How do Mormons view the role of women?
Personal Response by Karen R. Merkley
Mormon women are key players and equal partners in the work of the Lord, in families, in communities and in the world. In the words of Brigham Young, early President of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints:
One thing is very true and we believe it, and that is that a woman is the glory of the man. …
When I reflect upon the duties and responsibilities devolving upon our mothers and sisters, and the influence they wield, I look upon them as the mainspring and soul of our being here. It is true that man is first. … But when Mother Eve came she had a splendid influence over [Father Adam]. … (Discourses of Brigham Young, sel. John A. Widtsoe [1954], 199).
Women serve in the Mormon Church as presidents and counselors of local, area, and worldwide organizations for children, youth, and adults–known as the Primary, Young Women’s Organization, and the Relief Society. They sit in councils with their priesthood brethren and work hand-in-hand to identify issues, solve problems, bring light to ministering needs of those they serve. They pray in Church meetings, participate in ordinance work in the temples, and join in every worthy endeavor in building the kingdom. Mormon women lead, teach, and nurture children in their homes in the sacred calling of motherhood, and educate the world in their community service. A misunderstanding of women’s roles in the Mormon Church is engendered by those who don’t know themselves and by those who wish to claim that the patriarchal order de facto creates suppression. This is false. While a coercive order (patriarchal or matriarchal) represses, such an order is outside every tenet of the gospel of Jesus Christ. Patriarchy is not synonymous with presumption and unrighteous power; it is an organized divine pattern for the release of power equally for men and women.
Tags: Latter-day Saint women, Mormon Women, women leaders
This entry was posted on Tuesday, March 25th, 2008 at 10:42 am and is filed under Mormon Beliefs, Mormon Lifestyles, Mormon Women. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.
July 27th, 2008 at 10:41 pm
This is an important question and one I’ve pondered a lot over the years. The first point I would like to make is that there is room in the gospel for all women whether they be single, married, widowed, or divorced. As women in the church, we are encouraged to prioritize and to prayerfully seek out personal revelation in order to attain wisdom from God on how to balance our responsibilities as mothers, wives, daughters, volunteers, and workers.
There are many women in the church throughout the world who are accomplished in their educational, vocational, and professional pursuits who seek to build the kingdom of God in every sphere of influence they are in. Many of them choose to be in the home full-time with their children and use their great intelligence and many talents towards raising up a strong, vibrant generation. Other women in the gospel are in situations where they must work outside the home. They also give their very best to their families. In all cases, LDS women are given great power and responsibility.
We believe that the homefront is the front line in our battle to create a better world for ourselves and our children. Thus it stands to reason that this is also where we face the greatest opposition. Despite this, the majority of men in the church show great reverence and respect to the women of the church. Those who truly live the gospel and know the Savior understand clearly that there should never be a tug-of-war over power in the home or in the church between the sexes. God created male and female with inherent and eternal gifts, powers, and possibilities.
Presently, I am a full-time student at a church college. It has not been an easy road and it is only through help from Father in Heaven that I have been able to give my children all that they need while finishing out my studies. Without the gospel I would not be the mother, the wife, and the very woman that I desire to become. In the church, I have found my voice, my strength, and my opportunity to make the greatest difference. My role as a daughter of God takes more sacrifice, more patience, and more prayer than I ever could have imagined but the blessings of being a woman in the church are beyond measure.