Read this story here.

To sum up, the Church has told a movement of dissident Mormon women who say they want the priesthood that their demands are not helping create meaningful discussions for Church members.

From the Deseret News story:

The letter, signed by Jessica Moody, also said the church is unable to fulfill a request made by the “Ordain Women” group for tickets to the church’s semiannual general priesthood meeting next month because the meeting “is designed to strengthen men and boys as they receive specific instruction about their roles and responsibilities.”

“Women in the church, by a very large majority, do not share your advocacy for priesthood ordination for women and consider that position to be extreme,” Moody said. “Declaring such an objective to be non-negotiable, as you have done, actually detracts from the helpful discussions that church leaders have held as they seek to listen to the thoughts, concerns, and hopes of women inside and outside of church leadership. Ordination of women to the priesthood is a matter of doctrine that is contrary to the Lord’s revealed organization for His church.”

Members of Ordain Women (OW) were told that they should keep any demonstrations against the Church to the “free speech zones” outside temple square, which is a subtle but pointed message to the group that their demands force them outside of the mainstream within the Church.

“Your organization has again publicized its intention to demonstrate on Temple Square during the April 5 priesthood session. Activist events like this detract from the sacred environment of Temple Square and the spirit of harmony sought at General Conference. Please reconsider.

“If you feel you must come and demonstrate, we ask that you do so in free speech zones adjacent to Temple Square, which have long been established for those wishing to voice differing viewpoints. They can be found on the attached map.

“As fellow Latter-day Saints and friends of the church, we invite you to help us maintain the peaceful environment of Temple Square and ask that you please follow these details in your continued planning. In addition, consistent with long-standing policy, news media cameras will not be allowed on Temple Square during General Conference.

The OW movement is also being told to refrain from propaganda efforts similar to those used at past conferences where the movement tried to use public media to show themselves as oppressed martyrs. Despite their efforts, almost no women in the Church show much sympathy. Recent polls have shown that more than 90 percent of Church women do not want priesthood ordination.

After months of agitation, the OW movement has garnered a total of 2,076 “likes” on its Facebook page. A counter-movement started last week called “Mormon Women Stand” already has 2840 “likes” with hundreds being added every day. The “Mormon Women Stand” page says the following: “As we ‘Stand’ together, we…unequivocally sustain the First Presidency and Quorum of the Twelve Apostles…and stand in support of how the Lord has delegated priesthood authority to organize and administer the gospel among all of His children.”

Meanwhile, members of the OW movement apparently believe that the prophets are not as inspired as they are.

The Church has spoken on this issue. Will the supposedly faithful members of the OW movement listen or will they move to direct opposition to the Lord’s Church?

[This post is part of a series on Joseph Smith’s Polygamy. To read from the beginning or link to previously published posts, go to A Faithful Joseph.]

Patty Sessions, b. 1795. Midwife. Detective?
Original from Irene Poulson
From post by Sean Watson

On this 172nd anniversary of the founding of Relief Society, let me tell you of the manhunt I believe Joseph and Emma Smith conducted together, trying to identify those abusing the women of Nauvoo during the fall and winter of 1841/1842. The researchers before me have been certain the artifacts of this hunt were signs either of Joseph’s sexual cupidity or Emma’s hostility. And yet to my eye the man and his wife seem knit together in the same purpose.

As Emma and Joseph became aware of the activities of Bennett’s sex ring, I suggest that Joseph went from sealing women to himself for the purpose of obeying the commandment to sealing women to himself as part of either securing their loyalty or offering them protection. As some of these women were also working closely with Emma, I believe Joseph was keeping Emma informed of the situation. She had an absolute and clear need to know, particularly after March 17, 1842. Continue reading →

A viral video from the Youtube Mormon Channel called “Bullying – Stop It” has gained a lot of attention in some circles. Having faced some forms of harassment growing up, I just can’t get myself to watch more than the start. The reasons for my hesitation are varied and internal; and not all about relatability. Part of me believes those who are on the bullied end will hopelessly latch on, those who perceive themselves bullied for disagreements will use it as a political bludgeon, and the true bullies will ignore it and think themselves impervious to the message.

A certain fascination with stopping the “bully culture” has crept into the public mouthpiece sections of society. You can’t turn on the television for long without watching the horrifying advertisement showing a bespectacled thin boy getting torchured on a bus. All of these seem to ask students and teenagers to get involved when they see the actions of a bully. For me what comes to mind is the question where are the responsible adults. Without backup from authority figures there is no stopping kids from bothering other kids mercilessly. Its not in most of their nature or power.

Looking back, my experiences weren’t all that bad no matter if not fun. Others had it much worse than I did. Saying that now is no consolation for a young boy going through his own crisis years ago. I did learn a few personal lessons from those experiences that I would like to share. For the record, I admit these are my own ideas gained. Making it personal is the very core of how the bully is successful. Continue reading →