those not of our faith, some of the lingo may feel unfamiliar. If you would like to understand more about the priesthood, you can read more at Mormon.org about our beliefs about how priesthood keys and authority have been restored to earth — just as such keys and authority were given to Peter, James, and John in New Testament time, or to prophets in Old Testament times.

Mormon Youth Share Faith and Service in Zimbabwe

mormonwomen — Tue, 04 Jun 2013 07:35:41 +0000

This inspiring video reflects the faith and commitment of the young people in Zimbabwe who are finding the joy of the gospel of Jesus Christ.

Discussing Priesthood with Young Women

Michelle — Thu, 30 May 2013 11:24:45 +0000

I have mentioned before that I am a young women adviser (teacher/class & lesson facilitator). I have been anxiously awaiting the month of June for the opportunity to explore the doctrine of the priesthood more with our young women. This doctrine to me is exciting; I believe truth about priesthood to be expansive and inclusive, layered in meaning and ever-applicable to every facet of Mormon life and beyond. I think a lifetime is not enough to ponder what priesthood means, but I love pondering it.

There were so many possible ways to approach this lesson, and these thoughts are more about what I’ve learned, not necessarily what I will “tell” the young women. But what I hope for the young women this week is that they can think beyond the obvious and understandable (but I believe potentially reductive) question of “Why do only young men/men hold the priesthood?” to think about the blessings and power and opportunities and responsibilities that flow into their lives because the priesthood of God has been restored.

(Because our site is also designed to address questions from those not of our faith, I hope some of these thoughts can be helpful for those readers, too. Priesthood in our doctrine truly is more than just a who-does-what in the organization kind of thing. Much more.)

I personally believe that so much of the restoration of priesthood keys and authority is about receiving what God has to give us and then helping others also receive. The work of the restoration is, as I said above, expansive. The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints claims to have the authority within the functioning of our Church to fill the earth with a knowledge of Christ and to allow all of God’s children, living and dead, the opportunity to receive the ordinances of salvation. Young women are not bystanders in this work. I like to think about how the different restored keys relate to the work that young women can do, now.

I also think of the woman at the well. What Jesus wanted was for the woman to know and understand that what He had to give her was beyond any solution she could find on this earth. Once she came to know who Christ was, how much He loved and knew her and wanted to give her, she was compelled to testify to others so they, too, could come to Him and drink of His living water.

Even as the work of the Church is so expansive, at a personal level, to me, priesthood keys are what figuratively can open up the well for us each to come to know Jesus Christ and to partake of His goodness and His living water. Filled with His love, we then are filled with the desire to help others come to Him and feel His love and participate in ordinances and the work of salvation that bring us closer to God and each other, and make the Atonement fully effectual in our lives.

Let me say here that we as Mormons don’t believe or claim we are the only ones on the earth doing work for God. I am moved and inspired by so many of different faiths (or no faith at all) doing amazing things to serve others, to relieve suffering, to defend the family, to build faith in God, and more. My faith has been strengthened by so many not of my faith! Still, understanding priesthood keys and authority and why and how they matter can help explain what we believe our unique mission includes.

So thinking of my young women, I have thought about what a young woman can do, now, to drink of Christ’s living water and to share it with others. More specifically, what blessings, opportunities, and responsibilities are hers as part of the restored gospel of Jesus Christ, made possible through priesthood keys? These are the kinds of questions I plan to ask the young women. Following are some of my own thoughts about this. In another post, I’ll share more of the things I’ve read that have helped me ponder these questions.

- She can receive the ordinances of baptism and confirmation (receiving the gift of the Holy Ghost), as the Savior has taught is necessary for salvation (John 3:5). [A whole lifetime could be spent studying what these ordinances mean and why they are important, but the bottom line is that they are about pointing our souls and minds to Christ and His Atoning sacrifice, and choosing to commit and submit our lives to God. He then promises to keep us clean through the Atonement and to someday receive us into His kingdom.]

- She can receive the sacrament each week, which keeps the promised blessings of baptism and confirmation alive and present in her mind and heart. The continued promise of having the Holy Ghost with her is a gift beyond price.

- She can go to the temple to serve and receive the ordinances of authorized baptism and confirmation on behalf of those who have died and not been able to receive them. Joseph Smith taught much about the importance of baptism for the dead in Doctrine and Covenants 128. (I recently went with my children to the temple for the first time and that scripture came alive to me all the more. This work that the youth do in the temples MATTERS, a lot. God works across generations. This work is about binding generations to each other and to God.)

- She can do family history work to learn more about her family and also to make temple ordinance work possible for her own flesh and blood who have passed on. This service centered on the temple both helps her remember and ponder her own baptism and confirmation, but also can bless her life with more of God’s power and strengthen family ties and a sense of belonging and understanding of herself.

- She can serve by doing indexing work to make it easier for others to do their family history and/or temple work.

- She can study the scriptures every day and be familiar with and loyal to the teachings of modern-day prophets, thus tapping into the power of the authorized channels (prophets) God has used throughout all dispensations of the gospel for revealing gospel truth, particularly truth about the Atonement of Jesus Christ. This is a way to connect with God, to drink of living water every day.

- She can serve as a missionary, both formally when she turns 19, but also informally now. The Holy Ghost can help her know what to say and how to reach out and teach others in simple ways. Sometimes it’s just about letting people ask questions.

- She can receive her patriarchal blessing, which can help her understand all the more her eternal worth and help her gain insight into her specific, personal mission and blessings for her here on earth and beyond.

- She can serve in callings when called. In our church, youth start serving formally in their teenage years, working directly with adult leaders, including those who have keys. They formally become part of the body of Christ that is spoken of in 1 Corinthians 12.

Consider this quote:

e.g., “When a bishop places his hands on the head of a [young women] class president, it is with the full power of the priesthood that he gives her the delegated authority to lead her class. Her calling to serve is no less potent or real than that of the Sunday School president, the Relief Society president, or any other position in the ward.” See Young Women and the Blessings of the Priesthood for more thoughts on this topic. )

- She can be a force for good in her home through the power of covenants and by participating in family councils.

I’m reminded of Sister Beck’s teaching that women (and I think this can extend to young women) have a responsibility and opportunity to

“help your home be a home that is blessed every hour by priesthood power. It isn’t just when Dad is there. It’s not just when Mom is there. It’s not just when a priesthood ordinance or blessing is being performed. It’s every hour as covenants are kept” (emphasis mine).

- She can study, ponder, and champion the doctrine of marriage and the family. [The work of the priesthood is all about . helping individuals and families come to Christ. Eternal life in our doctrine is not just about life with God, but about life within families, with God. This is a key reason why temples are so important to Mormons. The doctrine of eternal families is a key doctrine, part of the living water that has been revealed through the Restoration of the gospel of Jesus Christ.]

- She can be a force for good in her community through service and example, by letting the light of the gospel shine out through the way she lives her standards and the way she loves and reaches out to help others.

- She can prepare to receive temple ordinances for herself when she becomes an adult. [More layers of the doctrine of the priesthood are understood in the ordinances of the temple...doctrine to be pondered over a lifetime.] She can prayerfully continue to keep her heart open to what the Spirit can and will teach her about the priesthood and her role as a woman in God’s plan as she continues faithfully seeking insights.

- She can prepare to serve in her future — including preparing for the eternal roles as wife and mother if the opportunity comes (and trusting in God’s promises if those opportunities don’t come in this life); preparing temporally so as to have skills that can enable her to have influence in other ways that she may feel guided to in her life; and ultimately to prepare to be present (either in the flesh or after death) when the Savior comes again.

These are just some of my thoughts, but on Sunday, I look forward to hearing the insights of the young women about how they feel the priesthood has blessed their lives. I believe I love this year’s theme for the youth, because the notion of standing in holy places sums up so beautifully how young men and young women alike can tap into the power and blessings that are available to them through priesthood ordinances and covenants. It’s not just those who hold the priesthood who benefit from the priesthood; the priesthood keys restored in this dispensation benefit us all and are designed to benefit all of God’s children — across all the nations of the earth, and throughout all generations since the beginning of time. As was described in the article above for young women,

“the priesthood to the lifeblood that flows through every part of the body [of Christ -- see 1 Cor. 12]. The power and blessings of the priesthood nourish each member and are the source of strength just as blood is to the body. It circulates throughout, that power of God that ‘worketh all in all.’”

And these keys help us prepare the world for the Savior’s Second Coming:

The keys of the kingdom of God are committed unto man on the earth, and from thence shall the gospel roll forth unto the ends of the earth, as the stone which is cut out of the mountain without hands shall roll forth, until it has filled the whole earth.
Yea, a voice crying—Prepare ye the way of the Lord, prepare ye the supper of the Lamb, make ready for the Bridegroom.

Day in the Life of a Mormon Missionary

mormonwomen — Wed, 29 May 2013 13:52:45 +0000

See a glimpse of the life of missionaries of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints in this video including four missionaries serving in the UK (in London).

One of the missionaries (a sister missionary from the Philippines) shares her conversion story as well.