Hi, I’m Jennifer.
I grew up in a conservative Mormon household, the second of 5 children. I attended church every Sunday and I graduated from seminary. I received my Young Women Medallion. I attended Girls Camp and EFY every summer. I was blessed to be raised in a family where education and academic excellence was valued.
My thirst for secular and spiritual knowledge has always been at the forefront of my pursuits. I was always fascinated by the human mind and pursued my education in Psychology. I attended Brigham Young University, and was challenged by my professors to consider different viewpoints on gender, and whether the qualities described by our leaders were descriptive or prescriptive in nature. In all of my seeking for knowledge, one conclusion I have drawn is how much we do not know and how much we do not have the answers to. Our search for answers to the mysteries of the universe and the human mind are ongoing.
Throughout my graduate education, I began to solidify my dreams. I wanted to become a mental health counselor, a writer, and a professor. And while I was taught that marriage and children should be one of my dreams, this blessing has not yet been given to me.
The more years I remained single in a marriage-focused church, the more irrelevant the role of women prescribed in the church became to me. I recognized my own value as an intelligent, capable, and motivated woman, eager to join the workforce and contribute to society in a variety of ways. The message that I was called to this earth to be a wife, a mother, and a nurturer did not match the perception I had of myself, nor did it fit the strengths I had developed.
I believe that the conversation has been started about the expanding roles for women in the church, and that women, regardless of marital status, bring value when their stewardship and leadership is considered equal. The church would benefit from the variety of perspectives that women can bring to the administration of the church. Also, in order for women to fully develop their divine potential, the right to act with the power of God is a necessity. I believe in order for a worldwide church to include women in all walks of life, that women should be ordained.