What Do Mormon's Believe? Women in the Church

Hi! My name is Sue! Welcome to my blog! I am a woman who belongs to The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. Some may refer to me as a Mormon woman.  It is interesting to hear the “surprise” in some people’s voices when they find out I am Mormon. It makes me wonder if they are surprised because of what society has painted a Mormon woman to be - and who we actually are. 

It is a different story.

My daughter and I - Fall 2011

I joined this Church when I was twenty-eight. I observed this church for seven years before I became one of it’s members. I did not join it on a whim and I strongly disagree with anyone who says that Mormon women do not have a mind or a voice. I would not have become a member of this church if I thought for one moment that the men perceived themselves as better than women and if the women were treated as second class citizens. I have never felt so empowered as a woman. I have been involved in some amazing projects and have carried out incredible responsibilities that I would have thought that I couldn’t do before I was a member of this church. I continue to strive to become the person that we as members of the church are encouraged to be. I love how the women are taught not apologize for being a woman but rather to embrace womanhood.  We should not feel the need to redefine who we are as women - but rejoice in who we are and in our feminine qualities.  We do not need to be more like men to feel like we are accomplishing something in society, we need to enhance the gifts we have been given as women - as we do so - society will be enhanced. 

To continue with my series - What do Mormon’s Believe?  I encourage you to investigate from all kinds of sources of what women in the Mormon church are like. I know that you will find major discrepancies in your findings as I did when I wanted to know more about the Mormon Church. I’m not going to tell you what to think as I know you can make your own decisions. What I will do is tell you what I believe, I will tell you some of my experiences and I will direct you to some facts and teachings about my church. 

Here are some interesting facts you may or may not know:

- Mormon women in Utah enjoyed the right to vote as early as 1870—a time in American history when many women rejected political involvement as the proper domain of men, and fully five decades before the achievement of U.S. women’s suffrage. 
Source Washington Post

-Dr. Martha Hughes Cannon became the first woman ever elected as a state senator in the United States in the State of Utah.

Source - Famous Mormon Women

For a church who some believe hold women down, the history of women in this church says otherwise to me, but I you encourage you to look into it for yourself.  

I suggest you read the history and work of Relief Society (the women’s organization in the church).

CLICK HERE for the free online book.

I have heard it said that the Mormon church is male centered. I beg to differ. In fact, I am going to be so bold as to say the church is more women centered.  The church doctrine we follow is what the Apostle Paul taught that “neither is the man without the woman, neither the woman without the man, in the Lord” (1 Corinthians 11:11). In the sight of God, and in the marriage relationship, men and women are equally important.

Although we love and honor men in our church, there does seem to be more focus on women. In my congregation there are hardly any “activities” put on for men.  There are way more activities for women.  These activities are encouraged to promote teachings and activities that strengthen women. We enjoy annual conferences held for women, 18 and over, and young women 12-18. There is also an annual women’s conference held at BYU - all focused on strengthening women. I encourage you to check out the home page for this conference where you will be able to find archives of what has been presented at these conferences in the past.
CLICK HERE

And last but not least, I would like you to meet some Mormon women. 

CLICK HERE to visit Mormon.org to see what other women in the church say about gender equality.

CLICK HERE to visit my profile on Mormon.org

Below are some videos of a variety of Mormon women. This will give you some perspective of who we are from the mouths of people who go to the Mormon Church. There are more to watch on You Tube as well. Thanks for stopping by!