Mormon Women
Mormon women are sometimes inaccurately seen as being downtrodden because they choose traditional roles for themselves and because outsiders don’t really understand the inner-workings of the church.
The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, which is the real name of the church, is a lay church. This means the clergy isn’t paid and, since there is much work to be done in such a complex church, everyone has unpaid church jobs they do in their “spare time.” Some, but not all church jobs are assigned by gender.
While a woman can’t hold a job that requires the priesthood, such as being a bishop (similar to a pastor), she is not losing out on a paying position. It’s a very demanding job and is done by a volunteer who also has a family and a career.
Many jobs in the church, equally challenging are open to women, and many are open only to women. Only women can head the organizations for women, teenage girls, and children. Heading the women’s organization, called Relief Society, is a very intense, complex job that includes overseeing the compassionate service needs and the literacy of all church members, not just women. They oversee a variety of committees, teachers, and leaders and provide a lot of listening and informal counseling. They are responsible for the needs of all women in the congregation.
Women are responsible for the literacy of a congregation. A woman runs the program under the direction of the women’s Relief Society, overseeing the volunteer literacy teachers, whether they are male or female.
The leaders of the children’s organization, Primary, also preside over both men and women. Various other church jobs also put women in charge of workers of both genders.
The complex skills required to carry out most church jobs provide women with extensive opportunities to develop talents and experience that carry into the work place should they need to work outside the home. Besides leading and teaching, women also preach.
The church’s bishop does not give the sermon each week. This is done by members of the congregation. Any member age twelve or older might be asked to address the congregation. In a given week, a service will include ten to fifteen minute talks (sermons) by two adults and two teenagers. This means most active members speak about once a year. This develops public speaking skills that help women be of service in their communities or in the workforce.
LDS (Mormon) women are encouraged to avoid the workforce while raising their children. This allows them to
perfect the skills of parenthood and to give their children the full attention they need to become outstanding adults. Mormon women understand that nothing they do outside their home will ever be as important as the work they do in the home. When done well, running a home and raising God’s children is a completely rewarding and fulfilling career, as challenging as any a women could do for money. A good wife and mother studies and trains in her career as intensely as she would for any other-after all, a woman trains to teach the children of others; shouldn’t she care even more about being prepared to teach her own? Who, knowing about Jesus‘ own mother, could doubt the importance of a dedicated mother?
LDS women are encouraged to get a college education, and then to continue developing skills, talents, and training throughout her life. If she needs a career, she will be prepared. If she doesn’t, she will benefit from all the things she’s learned and be able to use them in volunteer work at church and in the community. Some women do return to work when their children are grown; others devote themselves to volunteer work in their towns.
Women are taught to obtain employment should they need it, for instance if they never marry, or find themselves widowed. No penalty is issued for women who choose to work for any reason. They are simply counseled to take it to God to know what He wants of them, and then to trust His answer.
