Mormon Women Knock at the Door, Are Turned Away

[cbayer]

http://www.religiondispatches.org/archive/atheologies/7333/mormon_women_knock_at_the_door__are_turned_away/

October 6, 2013
By HOLLY WELKER


October 5, 2013. Women wait in a stand-by line outside the LDS General Conference; photo by Holly Welker.

On October 5, 2013, almost 200 Mormon women gathered in downtown Salt Lake City on a sunny but crisp Saturday afternoon in order to seek admission to the priesthood session of the semi-annual General Conference of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints.

Calling itself Ordain Women, the group had already requested and been denied tickets to Saturday evening’s male-only priesthood session. Nonetheless the women and their allies walked to the Tabernacle on Temple Square to wait in the stand-by line for last-minute tickets.

Instead they were met by church spokesperson Ruth Todd, who said, “This is no surprise to you, that we won’t be able to offer you a ticket or a place.”

Then, as men and boys strode past them into the Tabernacle where they awaited the opportunity to move to the Conference Center where the session would take place, members of Ordain Women lined up individually or in pairs to request and be denied admission by church representative Doug Peterson.

more at link

[TlalocW]

1. Well, now they know how the Mormon men who come to my door

Are treated.

Actually, I ask them if they're prepared to discuss Deuteronomy 18:20-24 in regards to various predictions their church elders have made that did not come true. For some reason, they always leave.

TlalocW

[cbayer]

2. Deuteronomy 18:20-22? It doesn't go to 24.

20 But a prophet who presumes to speak in my name anything I have not commanded, or a prophet who speaks in the name of other gods, is to be put to death.”

21 You may say to yourselves, “How can we know when a message has not been spoken by the Lord?” 22 If what a prophet proclaims in the name of the Lord does not take place or come true, that is a message the Lord has not spoken. That prophet has spoken presumptuously, so do not be alarmed.

[TlalocW]

8. Much like the amp in Spinal Tap that goes to 11

My Deuteronomy goes to 24.

Alas, you're right. I added a couple of non-existent verses.

TlalocW

[cbayer]

9. Would love to know what you added, lol!

[TlalocW]

10. Deuteronomy 18:23 And God didst say, "Word," and walked off

Deuteronomy 18:24 "To your mother," God didst add after stopping and turning a bit before continuing.

TlalocW

[cbayer]

11. Love it!

[hrmjustin]

3. I get Mormons that come to my door all the time. I invite them in and discuss religion with them.

We disagree but they come back all the time. They are always welcome in my home.

[cbayer]

4. This about women being shut out of formal proceedings, not visitors to your door.

[hrmjustin]

5. We get women mormons as well. I thought they hold a priesthood as well.

[cbayer]

6. No, this is a group that is demanding ordination for women.

[hrmjustin]

7. Well I am always in favor of women clergy.

[MellowDem]

12. It requires some serious dissonance...

where a person who is clearly labeled a second class citizen by a belief system continues to say they believe said belief system even as they protest said belief.

[trotsky]

13. Yet it's all too common.

The RCC has been at it for 2000 years. Same racket.

Women are at least 50% of the church laity - can you imagine ANY organization that could survive if half its membership up and quit? Especially when it's the half that seems to do 90% of the work?

Yet they remain and serve.

[el_bryanto]

14. As a Mormon I should probably comment

There is a movement within some members of the church to grant woman the Priesthood; It's not likely to succeed in the near future and would require pretty extensive revision of doctrine. Mormons take a traditional view of the family; this isn't much of a secret.

That said, the second most important position in a Mormon Ward is generally the Relief Society President, which is the woman's auxilliary. Wyoming and Utah were the first states to grant female suffrage.

Bryant

[cbayer]

15. I've got to give it to the LDS church - they have shown the capacity

to make some major changes when the circumstances warranted it.

How is the Relief Society President the second most important person in a ward? What kind of position does she hold in the governance structure and what kind of power does she wield?

[el_bryanto]

16. It's tricky - I would say importance = meaningful in this case.

The Relief Society is a charitable agency; Mormons tend to want to take care of their own. While the men often get to help with moving people or large scale assistance projects, when it comes to looking out for each other the Relief Society does the bulk of that. Every ward and branch in the Church is different and there certainly Bishops (Bishops being the male leader of the ward) who take a "I can take care of everything" attitude and who adopt more dictatorial stances. I personally feel that's wrong both from a moral standpoint and a practical one, but you see it. Everybody is human.

But a wise Bishop, in my opinion, recognizes that the woman often have more insight into what is going on in a family than he does and uses them and that relationship to provide the best and the most appropriate help. This is a gross generalization, but one thing that seems to afflict men, particularly religious men, is a desire to fix things - to see a problem and immediately apply a solution (whether that solution is really tailored to the circumstances or not).

So I guess that's what I mean by important. It also kind of depends on what your definition of what a church should be doing on a local level, but that's another subject.

Bryant

[cbayer]

17. The description is still very patriarchal, though.

The Bishop can "use" her to help him, but she really doesn't have any authority.

It's similar to what I grew up with (Protestant). My father was a minister and my mother, the minister's wife. She had certain responsibilities, but I doubt had any authority to act on her own.

It sounds like the women's group perform some very important functions, as they do in many religions, but really have no power when it comes down to it.

Anyway, kudos to these women who are pushing against the door.

Are you familiar with "Mormon Girl", Joannna Brooks? She's really great.

[el_bryanto]

18. Yes - she is quite good.

Well - she has what is called Stewardship - within that sphere she has authority to act as she sees best (in communion with God). Again, some Bishops do take a very hands on approach, but in general it's believed that if you have Stewardship over an area, that you have the right to receive revelation within that area, to act as you see fit. That applies to woman as much as it applies to men.

In practice, of course, while I believe that most Bishops are trying to do their best, some do take a more "I know what is best for everybody" approach.

Bryant

[cbayer]

19. I hope there is some trend towards giving these women some

autonomy and authority.

I posted a Brooks article today on this, if you are interested.