Fall LDS Guide 2018

Daily Herald September 30, 2018

LDS CHURCH’S 188TH SEMIANNUAL GENERAL CONFERENCE

DOCTRINE VS. CULTURE How the LDS Church’s past policies have changed as it goes global A SPECIAL PRODUCT OF SEPT. 30, 2018

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TABLE OF CONTENTS Distinguishing differences What separates the LDS Church’s doctrine, policies and programs?

‘Mormon Doctrine’ How a church leader’s book influenced decades of beliefs some of which the church eschews today

8

5

15 19

Where do women stand?

The culture surrounding women leadership from its first day to modern times

Increasing diversity While some will say there is much progress to still be made, global leadership is increasing

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Adapting a global church

As the church expands, members say doctrine does not change, but policies and programs do KARISSA NEELY

T Daily Herald

he April general conference of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints brought a slew of significant changes to policies and programs of the church worldwide, but not necessarily to its core doctrines.

This is sometimes difficult to distinguish. For many both within and outside of the church, the doctrines and the resultant culture that spring from those teachings seem synonymous.

But why make this differentiation?

Some might argue that the culture of the church — service locally and abroad, ministering to the community, striving for healthy, clean living, dedication to hard work, etc. — already leads LDS people to good citizenship.

But Daniel Judd, interim dean of Brigham Young University’s college of religious education, said in a recent interview it is very important, especially for members of the church, to distinguish between LDS church doctrine and “Mormon” culture. Much of the culture is wonderful, he said, but some parts of the culture can lead members to harshly judge themselves and others, seeking for a perfectionism that is not realistic in this life — nor is it a part of church doctrine.

“Our doctrine is beautiful, profound and healing,” he said. “But our culture can become distorted.”

He added that the Book of Mormon, one of the church’s standards of doctrine, teaches the doctrine of God’s grace and healing power, and the love of the Savior Jesus Christ. “Mormon” culture can sometimes lack the peace and grace found in the scriptures, and can be a factor in mental and emotional problems for its membership.

Casey Griffiths, assistant professor of church history and doctrine at BYU, discusses this very topic of learning the difference between doctrine and culture with his religion students at BYU every semester. Griffiths believes the prophets and apostles of the church want the rising generation to

understand this distinction for themselves.

“Elder David A. Bednar has taught that the core doctrines of the church are relatively few in number,” Griffiths said recently in an interview. Referring to a general conference talk by then-President Boyd K. Packer, he explained that “the doctrines of the church do not change. But the policies and procedures change all the time.”

President Henry B. Eyring, second counselor in the First Presidency, hinted at potential future policy and program changes in a Sept. 15 presentation to members in the Seattle, Washington area with Russell M. Nelson, the president of the church.

“God is an unchangeable god,” Eyring said speaking to about 49,000 people at Safeco Field in Seattle. “But as the Church moves to every nation and people, and in the last days, we can expect and take joy in new messages coming from God through the prophet. The gospel will not change, but we will need personal revelation to feel the hand of the Lord when practical ways of doing things are changed by the Lord through his prophet. It will also take personal revelation to be able to see that a new way of doing things is better than the ways we have enjoyed.”

Recent policy and program changes, including how members minister to each other and how men are organized within congregations, are meant to direct its members to the core doctrine of the church, said Brent Top, BYU religion professor and former dean, in a recent interview.

“President Nelson — even from his first press conference — has been emphasizing the covenant path,” he said.

“In general conference, you’re going to have talks that are universal, regardless of culture.”

Top likened the difference between church doctrine and culture to an old handcart wagon wheel. The hub of the wheel is the most important part of the wheel — tying it to the wagon, holding everything together and giving it strength. He explained that the hub is the gospel of the church.

EVAN COBB, DAILY HERALD

President Russell M. Nelson and Second Counselor Henry B. Eyring listen during the press conference in the lobby of the LDS Church Office Building on Jan. 16 in Salt Lake City.

Echoing Griffiths, Top explained that the core doctrines of the church within that hub are very few, and center specifically on Jesus Christ and his atonement and resurrection.

“It is He that gives strength to all other things,” Top said.

The spokes of the wagon wheel are important as well, but Top cautioned that without the hub “they are basically just kindling, just sticks.” He likened the spokes to the principles and Please see DOCTRINES, Page A6

6 LDS GUIDE FALL 2018

1830

Timeline of developments 1895

Church of Christ organized

Right to vote returned to women as part of the Utah state constitution

1838

Name of the church officially changed to The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints

1842

Female Relief Society of Nauvoo organized

1847

Saints arrive in Salt Lake Valley

1852

Brigham Young announces that men of black African descent could no longer be ordained to the priesthood

1867

Relief Society reinstated

1870

15th Amendment to the U.S. Constitution, granting the right to vote regardless of “race, color, or previous condition of servitude”

1870

1920

American women earn right to vote

1955

Bern Switzerland Temple dedicated, the first temple outside of the U.S. and Canada

1956

1984

Manila Philippines Temple dedicated, the first Asian temple

1985

Johannesburg South Africa Temple dedicated, the first on the African continent

Relief Society building dedicated in Salt Lake City

1964

Civil Rights Act passed, legally ending racial discrimination and segregation in public accommodations, public education and federally assisted programs

1970-80

Equal Rights amendment has uphill battle after Congress ratifies it, but states do not

1978

Utah women granted right to vote

Sao Paulo Brazil Temple dedicated, the first in South America

1887

1983

Apia Samoa Temple dedication, the first Polynesian temple

1995

The Family: A Proclamation to the World released

2008

California debates Proposition 8, and LDS members encouraged to vote on a proposed amendment to the California state constitution to restore March 2000 State law defines marriage between a man and woman

2013

Same-sex marriage first declared legal in Utah

2015

Utah women’s right to vote revoked

by U.S. Congress

Official Declaration 2: All worthy brethren could receive the priesthood

1978

U.S. Supreme Court rules that same-sex couples nationwide could marry

1890

1980

President Russell M. Nelson and Elder Jeffrey R. Holland and their wives embark on Global Ministry Tour to eight cities

Manifesto issued abolishing practice of polygamy

Doctrines From A5

ordinances of the church, including faith and baptism.

“The only way they have power is to be anchored in Jesus Christ,” Top said, adding that the spokes — the principles and ordinances — are meant to lead people back to Jesus Christ.

Surrounding all of this is the rim of the wagon wheel. Top explained that just as the rim holds the whole wheel together so it can fulfill its intended purpose, without the hub and spokes it would collapse. In the church, he likens its programs to that rim. The policies and programs of the church “are intended to lead us to the hub,” he said, and enable to the church to move along on its intended path.

“But they have no saving power,” Top said, adding that, just like the recent change from visiting and

Women begin to consistently speak at general conference home teaching to focused ministering, this “packaging” has changed through the years and adapted to the church’s needs at given times.

“As the church becomes more of a global organization, church leaders are working to reduce and simplify church teachings to the core doctrine to make it fit with different cultures,” Griffiths said.

All the professors interviewed agreed this focus on the core doctrine of the church helps its members as they come to the gospel from disparate lands. Griffiths added that he’s noticed recently that in general conference, when apostles reference an important moment in American history to make a spiritual point, they couch that with a small history lesson so it can be understood better by members of the church worldwide.

In another example, he’s also noticed there are less general conference references to the Mormon Bat-

talion — a time when church members enlisted to assist in the Mexican-American War. Because of the strength of the church’s membership within Mexico and South America, he feels the leadership of the church is sensitive to interpreting history from just an American point of view.

As the church grows in different countries abroad, he explained that church leadership wants to be sensitive to different cultures, and to focus on sharing the universal gospel truths with global members, without wrapping it up in American culture.

Judd experienced this firsthand when he served as a mission president for the Ghana-Accra mission from 2011 to 2016. He was set apart, or given a formal blessing to start that service, by Packer, and in that blessing, Judd explained that Packer specifically “counseled me not to take Utah and American culture to Africa, but to preach and teach the

April 2018

gospel of Jesus Christ.”

“I was sent to represent and teach true doctrine. Yet in doing so, the people of Africa helped me understand more that faith in Christ really is, and what grace really is. I’ll be forever grateful for that,” he said.

Judd, Top and Griffiths believe that the prophet and apostles of the church are encouraging all members to follow this same path — to move away from some of the purely cultural tenets of church membership and believe in and represent the true core doctrines of the gospel. But the expectation is there for the individual members to seek those doctrines themselves.

“At general conference, there is not going to be a flashing light saying, ‘This is doctrine,’ or ‘This is policy,’ or ‘This is culture.’ The expectation is for us to be knowledgeable of Jesus Christ so we can make that interpretation for ourselves,” Top said.

Daily Herald September 30, 2018 XXXXXXXXXXXXX 7

On Second Thought…

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Here’s a thought: It is only when we think of ourselves in a good light that we can affect change in others to see good in themselves as well. Thinking highly of ourselves is prideful, you may say? This is true only if you think others are not worthy of the same high thoughts… If you think just as highly of others, then it is proper and good and brings much needed positivity and light to our darkening world.

“As you think, you travel, and as you love, you attract. You are today where your thoughts have brought you. You will be tomorrow where your thoughts take you.”

Change can sometimes bring about uneasy, fearful thoughts, which, left unmonitored, can bring us down into the depths of helplessness. If we choose to think highly of ourselves, our lives, and talents, we will be able to live and give in goodness. It takes constant care to live well while we are living – through all changes – and each one of us is worth that constant care. Change is needed and can promote valuable thought processes and help us learn temperance.

“Self-control is strength. Right thought is mastery. Calmness is power.”

Life is all about growth and forward movement – CHANGE – our thoughts can bring us confidence or doubt, hope or despair, love or fear regarding all change that undeniably will occur in our futures. Blessed are we to have the ability to tweak our thoughts, thus changing our mind’s environment instantly.

“He thinks in secret, and it comes to pass: Environment is but his looking-glass.”

I challenge each of us to take a second thought as often as we possibly can…

8 LDS GUIDE FALL 2018

Church doctrine vs. ‘Mormon Doctrine’ What’s the difference?

GENELLE PUGMIRE

A Daily Herald

ccording to Elder Bruce R. McConkie, members of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints have an obligation to understand the doctrines of salvation. He cautioned members in a 1980 letter to avoid gospel hobbies, and to not be concerned about unimportant matters.

Some LDS members focus on one or two general authorities as their ultimate favorite source, or an issue or topic as their sole study — such as the last day prophesies or food storage. The overwhelming acceptance and use by many Latter-day Saints of the book, “Mormon Doctrine,” could be seen as an example of this hobby study.

McConkie’s first edition of “Mormon Doctrine” was published in 1958. At the time McConkie was in the presidency of the Quorum of the Seventy. The 776-page book was a first for its time, a type of encyclopedia of Mormon belief.

Casey Griffiths, an assistant professor of church history and doctrine at Brigham Young University, said, “How remarkable it was when it was first produced.

He (McConkie) was plowing new territory. It was a revolutionary attempt to create an encyclopedic gospel resource. There really wasn’t anything like it at the time.”

This book had a profound impact on a generation of church members after publication.

“It was almost like a Bible in most situations,” said Ann Chumbley Snider, through a social media message. “I’m grateful I was taught by wise CES (Church Education System) people who guided my thinking to broader ideas and church doctrine.”

“It was on the book shelf in our home, and I think my dad would sometimes teach things from it, but it wasn’t referenced as a specific

EVAN COBB, DAILY HERALD

Photo of the “Mormon Doctrine”, which was published in 1958, by Bruce R. McConkie. source or with the same authority as scripture,” said Anne Flinders.

Flinders added that while serving a mission, “a ward mission leader gave a copy to an investigator, who then flatly refused to read the Book of Mormon because, he said, ‘If your doctrine is in this book, I don’t need anything else.’ He didn’t join the church, and I didn’t read ‘Mormon Doctrine.’”

For Deborah Whitehurst Nowland, it was a source of information

for her family.

“My mother definitely was not a scriptorian, but it was an encyclopedia that we used on our shelves,” she said.

At the time of its publishing, “Mormon Doctrine” was met with criticism from some, including President David O. McKay, president of the church at the time. He called McConkie out on several points in the book.

“President McKay asked Mc-

Conkie to submit the book for review to ensure it was as accurate as possible,” Griffiths said.

In the 1966 second edition, many of those concerns were taken out or reworded.

Still, many within the membership embraced the publication as seemingly the newest addition to the church’s approved scriptures, known as the Standard Works. The Please see DOCTRINE, Page A10

10 LDS GUIDE FALL 2018

Doctrine From A8

Standard Works recognized by the church consist of the books of the Old and New Testaments, the Book of Mormon, the Doctrine and Covenants and the Pearl of Great Price.

Later in his life in 1980, McConkie detailed in a nine-page letter on church letterhead how honest truth-seekers could find truth and core doctrine.

“Members of the church have an added obligation to understand both the laws of nature and the doctrines of salvation,” McConkie said in the letter. “They have the gift of the Holy Ghost which is the right to the constant companionship of this member of the Godhead based on faithfulness.”

He admonished that the way to achieve a high state of gospel scholarship was first to study and ponder and pray about the Book of Mormon, and then to follow the same course with reference to the other scriptures.

“Some prophets — I say it respectfully — know more and have greater inspiration than others,” McConkie said. “Thus, if Brigham Young, who was one of the greatest of the prophets, said something about Adam which is out of harmony with what is in the Book of Moses and in Section 78 (of the Doctrine and Covenants), it is the scripture that prevails. This is one of the reasons we call our scriptures ‘The Standard Works.’

They are the standard of judgement and the measuring rod against which all doctrines and views are weighed ...”

Griffiths explained, “The Standard Works have a symbiotic relationship with the current prophet.”

J.B. Haws, associate professor of church history at BYU, said he talks with his students frequently about the changes in the church since the time of “Mormon Doctrine.”

“It’s something we talk about a lot — these questions of what constitutes official doctrine and how we approach that.”

“There is a need to be careful in holding on to outdated sources, and in determining what is essential, what is core, and what are the saving truths,” Haws cautioned. “All of us

EVAN COBB, DAILY HERALD

Photo of the “Mormon Doctrine”, which was published in 1958, by Bruce R. McConkie. in our classes are having these conversations.”

When it comes to issues and culture, Haws said time has a big role to play.

While McConkie’s book was the go-to for those a half-century ago, Haws said true doctrine is what stands the test of time and the course of years.

“A crucial question to ask it what is the church currently teaching and affirming, in official venues and in a collective way,” Haws said.

Elder D. Todd Christofferson of the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles reminded church members in the April 2013 general conference that “not every statement made by a Church leader, past or present, necessarily constitutes doctrine. It is commonly understood in the Church that a statement made by one leader on a single occasion often represents a personal, though well-considered, opinion, not meant to be official or

binding for the whole Church.”

Some of the major issues that have changed significantly since the first edition of “Mormon Doctrine” was published include: the Catholic Church’s place in the kingdom of God, blacks and the priesthood, suicide and same-sex attraction.

The Devil’s church

In the 1950s and 1960s of the “Mormon Doctrine” era, the world was in turmoil with human rights and integration issues. The Catholic Church was going through its own changes with the Second Vatican Council in 1962, and was called out in “Mormon Doctrine.”

In the 1958 edition on page 129, McConkie, in defining the “Church of the Devil,” cites the Roman Catholic Church specifically as being “most abominable above all other churches.”

The statement was later removed.

In the years since, the two reli-

gions have developed close relationships in their joint beliefs of service, humanitarian efforts and as mouthpieces on the importance of marriage, family and bringing up children in a peaceful world.

On Nov. 16, 2014, President Henry B. Eyring joined other global religious leaders as a guest of the Vatican at a three-day colloquium organized by the Pope and the Catholic Church.

In recent years, there have been numerous accolades and awards shared and given between the two religious bodies. President Russell M. Nelson, then-president of the Quorum of the Twelve, was honored on Nov. 4, 2016, by the Catholic Community Services of Utah.

In turn, the LDS Church honored Cardinal Timothy Dolan with the Visionary Leadership Award.

Catholic Archbishop Joseph Kurtz Please see DOCTRINE, Page A12

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It was a common teaching in early days of the church, and reiterated in “Mormon Doctrine,” that men of African or “Negro” descent would not receive the priesthood in this lifetime. From “Mormon Doctrine” it said, “Negroes in this life are denied the priesthood; under no circumstances can they hold this delegation of authority from the Almighty.”

On pages 476 and 477 of the 1958 edition, it continued, “President Brigham Young and others have taught that in the future eternity, worthy and qualified Negroes will receive the priesthood and every gospel blessing available to any man.”

Twenty years after the first “Mormon Doctrine” edition, on June 1, 1978, President Spencer W. Kimball announced that all worthy male members could hold the priesthood.

Members of the church voted on the matter in the October conference of 1978 and it became part of the Doctrine and Covenants, known as Official Declaration 2.

In a recent commentary since becoming a member of the First Presidency, President Dallin H. Oaks said before he was a general authority, he questioned why those of African ancestry were denied the blessing of the priesthood.

Oaks said he determined, “to be loyal to our prophetic leaders and to pray — as promised from the beginning of these restrictions — that the day would come when all would enjoy the blessings of priesthood and temple. Now that day had come, and I wept for joy.”

“The reasons that had been given to try to explain the prior restrictions on members of African ancestry — even those previously voiced by revered Church leaders — were promptly and publicly disavowed,” Oaks added.

He noted that, “Some accepted the effects of the revelation immediately and gracefully. Some accepted gradually. But some, in their personal lives, continued the

attitudes of racism that have been painful to so many throughout the world, including the past 40 years.

Others have wanted to look back, concentrating attention on reexamining the past, including seeking reasons for the now-outdated restrictions.”

The significance of that revelation can be seen in the rapid growth of membership in countries with high populations of those from African heritage. Since the change, church growth in Africa has increased. On the continent of Africa, there are now nearly 579,000 members, 2,004 congregations, three temples, 285 family history centers and 31 missions.

In June, the church announced it was collaborating with the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People on humanitarian and educational projects. Elder Jack Gerard, General Authority Seventy, spoke at the national convention of the NAACP July 15.

Recently, a major project called the Freedmen’s Bureau Project, to help both black Canadians and black Americans find their Civil War ancestors, was developed. The project focuses on the records of former U.S. slaves who were given citizenship. Thousands of volunteers are indexing or typing information from the Freedmen’s Bureau records to make them searchable in an online database. To date, the project is 78 percent complete, according to a church statement.

Suicide

Another area of concern to many parents, spouses and children was the perceived stance of the church’s doctrine surrounding suicide. In “Mormon Doctrine,” McConkie said, “Suicide is murder, pure and simple, and murderers are damned.

There is no more justification for self-murder than for the willful destruction of another.”

He said those who take their life are not in their right mind and are mentally clouded, they do know what they were doing was wrong.

“The great probability is that nearly all self-murders — though they may be depressed and mentally ill — do in fact know right from wrong, the same as most killers do.”

Please see DOCTRINE, Page A14

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Over the decades, the LDS Church has become more transparent and active on responding to suicide.

It is particularly concerned about the number of teen suicides and has joined with other church and government leaders in Utah to teach and help with suicide prevention.

In an ongoing effort to prevent suicide, the LDS Church recently released a series of videos from Elder Dale G. Renlund of the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles. The videos are on the church’s approved websites, and thus has the approval of the First Presidency.

In the videos, Renlund encourages members to “reach out in love and caring for those who have suicidal thoughts, who have attempted suicide, who feel marginalized in any way. We need to reach out with love and understanding. And you do that in concert with health care professionals, with ecclesiastical leaders, with friends and family support.”

Renlund said the “old sectarian notion that suicide is a sin and that someone who commits suicide is banished to hell forever [is] totally false.”

Renlund said he believes those who commit suicide will not have it be a defining characteristic of their eternity.

Same-sex attraction

While “Mormon Doctrine” did not have a specific section on same-sex attraction, on page 639 of the 1958 edition, it did list homosexuality with other “whoredoms,” including; lewdness, lasciviousness, prostitution, masturbation, incontinence, and perversions of rape, seduction, infidelity, adultery and fornication.

“All these things, as well as many others, are condemned by divine edict and are among Lucifer’s chief means of leading souls to hell,” McConkie wrote.

In the years since that statement, the church has shocked and surprised those of the LGBTQ communities. Same-sex marriage was first declared legal in Utah in December 2013. Three years ago, the church sent bishops and stake presidents an addition to Handbook 1 — the special instructions to bishops and

stake presidents for leading their congregations — which stated that children from same-sex marriages are not allowed to be blessed, baptized or be ordained to the priesthood, until they turn 18 and decide for themselves.

More recently, the church upgraded its website http://mormonandgay.org.

“Feelings of same-sex attraction are not a sin,” Elder M. Russell Ballard said on the website. “Let us be clear: The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints believes that the experience of same-sex attraction is a complex reality for many people. The attraction itself is not a sin, but acting on it is.”

He added, “Even though individuals do not choose to have such attractions, they do choose how to respond to them. With love and understanding, the Church reaches out to all God’s children, including [those with same-sex attraction].’”

The website also included counsel to parents and church members.

“The parent of a child who experiences same-sex attraction or identifies as gay should choose to love and embrace that child. As a community of Church members, we should choose to create a welcoming community,” the site said in a recent update to mormonandgay.org.

Most recently the LDS Church announced that it was retooling the FamilySearch and FamilyTree programs to include genealogical information on same-sex couples and families; a project that cost into the hundreds of thousands of dollars.

Revelation in a ‘living church’ There is no question after April’s conference that the LDS Church is ever-changing.

Local religion professors say it is important to remember the church is bigger than one standard, book or philosophy.

“President John Taylor was fond of saying that God’s revelations to Adam didn’t tell him how to build an ark,” Griffiths said. “We need to remember the church isn’t defined by the leaders. They are amazing personalities, but the doctrine attracts. The church is bigger than one personality.”

Daily Herald September 30, 2018 15

Church sees growth coming from women

ISAAC HALE, DAILY HERALD

Sister Susan Gong, wife of Elder Gerrit Gong, speaks during the last session of BYU Women’s Conference held on May 4 at the Marriott Center in Provo.

GENELLE PUGMIRE

I

Daily Herald

n a 1979 conference talk by The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints’ President Spencer W. Kimball, he said women in the church would be the contributing factor for major growth in the church.

His statement was called prophetic by then Elder Russell M. Nelson, now president.

“Much of the major growth that is coming to the Church in the last days will come because many of the good women of the world … will be drawn to the Church in large numbers,” Kimball said. “This will happen to the degree that the women of the Church reflect righteousness and articulateness in their lives and to the degree that the women of the Church are seen as dis-

tinct and different — in happy ways — from the women of the world.”

That thought was reiterated by one of the church’s apostles, Elder Quentin L. Cook, in the April 2011 general conference when he said, “Much of what we accomplish in the church is due to selfless service of women.”

According to Lisa Olsen Tait, church historian and specialist on woman of the late 19th and early 20th centuries, LDS women have always stepped forward, when needed, to be a standard for the church to the world. Today, due to almost instantaneous media coverage, it may seem as if women are taking on more leadership roles, but Tait said women have been in those roles since the beginning.

“This is not new for women leaders to take a visible role,” Tait said.

Women well-known from the early

days of the church include Joseph Smith’s mother, Lucy Mack Smith, his wife Emma Hale Smith and others who made important contributions to the growth and visibility of the church, Tait said.

Many thousands of women since then have given their very lives to the church. From the mobs in Ohio, Missouri and Illinois, to the crossing ofthe plains to the Rocky Mountains, and on to colonizing communities throughout the west, women were at the forefront of caring for and meeting the needs of individuals, families and communities.

Women in the Utah territory were the second to receive the right to vote.

Martha Hughes Cannon, a polygamous wife and suffragist, became the first female state senator in U.S. history— Nov. 5, 1896.

According to Tait, from the late

1800s into the mid-20th century, LDS women leaders were also an important part of the National Council of Women.

“It was [in this] council that many women’s groups would meet together to discuss issues of the day,” Tait said.

“It was not political, but women had a voice that needed to be heard in the public sphere.”

By the middle of the 20th century, women’s and girl’s auxiliaries had become large and vibrant. They were the flagship of the church, Tait indicated.

“They had great programs, but the women gave service like it was a fulltime job,” Tait said. “That model was not sustainable in the global church.”

Many women took their lead from Belle Spafford, General Relief Society Please see WOMEN, Page A16

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president from 1945 to 1974. Spafford served nearly 30 years — the longest length of time anyone served in that position — as president of the largest women’s organization in the world.

In her church capacity, Spafford founded the church’s social services programs and was editor of the Relief Society Magazine.

She also served as president of the National Council of Women from 1968 to 1972. She travelled nationally and internationally, speaking continually on the rights and responsibilities of women.

Gender issues

During the 1970s, another LDS woman leader stepped forward, Barbara B. Smith.

“In the 1970s, as a church, they fought against the Equal Rights Amendment. Barbara B. Smith led the women of the church in the fight,” Tait said. “It was another moment when the church felt the need for Mormon women to stand up.”

Of note, Smith appeared on the Phil Donahue Show, a popular and controversial television talk show, to take a stand against ERA. The church did have its member naysayers, particularly Sonia Johnson, an activist in favor of ERA.

In 1977, Johnson co-founded Mormons for ERA and received national exposure in 1978 when she testified in front of the Senate Judiciary Subcommittee on the Constitution, civil rights and property rights.

Johnson openly denounced the church’s stance against ERA (and its nationwide lobbying efforts). Because she drew national attention, her local church leadership began excommunication proceedings.

Johnson was excommunicated in December of 1979. That didn’t stop her from promoting the Equal Rights Amendment. On one occasion, she and 20 ERA supporters were briefly jailed for chaining themselves to the gate of the church’s Seattle Washington Temple in Bellevue, Washington.

That same week the new temple was dedicated.

There have been some issues, like Johnson and ERA, that have divided women in the church. Such is the case with Ordain Women, an organization supporting the ordination of LDS women to the priesthood. In the church, men receive the priesthood, which members are taught is the power to act in God’s name. Women do not receive the priesthood.

Ordain Women held its first public meeting April 6, 2013. In October of that year, 240 women tried to enter the priesthood session of the LDS general conference and were denied; the session was for men only.

Ironically, that was also the first time the church made a live stream of the session available, so women could view it on computers, through BYUtv channel and other venues. That same conference was also the first time a woman offered a prayer in the general sessions of conference.

After that conference, the organization then took to other methods to make a point, including putting a series of six lessons on how to gain the priesthood on YouTube. Kate Kelly, founder of Ordain Women, was excommunicated June 23, 2014. Since that time, the Ordain Women organization has not had much media attention.

The #MeToo movement, which has swept across the country in the public sphere, has also affected LDS members. In November 2017, former sister missionary McKenna Denson, accused the former president over the Provo Missionary Training Center of rape and sexual abuse. She filed a lawsuit earlier this year against Joseph L. Bishop and the church. The incidents happened in 1984. A judge recently dismissed part of Denson’s lawsuit against the church because the statute of limitations had passed, but allowed a fraud claim to stand because the alleged cover-up was discovered recently.

Now as women of the 21st—century church, Tait and others believe it is time for the women to come forward in increased involvement again.

“In our current time period there is another moment in gender issues and how Latter-day Saints are being perceived,” Tait said. “There is a need for substantial involvement with women in the church. It is important to have women represented in the Church as it ebbs and flows with visibility of women.”

Tait did not elaborate on the gender issues she sees coming forward.

Tait added, “We are coming out of one of the ebbs. With the massive global growth (of the church) the balance shifts.”

Chaplains

In 2014, the First Presidency endorsed LDS women who were non-federal chaplains for the first time.

Non-federal means they do not represent branches of the armed services. For Chaplain Tami Harris, who was already a licensed chaplain, that endorsement was a significant move.

“I am endorsed by the church,” Harris said. “I represent the church.”

Harris is the chaplain at the Heritage School in Provo. The school works with troubled teens and brings in students from all over the U.S. Harris services a number of Jewish students from New York City, as well as Christian students of varying denominations.

LDS military chaplains are still required to be male priesthood holders, as they are called upon to give priesthood blessings, which are only permitted to

ISAAC HALE, DAILY HERALD

President Russell M. Nelson, a member of the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles, points to the crowd as he and his wife, Wendy L. Watson, exit the afternoon session of the 187th Semiannual General Conference of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints on Sept. 30, 2017 at the LDS Conference Center in Salt Lake City.

Daily Herald

be performed by male members.

Harris said she believes there may come a time in the future when the LDS women chaplains could be called to military service, as there are many female troops that need special counseling that only women can give and receive.

“I love that I belong to a church that cares about the faith of everyone,” Harris said. “Parents know of my faith and it’s never been a problem. They are glad I have a heritage of faith and I help their children with their heritage of faith. You’re there to help everyone.”

Harris added, “There are places and people a woman can reach that others can’t. It has been my honor to assist in the building of bridges in families and with clergy leaders and volunteers of many faith traditions. I believe that is one of the opportunities given to women of The Church of Jesus Christ.”

More global visibility

Women are becoming ever more visible in the world and are being recognized for their contributions.

Brigham Young University religion professor, Mary Jane Woodger, a specialist in women’s history, pin-

pointed the time the church emerged as a global faith during the leadership of David O. McKay, who led from 1951 until 1970.

“When we went from a regional church to international, (President) David O. McKay was key. He put the responsibility on the church, ‘every member a missionary’. His wife was always there. Before then, you didn’t see a wife,” she said.

She has even personally felt a recent change in support from BYU as a female educator. She didn’t elaborate on the difference, but said, “I’ve been amazed at how very much my colleagues and the university want me to succeed and have as much of a voice as possible. It’s very much an equal experience and that my view point is valued.”

Also in recent years, women are more visibly traveling the world on humanitarian missions and speaking at conferences on faith, family and many other topics. They also are active in the public sphere. Surrounded by leaders of other faiths, including Christian, Hindu, Muslim and Jewish leaders from across the nation, General Relief Society President June B.

Bingham offered a prayer May 3, 2018, in Washington D.C. for the National Day of Prayer.

With the sustaining of President Russell M. Nelson as president of the church this year, women have participated in worldwide discussions and are sent out frequently as ambassadors, according to Mormon Newsroom.

Sisters Wendy W. Nelson, Nelson’s wife, and Kristen M. Oaks, wife of President Dallin H. Oaks, first counselor in the First Presidency, have not only traveled with their husbands, but they speak as a team with them.

On June 3, the Nelsons hosted a worldwide youth conference as a couple, and spoke together. At RootsTech in March, the Oaks teamed up to talk about family history.

The Nelsons recently traveled together on a Global Ministry Tour in eight different countries, throughout Canada, and in the United States.

Wives of members of the Quorum of the Twelve are also counted on to speak as they travel.

As recent as 2016, while countries of the world struggled to come to a consensus about handling the massive refugee influx from the Middle East,

September 30, 2018

again the women of the church were called upon.

“The First Presidency of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints issued a letter (in October 2016) encouraging Mormon women of all ages to assist refugees in their own communities,” a press release from the church stated.

The letter, which outlined the “I Was a Stranger” refugee relief effort, included an invitation from the general presidencies of the church’s Relief Society, Young Women and Primary organizations and information about how to get involved.

Reyna I. Aburto, second counselor in the Relief Society general presidency, and Lisa L. Harkness, first counselor in the Primary general presidency, were in Escuintla, Guatemala, visiting families living in a church meetinghouse since the volcanic eruption.

The women also went to minister to the residents of the temporary homes in Finca la Industria, Escuintla. The housing was built with funds from the church’s Humanitarian Aid Fund.

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grounds around Kenya’s largest teaching hospital this summer, to young women serving at Grow Canada, Canada’s largest urban farm, LDS women are continuing to reach out wherever they are, to whoever they can as they minister and serve around the globe.

Females representing the church abroad and taking some leadership roles is reportedly spreading beyond general presidencies and older women.

Woodger noted that in the past five or six years, sister missionaries have been given leadership positions to great effect in the areas they serve. In 2013, the church changed mission leadership to include a mission leadership council that included both male and female missionary leaders. These female leaders function in a new role as sister training leaders.

Women join executive councils Another adjustment in leadership roles and councils came with the August 2015 announcement general aux-

iliary president would join the executive councils of the church. Prior to this time, the higher executive councils — or governing bodies — of the church only consisted of male leaders, usually the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles, the Presiding Bishopric and members of the Quorums of the Seventy.

In a new twist on communicating with members where they are, the announcement was posted first on Facebook.

“Several women general officers of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints have been appointed by the First Presidency and the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles to priesthood leadership councils within the Church,” the announcement said.

Sister Bonnie L. Oscarson, then Young Women’s president, talked about her new assignment on the Missionary Executive Council in a Facebook post.

“We are confident that the wisdom and judgment of these general auxiliary presidents will provide a valuable dimension to the important work accomplished by these councils,” stated a letter to general authorities and general auxiliary presidencies from Church President Thomas S. Monson and his

COURTESY THE CHURCH OF JESUS CHRIST OF LATTER-DAY SAINTS

Sister Reyna I. Aburto, second counselor in the Relief Society general presidency, gives a hug to a Church member who is living in temporary housing following a volcano eruption in Guatemala on Aug. 29. counselors in the First Presidency.

During her October 2017 women’s session address of general conference, Sharon Eubank, the first counselor in the Relief Society referred to President Spencer W. Kimball’s talk in 1979 on women.

Eubank noted that Kimball had prepared his talk, but on the day he was to give it he was in the hospital, so his wife Camilla Eyring Kimball read his remarks for him.

Eubank then quoted from Kimball’s message.

“Among the real heroines in the world who will come into the Church

are women who are more concerned with being righteous than with being selfish,” Kimball said. “These real heroines have true humility, which places a higher value on integrity than on visibility.

She continued, “… It will be … female exemplars of the Church [who] will be a significant force in both the numerical and the spiritual growth of the Church in the last days.”

Eubank ended with the statement, “I conclude with the words of our well-loved prophet, Thomas S. Monson: ‘My dear sisters, this is your day, this is your time’.”

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Global leadership reflecting global outreach KARISSA NEELY

A Daily Herald

fter April, the highest sections of leadership in The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints appeared to increasingly represent the global membership of the church. The church now has about 15 million members worldwide, with only about 6.6 million residing in the United States, according to Mormon Newsroom.

During the April general conference of the church, Elders Gerrit W. Gong and Ulisses Soares were called as the newest members of the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles. According to Mormon Newsroom, Gong is the first Asian-American apostle, and Soares is the first apostle from South America.

They join other people of color and different cultures within the general leadership of the church, including: President Dieter F. Uchtdorf of the Twelve Apostles, Elders José Teixeira and Carlos A. Godoy of the Presidency of the Seventy, Bishop Gérald Caussé of the Presiding Bishopric, Sister Reyna I. Aburto of the Relief Society Presidency and Sister Cristina B. Franco of the Primary Presidency.

To some members, and non-members as well, these recent additions to leadership seemed long awaited.

As early as 1920, then-Elder David O. McKay traveled the world for a year, dedicating foreign lands and countries for the preaching of the gospel — meaning he prayed over the lands that God would bless the people there to be open to the gospel of the church. Since that time, church membership grew in these different nations. For some, the growth was slow, like in China, where there are almost no LDS members, and only about 24,000 in nearby Hong Kong. But in the Pacific Islands, church growth spread rapidly until today, when there are almost 553,000 members there.

Membership in this American-born church reached a major milestone in 1996 — the year when estimates showed there were more church members living outside the United States than there were members living within, according to lds.org.

Since that time, members and non-members have seen a change in

ISAAC HALE, DAILY HERALD

New members of the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles, Elder Gerrit W. Gong, right, and Elder Ulisses Soares, talk before the afternoon session of the 188th Annual General Conference of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints on March 31 at the LDS Conference Center in Salt Lake City. the focus of its leadership moving toward global doctrine and leadership.

But despite these numbers, some feel it is taking the Church a significant amount of time to reach diversity within its leadership ranks.

Brent Top, Brigham Young University religion professor and former dean, explained that prophets are “not blind to diversity and culture,” and may even have a more expansive view of it, because they see it every week as they travel around the world visiting members in their homelands. He cautions members against looking at these recent leadership changes as if there was a conscious effort to call leaders based on race, culture or language.

“That minimizes inspiration. It makes it look as if the church is man-made, not driven by God,” Top said. “As the church expands, of course it’s going to change because it’s driven by God. But don’t go down the path of thinking that President Nelson (Russell M. Nelson, current president of the church) and the Twelve sit around and look for Asian and Latin American in new apostles. It’s the Lord that calls them.”

Top explained that there are some areas, like parts of Russia, where the church is a newer presence and barely 25 years old. Those areas have not had sufficient time or foundational strength to be able to produce upper leadership.

But in other countries, leadership

roles on the local level has been diverse since the early days, Top explained. Even in new areas, local leadership relies on members local to that land. Such is the way for all areas across the globe.

Top said an example of this can be seen in the Quorums of the Seventy.

Men of color and different languages have served for years as members of those quorums.

“We have more Seventies across the world than those sitting in those red chairs (at general conference). They are the leaders all over that reflect every language, every culture,” Top said.

Casey Griffiths, BYU associate religion professor, echoes that same sentiment, pointing out that the majority of the church and its local leadership is indigenous to the countries these members reside in. And that is exactly how the church, which utilizes a lay leadership, should work.

“A Brazilian bishop knows how to lead his Brazilian congregation better than I would. And I know how to lead a Utah congregation,” Griffiths said, explained that he is a bishop in a local Utah County congregation.

J.B. Haws, also a BYU associate religion professor, explained that the prophet and apostles teach the universal truths of the doctrines of the gospel for all members across the globe.

“In a diverse world, with different problems and different questions,

the universals are really what resonate,” he said.

Leadership local to villages, towns and cities across the world then use those truths to help their members where they are, finding unique solutions for their unique situations. For example, Griffiths pointed out that a bishop or stake president in an American town may feel inspired to encourage husbands to be more affectionate with their wives. This same direction may not be taught in an African congregation, if public displays of affection between husbands and wives are not culturally acceptable there.

Haws said this “local ownership” is how the LDS church expands across the world, building its leadership from within and maturing through its diversity.

“We are maturing as a people,” Haws said. “We are realizing how important it is to have different views than our own.

We are all enriched by different backgrounds and experience. All this is part of the beautiful maturing and development and growth.”

He credits the prophet and apostles for this push.

“The leaders recognize the need. It enriches revelation. We do better as we have more resources, more knowledge, more light and truth. We just have more to work with, and we do better collectively when we have more voices and ideas,” Haws said.

20 XXXXXXXXXXXXX September 30, 2018 Daily Herald

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